Parental Leave
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate was about honoring and remembering the deceased Member of Parliament Sven-Olof Sällström. The Speaker expressed the Riksdag's gratitude for his contributions to the Riksdag and Sweden 1. He emphasized that Sällström was a loyal and dutiful colleague with a high work ethic who persevered in his work until the very end 1. Sällström was described as a warm advocate for humanitarian and military support to Ukraine, which was linked to his background as a professional officer and his interest in the Swedish defense 1. He was also an important voice within his party's positions regarding both family policy and defense policy 1.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
TALMANNEN
Honorable members of the Riksdag! Recently, we in the Riksdag were reached by the sad news that Member of Parliament Sven-Olof Sällström has passed away. Our thoughts and our warm sympathy go to his son, mother, siblings and other family members, to his friends and to his colleagues.
When a member of the Riksdag passes away, it is customary that we pause for a moment in the chamber's regular work to remember and convey our colleagues' and the Riksdag's gratitude for the deceased member's contributions to the Riksdag and for Sweden. We do this with a speech and with a minute of silence. From now on, we will also do so with a taptoe. My hope is that the taptoe, which follows the minute of silence, will provide a dignified framing for our farewell to a colleague in the Riksdag.
Taptot also points out that the mission as a member of parliament is something special. Being elected to represent one's party, one's voters, one's constituency and our country in the Swedish Parliament means receiving a trust that is rarely granted.
Honorable members! Sven-Olof Sällström was born in 1968 in Ånge in Västernorrland County. In 2010, he was elected to the Riksdag and came to be part of Sverigedemokraternas first parliamentary group.
At the conclusion here in the chamber in December, we thanked Sven-Olof Sällström after 13 years as a member of the Riksdag. We did so because Sven-Olof suffered from advanced cancer and had announced that he would leave the chamber during the spring but did not know if he would be alive at the Riksdag's summer closing in June, when farewells often take place. So, here in retrospect, I am glad that I was able to convey the Riksdag's thanks and hand over the Riksdag's medal while he was still alive.
Before the farewell, I, second deputy speaker Julia Kronlid, and Sven-Olof had lunch together. During the lunch, he spoke about his commitment to his home region, for Ukraine, and for a Swedish membership in Nato. He also told that he chose to be open about his illness to avoid speculation, but also because he hoped to be able to give strength to others in similar situations.
This election probably did not come as a surprise to those who stood close to Sven-Olof. For them, Sven-Olof, or Svenne as he was called, was a kind-hearted, caring, selfless, loyal, and positive fellow human being and friend.
In the political work, Sven-Olof Sällström distinguished himself, according to party friends, through his ability to think both outside the given frames and several steps forward. He also had a work ethic beyond the ordinary.
If he had set himself a task or promised others a result, it was achieved. He preferred private commitments over his work. This quality was manifested in a clear way when he chose to fight on with the work in the Riksdag until it simply was no longer possible, criminally loyal and dutiful until the very end. He completed his last working day here in the Riksdag two weeks before his passing.
Sven-Olof Sällström harbored a warm love for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and leaves behind a 17-year-old son whose mother originally comes from Ukraine. Sven-Olof Sällström often visited the country, even during periods when this was advised against, for example during the hostilities in connection with Russia's occupation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
This, in combination with Sven-Olof's background as a professional officer and his interest in the Swedish defense and defense issues in general, made him a warm advocate for both humanitarian and military support from Sweden to Ukraine.
Sven-Olof Sällström managed during his time in the Riksdag to sit in both the Defence Committee, where he during this mandate period was vice chairman, as well as the Committee on the Labour Market and the Finance Committee. He was also a member of the OSCE delegation and the War Delegation. In more recent times, he focused primarily on defense policy issues and thereby also participated in the Defence Preparation Board and the Riksdag's delegation to NATO's Parliamentary Assembly.
He had a great breadth in both his knowledge and his political actions. He made an impact on his own party's positions in areas as diverse as family policy and defense policy.
Honorable listeners! On Monday, we raised the NATO flag in front of the Riksdag building. A week earlier, the Swedish flag was raised at NATO's headquarters in Brussels. I am sure that many of Sven-Olof's colleagues in the parliamentary group, the Defense Committee, and the Defense Preparation Committee gave him a thought during the ceremony on Monday morning.
Sven-Olof did not live long enough to be present at the ceremony at Riksplan. But he was with us long enough to see something he had fought for over a succession of years come to fruition.
A kind, knowledgeable and committed person and politician has left us all too soon. I want to express my and the Riksdag's thanks for his contributions to the Riksdag, for democracy and for Sweden.
Those gathered in the plenary chamber honored the memory of Sven-Olof Sällström with a minute of silence.
The presentation concluded with a tattoo performed by Gustav Lundström from Livgardets dragonmusikkår.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.