Jan Björklund blir ny ambassadör i Italien

Jan Björklund blir ny ambassadör i Italien

Från och med den 1 september intar den före detta L-ledaren sin nya roll som ambassadör i Italien, skriver Utrikesdepartementet i ett pressmeddelande.

Jan Björklund var Liberalernas partiledare mellan 2007-2019.

Han har även varit vice statsminister åren 2010-2014, utbildningsminister 2007-2010 och året innan skolminister.

På Twitter skriver den tidigare partiledaren att han är hedrad över det nya uppdraget.

Efter 25 år inom politiken återvände Jan Björklund i höstas till Försvarsmakten som reservofficer med majors grad.

Under våren har Björklund varit en av deltagarna i TV4:s ”Let's Dance”.

                                   Jan Björklund back in the Armed Forces


Jan Björklund back in the Armed Forces

For more than twelve years, Jan Björklund has been party leader for one of Sweden's parliamentary parties. Now he returns to the Armed Forces. Major Björklund becomes a reserve officer with a war position in the Central Military Region's leadership team as deputy operations leader.

In February 2019, the Liberals' former party leader Jan Björklund announced that he would not run for re-election.
"After twelve years as party leader, it's time to pass the baton on," he said at the press conference.

Major Jan Björklund now returns to the Swedish Armed Forces as a reserve officer.

- I contacted my old regiment and asked if I could contribute in any way and they said yes directly. I think it is both important and fun to serve within the Armed Forces, especially when we look at the development of the outside world and not least Russia, says Jan Björklund in a statement on the Armed Forces' web.

The Armed Forces writes that the assignment is to some extent a repetition. Björklund has a long-standing background within the Armed Forces, including as a battalion commander for a city shooting battalion. Now he returns to the Armed Forces as a reserve officer after 25 years in politics and twelve years as party leader.

A few weeks of service
Jan Björklund's new service means a few weeks of service per year.

As a reserve officer, you have a permanent position within the Swedish Armed Forces while at the same time having a main employment elsewhere. A total of about 6,600 people currently have a position as reserve officer in the Armed Forces.