Mr. Nils Torvalds, Member of the European Parliament, Journalist and Writer

I was a candidate on the Swedish People’s Party’s list in the European Parliament election in 2009 and got the second most votes. I succeeded Carl Haglund in July 2012 when he was elected president of the Swedish People’s Party and was appointed Minister of Defence back home in Finland. In these times, it is a great challenge to take over the important and appreciated work that Haglund has done. To be a Member of the European Parliament is something much bigger than I could have imagined during the election campaign in 2009. And it is much more work intensive.

Politics have always interested me and already at the age of 14 I attended my first political meetings, among others as a delegate on Svensk Ungdom’s Swedish People Party’s youth organisation’s congress. In the wild 1960s and as an “angry young man” I participated in the occupation of the Student House in Helsinki in 1968. Later, the genes eventually took over. My grandfather and my father were journalists. On that track I also ended up, but I returned to politics after my retirement from YLE in 2008.

Besides politics, I write and I have published books about Russia and international affairs as well as about the financial crisis and taxes. In my spare time, I enjoy outdoor activities such as cross country skiing and I like trekking in the wastes of Lapland. I have five children: Linus, Sara, Leo, Kristoffer, and Alexander. I also have five grandchildren.