Swedish Foreign Minister Billstrom Steps Down

FILE - Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billström speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Jan. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on Wednesday he will step down next week after almost two years in office, during which his traditionally non-aligned country joined NATO.
"It is with a mixture of sadness and pride that I have today informed the prime minister that I will leave the post of foreign minister at the opening of parliament next week," Billstrom, a member of the conservative Moderate Party, said in a post on X.
The 50-year-old, who became foreign minister in October 2022, said he would leave politics but had not decided what he would do next, reported Reuters.
"The government has under Tobias' lead clearly changed Swedish foreign policy's priorities," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Instagram.
Billstrom, who previously served as migration minister, said he had been considering stepping down for some time.