Oscar Sjöstedt
SD
Member of the Riksdag
Assumed office
29 September 2014
Economics spokesman for the Sweden Democrats
Assumed office
2014
Preceded bySven-Olof Sällström
ConstituencySödermanland County
Personal details
Born
Per Oscar Evert Sjöstedt

(1981-02-06) 6 February 1981
Stockholm, Sweden
Political partySweden Democrats
Alma materStockholm University (BA)

Per Oscar Evert Sjöstedt (born 6 February 1981) is a Swedish politician and member of the Riksdag for the Sweden Democrats party. He has also served as the SD's finance and economics spokesman since 2014.

Biography

Sjöstedt studied at Stockholm University and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in economics. He worked as a civil servant in the finance department for the Riksdag and then for Sveriges Television (SVT) and the Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company.[1][2][3]

He also served as chairman of the Sweden Democrat Youth's (SDU) chapter in Stockholm.[4] Sjöstedt was elected to the Riksdag during the 2014 Swedish general election and served as the financial and economic spokesman for the Sweden Democrats, taking on the role from Sven-Olof Sällström.[1][2] He initially announced he would not to seek another term in office before the 2018 Swedish general election, however he subsequently returned to parliament and resumed his role as the SD's financial spokesman.[5]

Controversies

Sjöstedt became embroiled in controversy in 2016 when it was revealed he had attended a party organized by the Swedish neo-Nazi magazine Info-14 during his time at high school while he was a member of the SDU. At the same time, a former school peer alleged Sjöstedt chanted pro-Nazi slogans at school and released footage of what he said was Sjöstedt laughing at antisemitic jokes made by a co-worker. Sjöstedt responded by claiming that he had attended the party at the invitation of a friend but left after discovering who had organized the event, denied he had supported any fascist movements and described the accusations of chanting slogans as "absurd." The Sweden Democrats' leadership investigated the allegation and responded by stating that while Sjöstedt should have been more careful, they were satisfied that he was an opponent of Nazism.[6][7]

In 2020, Sjöstedt criticized the Swedish Social Democrats and the Swedish Migration Court over a decision to grant residency to a mentally disabled Afghan national. Sjöstedt was reported to have proclaimed "What do you say about that - instead of pursuing a migration policy where we attract people with low intellect - we pursue a policy where we attract people with high intellect?" during a debate on the matter in the Riksdag. Sjöstedt's comment was condemned by disability charities and the Social Democrats. Both Sjöstedt and the Sweden Democrats responded by stating the comments had been aimed at the Migration Court and not people with disabilities.[8] Sjöstedt furthermore claimed that he was attacking a decision by the court to prioritize immigrants who cannot economically contribute to Sweden over skilled immigrants.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Oscar Sjöstedt nytt toppnamn i SD". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Politikerna i riksdagen: Oscar Sjöstedt, Sverigedemokraterna | SVT.se". archive.is. 2 December 2014. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  3. ↑ "Förvaltningsstiftelsen". forvaltningsstiftelsen.se. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  4. ↑ "Varksamhetsberättelser | Sverigedemokraterna Stockholms län". stockholmslan.sd.se. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Shekarabis svar till Oscar Sjöstedt: "Be om ursäkt"".
  6. ↑ "SD-toppen gick på en nazistspelning 2005". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  7. ↑ "Oscar Sjöstedt gick på nazistspelning". Dagens industri (in Swedish). 11 October 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  8. ↑ Brusman, Filip (24 September 2020). "Funktionsrätt Sverige: "Sjöstedt (SD) bör lämna politiken"". Sveriges Radio.
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