MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Sweden: Top security adviser lasts 30 minutes on the job after intimate dating app pics surface

Thyberg admitted he should have told the Government about having posted those pictures

Sweden’s newly appointed national security adviser and former ambassador to Ukraine, Tobias Thyberg, resigned minutes after taking office following the leak of “sensitive” photos from an old Grindr same-sex dating app profile. “I should have informed [the government], but I didn’t,” Thyberg admitted.

 “These are old pictures from an account I used to have on the dating website Grindr,” he also explained. The photos, reportedly six to seven years old, were shared via a private, encrypted email.

The scandal, described as an embarrassment for Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, has raised concerns about Sweden’s security vetting process and potential foreign involvement, with speculation that a foreign power may have orchestrated the leak. Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer confirmed that the sensitive images had not surfaced during the security check.

Kristersson has ordered an investigation, while opposition leaders and former officials criticized the government’s recruitment failures, warning of potential disruptions to Sweden’s international partnerships.

It was the second scandal involving Sweden’s national security adviser role, created in 2022 to assist the prime minister on security and foreign policy. Thyberg’s predecessor, Henrik Landerholm, resigned in January after allegedly mishandling classified documents by leaving them in an unlocked hotel safe.

The repeated controversies highlight ongoing challenges in the vetting and management of this critical position in the new NATO member state.

“Shortly after Tobias Thyberg's appointment by the government, new personal information about him became known that was not previously available to government agencies,” Kristersson's assistant Johan Stuart said.

Thyberg, 49, was Sweden's ambassador to Afghanistan (from 2017 to 2019) and Ukraine (from 2019 to 2023). He has also led units for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.