Maria Malmer Stenergard, former Minister for Migration, did not have to think twice when Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) asked if she wanted to become the new Minister for Foreign Affairs.
I answered yes directly, she says.
On her first day on the job, she is cautious in her statements, and assures that she will continue on the line that the government and her predecessor Tobias Billström have outlined.
"Humanitarian disaster"
One of the issues she now quickly needs to get into is the Gaza conflict, a foreign policy issue that also engages and divides domestically.
Do you think Sweden needs to be clearer regarding Gaza?
It is a terrible humanitarian disaster in Gaza, we must get a ceasefire as soon as possible and we must work long-term for a two-state solution where you can live side by side in peace, says Malmer Stenergard.
But it is the support to Ukraine that she points out as the most important foreign policy task for the coming years.
There, we will continue to support economically, militarily, humanely, and politically as long as it is needed.
Abrupt job change
She is thrown into foreign policy a bit abruptly after Tobias Billström's surprising resignation.
Many forget that the migration issue is global and that the Minister for Migration post involves a lot of work in the international environment, she says.
When it comes to language skills, she speaks English and "once upon a time fairly fluent German".
I'll probably have to dust it off a bit now, she says.
"No drama"
Isn't it a problem that after only two years, you need to change the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and doesn't the government risk losing momentum on the migration area?
No, it's not, but it's quite natural, I think, after two years, mid-term, with a clear political course and a united line, so some changes occur, it's not dramatic at all, says Ulf Kristersson.
The new Cabinet Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will be Dag Hartelius, who previously, among other things, was Director-General at the FRA and diplomat in several countries and at Sweden's representation in Brussels. The Cabinet Secretary is, after the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the most senior post at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
