Hellquist has been acting Director General since February, when the then-Sida Director General, Jakob Granit, was forced to resign. The government is undertaking a major restructuring of Swedish development assistance and felt that someone other than Granit needed to lead it.
Minister of International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Benjamin Dousa (M), is pleased that Hellquist has accepted.
"This means important continuity for operations. Hanna Hellquist has long and solid experience in international development cooperation, which will be very useful in leading the authority," he says in a press release.
Hanna Hellquist has been Director General at Sida since 2025 and has a background at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among other roles.
