Richard Jomshof

Richard Johannes Jomshof, né Lohikoski, (born 6 July 1969 in Helsingborg) is a Swedish politician affiliated with the Sweden Democrats (SD) party and former pop musician. He served as Secretary-General of the Sweden Democrats from 2015 to 2022 and has been a Member of the Riksdag since September 2010. In 2022, he was appointed as chairman of the Justice Committee in the Riksdag.

Richard Jomshof
SD
Richard Jomshof during the Almedalen Week in July 2016
Secretary-General of the Sweden Democrats
In office
11 January 2015 – 17 October 2022
LeaderJimmie Åkesson
Preceded byBjörn Söder
Succeeded byMattias Bäckström Johansson
Member of the Riksdag
Assumed office
11 September 2014
ConstituencyBlekinge County
In office
19 September 2010 – 11 September 2014
ConstituencyGävleborg County
Personal details
Born
Richard Johannes Lohikoski

(1969-07-06) 6 July 1969
Helsingborg, Sweden
Political partySweden Democrats
SpouseLinda Jomshof
Alma materMalmö University
Lund University

Biography

Jomshof was born in 1969 in Helsingborg to a Swedish mother and a Finnish father.[1] He studied history and social studies at Malmö University before attending the university's affiliated teacher training college.[2] As a teacher, Jomshof was dismissed from two jobs for being part of Sweden Democrats.[3]

After leaving university, Jomshof became a professional musician, co-founding and playing in the Swedish synthpop band Elegant Machinery. In a 2013 interview with Side-Line, he spoke about his involvement in SD and what effect it has had on Elegant Machinery.[4] When asked what he thought had improved in Sweden the latest 20 years, he said it was the music.[5]

Political career

Jomshof's original political background was in the Moderate Youth League and he had also previously voted for the Swedish Social Democratic Party. He first became active in SD in the late 1990s. During the 2009 European Parliament election, Jomshof stood on the SD's list but was not elected.[6] Since the 2010 Swedish general election, Jomshof represents the Gävleborg constituency in the Riksdag.[7] He was also responsible for drafting the SD's education policies in the party manifesto ahead of the 2010 election.[8]

In 2012, he succeeded Kent Ekeroth as SD's spokesman on legal affairs, and in January 2015 he was elected as party secretary, succeeding Björn Söder.[9] In 2021, he was appointed the SD's spokesman on education policy.[10]

Following the 2022 Swedish general election, Jomshof was appointed chairman of the Justice Committee in the Riksdag.[11]

Political beliefs

Jomshof has served as the SD's policy spokesman on school policies. He has called for teachers to take on non-pedagogical tasks while increasing the number of nurses and mental health councilors working with schools. He also believes Swedish should remain the official language within the state school system. Jomshof also said that he previously was a political liberal and that much of his current beliefs and decision to join the SD were formed after working in Swedish schools in the late 1980s and stating that he was already witnessing issues surrounding discipline, language and cultural segregation between immigrants and Swedes.[12] Jomshof has called for a more restrictive immigration policy.

Opinions on Islam

Jomshof has received media attention for his statements about Islam and Muslim immigration to Sweden and has been accused of Islamophobia by political opponents, but has claimed he is not opposed to immigrants.[13][14][15][16]

During a speech in the Swedish parliament in 2013, Jomshof said that Islam, unlike Christianity, is immoral and violent. During the same speech he compared Islam to Nazism and claimed that they both have no place in Western society.[17]

In 2021, Jomshof appeared on a Swedish TV show Sverige möts, where he allegedly called Islam a "disgusting religion." His remarks drew media attention and he was subsequently criticized by Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson and former Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven. Jomshof later stated that his comments had been misinterpreted and taken out of context.[18]

In 2023, in response to a call by the Muslim Association of Sweden for dialogue over the 2023 Quran burnings in Sweden, Jomshof controversially tweeted that there was a need for dialogue over "how we democratise the Muslim world," calling Islam an "antidemocratic, violence-promoting and misogynistic religion/ideology" and calling Muhammad a "warlord, mass-murderer, slave trader and bandit."[19]

References
  1. "SD:n Richard Jomshof uskoo äänimäärän kaksinkertaistuvan". Sisuradio (in Finnish). Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  2. Orrenius, Niklas (16 October 2005). "Sparkad för sina åsikter". Sydsvenskan. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  3. "SD-lärare tar plats i riksdagen". Skolvärlden. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  4. "Elegant Machinery's Richard Jomshof speaks out on being a member of the Sverigedemokraterna". Side-Line. Archived from the original on 6 September 2013.
  5. Liljestrand, Jens (8 April 2015). "En udda fågel bland Sverigedemokraterna". No. 8 Apr 2015. Expressen. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  6. Orrenius, Niklas (16 October 2005). "Sparkad för sina åsikter". Sydsvenskan. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  7. "Val till riksdagen - Valda - Gävleborgs län". val.se. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  8. Orrenius, Niklas (16 October 2005). "Sparkad för sina åsikter". Sydsvenskan. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  9. Taylor, Adam (27 January 2015). "Swedish far-right leader says Islamism is a bigger threat than Nazism". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  10. "Hela listan – SD:s nya talespersoner". Altinget.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  11. "Sweden: Right-wing party get 4 chairmanships in parliament". Associated Press. 1 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  12. Orrenius, Niklas (16 October 2005). "Sparkad för sina åsikter". Sydsvenskan. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  13. Orrenius, Niklas (16 October 2005). "Sparkad för sina åsikter". Sydsvenskan. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  14. "10 islamofobiska uttalanden från Richard Jomshof (SD)". Dagens ETC (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  15. SKMA (16 May 2022). "Hatet mot muslimer speglar kärnan i det sverigedemokratiska projektet". Svenska kommittén mot antisemitism (SKMA) (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  16. Nilsson, Erik (13 May 2022). ""Varför skulle det vara islamofobiskt?"". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). ISSN 1101-2412. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  17. "Allmänpolitisk debatt 16 oktober 2013"". Riksdagen. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  18. "Jomshof står fast vid uttalandet: "Ja, islam är en avskyvärd religion"". TV4. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  19. "Opposition calls for Sweden Democrat to resign over Mohammed tweet". The Local Sweden. 27 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.

Sources
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