In the government of Prime Minister
Göran Persson, Hallengren served as
Deputy Minister of Education, in charge of
preschool education, youth affairs and
adult learning, from 2002 to 2006. Hallengren has been a
member of the
Riksdag since the
2006 elections. In that capacity, she served as member of the Member of the Committee on Environment and Agriculture (2006–2009) and later chaired the Committee on Transport and Communications (2009–2010) and the Committee on Education (2014–2018). In March 2018, Hallengren became
Minister for Children, the Elderly and Equality after her predecessor
Åsa Regnér left the government for a post in the United Nations. This was an office at the
Ministry of Health and Social Affairs in the
first Löfven Cabinet. At the formation of the second cabinet under prime minister Stefan Löfven in January 2019, Hallengren was promoted to head of the same ministry. In September 2022, Hallengren was elected as leader for the Social Democrats in the Riksdag. Subsequently, she resigned in October 2022 from her office as Minister for Health and Social Affairs. Since 2020, Hallengren has also been a member of the
Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, co-chaired by
Sheikh Hasina and
Mia Mottley. ==Other activities==