Gustav Kasselstrand
Gustav Mattias Anton Kasselstrand (born 27 June 1987)[1] is a Swedish politician, serving as leader of Alternative for Sweden since 2018. He was chairman of the Sweden Democratic Youth (SDU) from 2011 to 2015 and served as political secretary to the Sweden Democrats in the Riksdag from 2011 to 2012. Kasselstrand was expelled from the Sweden Democrats on April 27, 2015 but remained as chairman of the SDU until 12 September 2015, when Jessica Ohlson took over the post and the Sweden Democrats cut ties with SDU.
Gustav Kasselstrand | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg.webp) Kasselstrand in August 2018 | |
| Leader of Alternative for Sweden | |
| Assumed office 5 March 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Party established |
| Chairman of the Sweden Democratic Youth | |
| In office 7 February 2011 – 12 September 2015 | |
| Preceded by | William Petzäll |
| Succeeded by | Jessica Ohlson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gustav Mattias Anton Kasselstrand 27 June 1987 Valdemarsvik, Östergötland County, Sweden |
| Political party | Alternative for Sweden (2017–present) |
| Other political affiliations | SD (until 2015) |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Sweden |
| Branch/service |  Hemvärnet |
| Years of service | 2012–present |
| Unit | Livgardesgruppen |
Early life
Kasselstrand was born on 27 June 1987, in Valdemarsvik, Östergötland, Sweden.
University of Gothenburg
From 2006 to 2010 Kasselstrand was educated at the University of Gothenburg. He studied economics and German and some parts of the education took place in Germany and Singapore.
Political career up to 2015
Sweden Democrats
Kasselstrand joined the Sweden Democrats while at university. He was chairman of the Sweden Democratic Youth (SDU) from 2011 to 2015 and political secretary for the Sweden Democrats in the Swedish Riksdag from 1 January 2011 to 21 November 2012.[2]
He became acting chairman of the youth league upon the timeout of William Petzäll due to his alcohol problems in February 2011. He was elected ordinary chairman on 10 September 2011,[3] and re-elected three consecutive times on 1 September 2012,[4] 7 September 2013[5] and 29 November 2014. He resigned on the annual congress on 12 September 2015, having served as the chairman for nearly five years.
SDU, expelling and resignation
In April 2015, Kasselstrand was expelled as a member from the mother party, the Sweden Democrats.[6] The exclusion came after Kasselstrand's colleague and vice chairman of SDU, William Hahne, had been voted the chairman of the Sweden Democrat's Stockholm district, against the will of the mother party leadership. Kasselstrand called the action "undemocratic" and meant that it was all a way for the party leadership to secure their own power and positions, and that they feared the upcoming generation in the youth league to gain more influence. Kasselstrand continued on his position as the chairman for SDU until the ordinary congress in September the same year.
After Kasselstrand resigned on the congress in September 2015, Jessica Ohlson won the election as the new chairman against Tobias Andersson, who had major support from the party leaders in his candidacy. Ohlson was considered to be one of Kasselstrand's closest collaborators, having served as the youth league secretary during Kasselstrand's chairmanship. Only hours after Ohlson was elected as the new chairperson, the Sweden Democrats announced that they broke all ties between the party and the youth league to form a new youth league.[7] Meanwhile, Ohlson declared that she continue to lead the original youth league as an independent youth league. Kasselstrand and Ohlson publicly declared that they "will consider all opportunities" in the future regarding the possibility to form a new political party. Kasselstrand also called for party leader Jimmie Åkesson to resign from his position.
Alternative for Sweden
In March 2018, Kasselstrand and William Hahne launched a new nationalist political party called Alternative for Sweden, which they had registered in December 2017.
Broadcasting career
Den kokta grodan
From January 2016 to January 2019, Kasselstrand hosted the podcast Den kokta grodan ("The boiled frog") together with Erik Berglund. In total, 128 episodes were made.
Personal life
On 11 May 2020, Kasselstrand's daughter was born.
References
- Ratsit.se: Gustav Kasselstrand Archived 2015-05-18 at the Wayback Machine
- "Kasselstrand sparkas från riksdagskansliet - Nyheter - Expressen (Kasselstrand is fired from the parliamentary offices)".
- 2011-09-10: SDU elects Kasselstrand as new chairman! Archived 2013-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
- "Kasselstrand klarade kuppen - omvald i SDU - Nyheter - Expressen (Kasselstrand survived the coup - re-elected chairman of SDU)".
- "Kasselstrand omvald SDU-ordförande (Kasselstrand re-elected for a third term)". 8 September 2013.
- Kasselstrand expelled (Swedish) 7 April 2015
- Kasselstrand demands party leader Jimmie Åkessons resignation 12 September 2015