Sweden’s foreign minister announces surprise departure from politics

Sweden’s foreign minister Tobias Billstrom has announced he is stepping down (Virginia Mayo/AP)

Sweden’s foreign minister Tobias Billstrom, who steered the Scandinavian country to Nato membership and stood tall on supporting Ukraine, stunned the political establishment on Wednesday by saying he was leaving the Swedish government next week.

“It has not been an easy decision but something that I have thought about and processed for some time,” Mr Billstrom wrote on X, formerly Twitter.