Jimmie Åkesson

Jimmie Åkesson

Jimmie Åkesson speaking to an Expressen journalist before a SVT party leader debate in May 2014.
Leader of the Sweden Democrats
Assumed office
7 May 2005
Preceded by Mikael Jansson
Member of the Swedish parliament for Jönköping County
Assumed office
4 October 2010
Personal details
Born Per Jimmie Åkesson
(1979-05-17) 17 May 1979
Ivetofta, Kristianstad County, Sweden
Nationality  Swedish
Political party Moderate Party
(1995)
Sweden Democrats
(1995–present)
Domestic partner Louise Erixon
Children 1
Alma mater Lund University
Occupation Politician

Per Jimmie Åkesson (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈjɪmɪ ˈoːkɛ.ˈsɔn], YIM-ee AW-kə-sən; born 17 May 1979) is a Swedish politician. He is the leader of the Sweden Democrats and a member of the Swedish parliament following the 2010 general election.[1]

Early life

Jimmie Åkesson was born in Ivetofta, Sweden,[2] but grew up in Sölvesborg, Blekinge County.[3]

He was a member of the Moderate Youth League, the youth wing of the Moderate Party, for a short while before he joined the old Sweden Democratic Youth Association (the youth wing of the Sweden Democrats) in 1995.[3] The same year he also co-founded a local chapter of the Sweden Democratic Youth Association.[3] In 1997 he was elected as a deputy member of the party board.[3] The party's policies that he claims he was most attracted to at first were its view on the European Union, and its policy on immigration.

Political career

In 1998, at the age of 19, Åkesson was elected to public office as a councilman in Sölvesborg Municipality.[3] The same year, he also became deputy chairman of the newly established Sweden Democratic Youth (Sverigedemokratisk Ungdom), and later, from 2000 to 2005, was chairman of the organization.[3] In 2005, he defeated party leader Mikael Jansson in a party election to become the party leader of the Sweden Democrats.[4]

In the 2010 general election the Sweden Democrats for the first time crossed the election threshold and entered the Swedish parliament with 5.70% of the votes.[5] Åkesson, who was placed first on the party's national ballot, was elected as a Member of Parliament together with 19 of his fellow party members.[1][6]

Prior to working full-time in politics, Åkesson worked as a web designer at the company BMJ Aktiv, which he co-founded with, among others, Björn Söder, the current party secretary of the Sweden Democrats.[2] He studied political science among other subjects at Lund University.[2]

In September 2014 Sveriges Radio (SR) reported that Åkesson had spent upwards of 500,000 kronor ($70,000) in 2014 alone on online betting. The sum is more than the politician would have earned all year, after tax, reported SR.[7] The revelation caused an uproar, both among people who view Åkesson as unreliable and those who opposed SR's decision to publish the information. Among the latter were former Green Party spokesperson Maria Wetterstrand and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.[8] Åkesson himself called SR's actions an attempt at character assassination.[9]

Following the 2014 election, Åkesson announced he will be on sick leave due to burnout.[10][11] In early 2015, Åkesson was named Sweden's most important opinion leader for the calendar year 2014 by the Swedish magazine DSM in their annual rankings.[12][13]

On 27 March 2015, Åkesson publicly announced that he would be returning to his duties as party leader for the Sweden Democrats, albeit initially in a somewhat reduced role, on the SVT program Skavlan, as well as in an open letter on his Facebook page.[14]

Personal life

Åkesson is engaged to fiancée Louise Erixon, a secretary working for Björn Söder, Sweden Democrats' former party secretary and Riksdag vice-speaker.[15][16] On 12 December 2013, the pair welcomed their first child, Nils (born 12 December 2013).[17]

References

  1. 1 2 "Invalda valet 2010" (in Swedish). Parliament of Sweden. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Lindström, Lars (18 September 2010). "Jimmie Åkesson håller så låg profil här". Expressen.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Jimmie Åkesson - en kort presentation" (in Swedish). Jimmie Åkesson. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  4. ↑ "EU elections 2014: 'I can hear the boots of the 1930s marching through Europe' - Telegraph". Telegraph.co.uk. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "Swedish far-right leader: Success due to immigration backlash - CNN.com". Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "BBC News - Hardtalk - Jimmie Akesson: Swedish immigration is 'extreme'". Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  7. ↑ "Sweden Democrats head hit by gambling scandal". The Local. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  8. ↑ Flores, Juan (13 September 2014). "Åkesson-avslöjande väcker upprörda känslor". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  9. ↑ Eriksson, Gustaf; Olsson, Hanna (12 September 2014). "Åkesson om spelavslöjandet: "Försök till karaktärsmord"". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  10. ↑ "Jimmie Åkesson sjukskriven". Sverigedemokraterna. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  11. ↑ "Åkesson sjukskriven på obestämd tid". DN.SE. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  12. ↑ http://dsm.nu/jimmie2014.pdf
  13. ↑ http://sdkuriren.se/jimmie-akesson-utsedd-till-sveriges-viktigaste-opinionsbildare-2014
  14. ↑ "Jimmie Åkesson - Sverigevänner, Efter nära ett halvårs... - Facebook". Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  15. ↑ "Åkessons flickvän till attack mot SDU" [Åkesson's girlfriend attacks SDU]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 17 November 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  16. ↑ Lönnaeus, Olle (26 January 2015). "Richard Jomshof blir nytt SD-ansikte utåt" [Richard Jomshof becomes the new face of SD outwards]. Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  17. ↑ Adolfsson, Viktor (12 December 2013). "Jimmie Åkesson har blivit pappa" [Jimmie Åkesson has become a father]. Nyheter24 (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 May 2016.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Mikael Jansson		 Leader of the Sweden Democrats
2005–present 		Incumbent
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