Swedish PM resigns, finance minister likely successor

FILE PHOTO: Sweden's Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson and Prime Minister Stefan Lofven present the Social Democrats' election manifesto in Stockholm, Sweden August 28, 2018. TT News Agency/Pontus Lundahl/via REUTERS /File Photo

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish centre-left Prime Minister Stefan Lofven formally resigned on Wednesday, opening the way for Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson to become the country's first woman premier if she can win parliament's approval.

Lofven, a former welder and union negotiator, has headed a minority coalition with the Greens since 2014 and said earlier this year that he would step down ahead of the next general election, due in September 2022.