Green Party heavyweight on diplomat meeting: “I was young and naive”

Jakop Dalunde’s meeting with a Russian diplomat in 2007 was not just an old anecdote when he returned to politics. The encounter became part of the security assessment for his new responsibilities overseeing Stockholm’s public transport system.

Dalunde, a leading figure in Sweden’s Green Party, had returned to politics in spring 2025 after a sabbatical year as a restaurateur. His wine bar in Spånga had suffered million-krona losses and generated extensive headlines before new owners took over. He then moved into regional politics and public transport, an area he had worked on since his time in the Green Youth organisation.

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Cool, and a little scary.

“I have worked on transport policy for two decades,” Dalunde told Dagens Nyheter when announcing his comeback. As leader of the Green Youth, he had campaigned for congestion charges and against the Stockholm bypass. His return to transport politics, he said, felt like a circle closing.

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I have worked on transport policy for two decades. As leader of the Green Youth, I campaigned for congestion charges and against the Stockholm bypass. It feels as if the circle is closing.

At the end of April 2025, the Green Party’s Stockholm district selected Dalunde to succeed Anton Fendert as regional transport councillor. It also made him group leader in the regional assembly, chair of the transport committee and chair of the SL board. He became the top name on the party’s Stockholm regional election list and took political responsibility for the metro and other public transport. He also joined the crisis management committee, which meets only during disasters or extraordinary events.

Because his position gives him access to information about infrastructure considered important to Stockholm’s and Sweden’s security, the role required formal security vetting. Dalunde said he had disclosed the meeting with the Russian diplomat during his interview. But he said he did not know that one of the former heads of the region’s security department considered the meeting problematic. “I did not approve him,” the security chief wrote in a message seen by Svenska Dagbladet.

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I did not approve him.

Several sources familiar with the confidential process said the meeting, combined with Dalunde’s recent private financial difficulties, was viewed as a possible risk. According to those sources, he was approved only after a more senior regional official reviewed and overturned the initial assessment. Dalunde said the security chief’s view was news to him.

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This is news to me.