Swedish education minister quits after being caught drunk driving

Aida Hadzialic told a news conference Saturday that she was stopped on Thursday evening by police in the southern Swedish city of Malmo with a blood-alcohol level of .02, which is illegal in Sweden. She faces a sentence of up to 6 months in prison.

Sweden’s minister for higher education says she’s resigning immediately from the centre-left minority coalition after being caught drunk driving after having two glasses of wine.

Swedish minister Aida Hadzialic announces at a news conference that she is resigning her education post after being caught driving under the influence of alcohol. (REUTERS)

Aida Hadzialic told a news conference Saturday that she was stopped on Thursday evening by police in the southern Swedish city of Malmo with a blood-alcohol level of .02, which is illegal in Sweden. She faces a sentence of up to 6 months in prison.

The 29-year-old Hadzialic told Prime Minister Stefan Lofven on Friday about “my life’s biggest mistake” and decided to step down.

Born in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hadzialic became Sweden’s first Muslim minister when she joined Lofven’s government in 2014. She came to Sweden at age five.

European nations are strict about drunk driving and have much lower allowable alcohol limits than the United States.