William Petzäll

William Nils Erich Petzäll (26 August 1988 – 1 September 2012) was a Swedish politician, former member of the Sweden Democrats and Chairman of the Sweden Democratic Youth. At the 2010 Swedish general election he was elected to be the parliamentary representative for Dalarna County (Sweden Democrat MP).

William Petzäll
Member of the Riksdag
for Dalarna County
In office
4 October 2010 – 1 September 2012
Succeeded byStellan Bojerud
Chairman of the Sweden Democratic Youth
In office
November 2010 – 7 February 2011
Preceded byErik Almqvist
Succeeded byGustav Kasselstrand
Personal details
Born
William Nils Erich Petzäll

(1988-08-26)26 August 1988
Filipstad, Värmland, Sweden
Died1 September 2012(2012-09-01) (aged 24)
Varberg, Halland, Sweden
Political party
ParentAnnika Petzäll (mother)

In 2011, Petzäll discontinued his commitment to the political party that he had been serving up until that point in time. Until his departure from the Sweden Democrats, Petzäll was employed as a press secretary, in addition to his primary role as the committee leader for the Sweden Democrats' immigration policy program commission.

Political career

Born in Filipstad, Värmland, Sweden, Petzäll was active in the Sweden Democratic Youth (SDU) and the Sweden Democrats.

Borås

He was a member of the municipal assembly in Borås, between the years 2006 and 2010. During a Baltic Sea cruise in 2009, Petzäll and several other SDU members were caught on tape singing nationalist songs and he later stated that the songs were performed ironically.[1]

Dalarna

When the Sweden Democrats entered the Riksdag in the 2010 Swedish general election, Petzäll accepted a seat for the electoral district of the province of Dalarna. Later that year, on 20 November 2010, Petzäll was elected the chairman of the Sweden Democratic Youth.

Fatal drug abuse

On 6 February 2011, Petzäll was taken into temporary custody for public intoxication. He took some time off from the Riksdag for drug rehabilitation. He returned on 25 March and publicly promised to never drink again, but had a relapse three months later. According to Swedish newspaper Expressen, party chairman Jimmie Åkesson urged Petzäll to give up his Riksdag seat, but he declined. On 26 September, he announced that he would act as an independent politician focusing on drug addiction issues.[2]

On 1 September 2012, Petzäll was found dead in his mother's home in Varberg after an apparent overdose.[3][4]

References
  1. ""Vi ironiserar över låtarna"". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Sverigesradio.se. 5 April 2009. Retrieved 2012-09-01.
  2. "Petzäll leaves the Sweden Democrats and becomes an independent MP". Expressen.se. Retrieved 2012-09-01.
  3. Tweet Dan Nilsson dan.nilsson@svd.se (2012-06-11). "William Petzäll död | Inrikes | SvD". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Svd.se. Retrieved 2012-09-01.
  4. "William Petzäll död | Nyheter | Aftonbladet" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet.se. Retrieved 2012-09-01.
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