The meaning of "den förre" (förre by itself doesn't mean anything) is "the former". However, "den förre" kan only refer to a man and is considered formal. This is one of the few cases where Swedish makes a difference between men and females/objects, whilst "den förra" can be used for any noun (male, female, object). "Den förre" also implies that the noun it refers to has been replaced. "Den förre (or förra in spoken) läraren" = "The former teacher", implying that there's a new teacher in his place today. "Den före detta läraren" = "The former teacher" that has now stopped teaching. Examples: "Den före detta läraren Gustav Fridolin är idag utbildningsminister." - "The former teacher Gustav Fridolin is today Minister of Education." "Min förra (förre) katt dog, så jag köpte en ny." - "My former (/last) cat died, so I bought a new one." Hope it makes some kind of sense, otherwise ask again!