Linda Staaf and Micael Bydén during the national day celebration.
Photo: PATRIK C ÖSTERBERG / STELLA PICTURES
Linda Staaf.
Photo: ANNA-KARIN NILSSON
Micael Bydén.
Photo: PONTUS LUNDAHL/TT
ÖB Micael Bydén ended up in hot air when he said last week that all Swedes must prepare for war in Sweden.
– On an individual level, you have to prepare mentally, Bydén said in “News morning” on TV4.
It was in connection with the People and Defense National Conference that Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin (M) said what no Swede wants to hear: “There could be war in Sweden and all Swedes must act to strengthen the country’s resilience”.
That picture was shared by Sweden’s Commander-in-Chief Micael Bydén. And in “Nyhetsmorgon” Bydén underlined the seriousness of the situation.
– We must understand how serious this situation really is and that, down to the individual level, you mentally prepare.
The debate after the statement was great. But at the same time, Micael Bydén has been able to enjoy a private matter.
He and his girlfriend Linda Staaf are engaged, Staaf confirms to Expressen.
– It is true that we are engaged, she says.
Been secretive
It was in September 2022 that Micael Bydén and Linda Staaf confirmed that they have a relationship. But it is only on a few occasions that the couple has been seen together in public. One of them was “Allsång på Skansen” last summer.
Micael Bydén and Linda Staaf during “Allsång på Skansen” 2022.
Photo: SVT
Linda Staaf told in an interview with Expressen last autumn that Micael Bydén had been a great support in the past year.
– He has really been my support and my security in all this, Staaf said then.
Didn’t move at all
In December 2022, Expressen revealed squalid conditions, a culture of silence and a series of serious shortcomings within the country’s top police leadership. At the center of the review were deputy national police chief Mats Löfving and Linda Staaf, then Noa’s head of intelligence, as well as national police chief Anders Thornberg.
According to information, Staaf and Löfving have previously had a relationship, Linda Staaf has called it “private but superficial”. The subsequent investigation determined that it was not a case of fraud when Staaf was given the position of head of intelligence by Löfving in 2015. However, it was judged that he had been fraud in four other cases and that he should therefore be separated from his position or his leadership assignment.
On February 22, 2023, Mats Löfving was found dead in his home.
Sweden’s representative at Europol
Today, Linda Staaf is responsible for two investigative assignments within the police. One is about reviewing the police authority’s international cooperation against organized crime. The second about reviewing Noah’s work against the proceeds of crime in criminal finance. She is also Sweden’s representative in Europol’s operational work.
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