Kjell Stefan Löfven ([ˈstěːfan lœˈveːn] ; officially Löfvén; born 21 July 1957) is a Swedish politician who has previously served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 2014 to 2021 and as Leader of the Social Democratic Party from 2012 to 2021. He is currently serving as President of European Socialists since 2022.
After leaving school and completing military service in the Swedish Air Force, Löfven trained as a welder and began employment as a metalworker, becoming active within the Swedish Metalworkers' Union (SMU) and later elected as ombudsman; following its merger with the Swedish Industrial Union (SIU) to form IF Metall, he was elected as its first president in January 2006. In January 2012, he was unanimously elected leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party by its executive board following the resignation of Håkan Juholt, becoming the Leader of the Opposition despite not holding a seat in the Riksdag at the time.
