Top Swedish representative resigns due to homosexual dating app image leak
(MENAFN) Tobias Thyberg, Sweden’s newly appointed national security adviser and former ambassador to Ukraine, resigned just hours into his new role after explicit images from a gay dating app were leaked and circulated to government officials and the media.
Thyberg's appointment was announced shortly before noon on Thursday. Within half an hour, an anonymous email containing intimate photos, allegedly from his old Grindr account, was sent to the office of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and later shared with media outlets, including Dagens Nyheter. By midnight, Thyberg had stepped down, acknowledging the authenticity of the images and admitting he failed to disclose them during his vetting process.
Though the images were taken six to seven years ago and shared privately, their sudden emergence has triggered a political uproar in Sweden, a newly joined NATO member. The leak has raised serious concerns about the effectiveness of security checks and potential foreign interference, as the email was sent via an encrypted private service. The identity of the sender remains unknown.
Prime Minister Kristersson has launched an investigation into the incident but has refrained from speculating about the source of the leak. Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer confirmed that the material had not been uncovered during the security screening and noted Thyberg’s obligation to disclose such information. Former Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist warned that the scandal could damage Sweden's credibility with its international allies.
According to Dagens Nyheter, some officials suspect foreign involvement, given the sensitivity of the role and the method used to leak the materials. A government source expressed disbelief that the vulnerability wasn’t caught earlier, emphasizing that the position carries the highest level of security clearance.
The role of national security adviser in Sweden, created in 2022, is not as publicly prominent as in the U.S., but holds significant responsibilities, including handling classified information and reporting directly to the prime minister. Thyberg’s resignation follows a similar controversy earlier this year, when his predecessor, Henrik Landerholm, resigned after being accused of mishandling classified documents—charges he denies.
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