Former Liberal Party MP Birgitta Ohlsson to stand for Centre Party in election

The former Liberal Party (L) MP and EU minister Birgitta Ohlsson will run for parliament with the Centre Party (C) in Sweden’s 2026 general election, according to public broadcaster SVT.

Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist is scheduled to hold a press conference at 11:00 local time on Tuesday to formally announce a new candidate, with Ohlsson widely expected to be named. SVT is broadcasting the event live from 10:55.

Ohlsson previously served as an MP for the Liberal Party from 2002 to 2017 and held the post of EU minister in Fredrik Reinfeldt’s centre-right government between 2010 and 2014. She left the party in 2017 after challenging then-leader Jan Björklund for the leadership.