Lawen Redar, 37, originally from Kirkuk, has secured enough votes to enter the Swedish Parliament for a fourth term after running on the Social Democratic Party’s list. She is also a prominent figure within the party and serves on its executive board.
Redar holds Swedish citizenship and has roots in the multi-ethnic, oil rich city of Kirkuk. Her father is from Redar, Shwan sub-district, although she was born in Sweden. She was ranked second on the Social Democratic Party’s candidate list for the Stockholm electoral district.
According to the election results, the Social Democratic Party won nine of the 33 seats allocated to the Stockholm district, securing Redar another term in parliament.
Redar’s mother is a Kurd from Kurdish province in Iran and previously headed the Social Democratic Party team responsible for developing its new integration policy.
About a year ago, during the party’s restructuring and preparations for the election, Redar—who was then responsible for cultural affairs—was appointed head of the Integration Department. In that role, she was tasked with developing the party’s plans and policies concerning the integration of refugees in Sweden.
Redar graduated from Stockholm University’s Faculty of Law and worked for a Swedish child protection organization before becoming more deeply involved in politics. Early in her political career, she was active in the Social Democratic Party’s youth organization, where she served as one of its leaders.
In a previous interview with KirkukNow, after entering parliament for the second time, Redar said that her work with the youth organization helped introduce support for the Kurdish people’s right to self-determination across the four parts of Kurdistan within the organization. She also said she had called on the party to formally adopt the demand.
Family Background and Political Inspiration
Redar’s father opposed Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq. In the late 1970s, he left his studies at the University of Baghdad and joined the Peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan Socialist Party PASOK in the mountains of Kurdistan. He emigrated in 1982 and eventually settled in Sweden.
Redar has said that her parents’ struggle for freedom influenced her decision to pursue a political career. “My parents keep me updated daily on news and events in Kurdistan; they have always encouraged me to fight for human freedom and for Kurdistan,” she said in a previous interview with KirkukNow.
Regarding Kirkuk, Redar has emphasized the importance of coexistence and justice in the administration of the governorate. Having witnessed her father’s exile from Kirkuk and the disruption of his education because of his political activities, she has said she wants to ensure that “people are not persecuted because of their ethnic background or political beliefs.”
From Parliament to National Politics
Redar first entered the Swedish Parliament in 2014, at the age of 24. She is now a member of the Social Democratic Party’s executive committee and has been identified as a potential minister in a new cabinet led by Magdalena Andersson. If appointed, she would be the first Kurd to hold a ministerial position in the Swedish government.
During her political career, Redar has focused on issues including youth unemployment and Sweden’s housing crisis, while also advocating for Kurdish causes.
Among her activities was lobbying the Swedish government to provide military assistance to the Peshmerga during the war against ISIS between 2014 and 2017. Redar has said that her efforts contributed to ensuring that Swedish military trainers remained in place to continue training the Peshmerga after the war.
