Urban was elected Speaker of the Riksdag after the 2014 parliamentary elections. He has been member of the Riksdag since 1994, representing the Swedish Social Democratic Party. For the past twenty years, Urban has worked in the field of foreign policy in various capacities, such as Foreign Policy Spokesperson, and Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He was a founding member of the first pan-European think-tank, the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). Urban is a member of the Board of Directors of the EastWest Institute. In 2007, Urban Ahlin received the Cross of Commander from the President of Lithuania.