List of ambassadors of Sweden to Botswana

Ambassador of Sweden to Botswana
Lesser coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden
Incumbent Anna Karin Eneström since 2025
Ministry for Foreign Affairs Swedish Embassy, Gaborone
Style	His or Her Excellency (formal) Mr. or Madam Ambassador (informal)
Reports to	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Seat	Pretoria, South Africa [a]
Appointer	Government of Sweden
Term length	No fixed term
Inaugural holder	Eric Virgin
Formation	1969

The Ambassador of Sweden to Botswana (known formally as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Republic of Botswana) is the official representative of the government of Sweden to the president of Botswana and government of Botswana. Since Sweden does not have an embassy in Gaborone, Sweden's ambassador in Pretoria, South Africa is co-accredited in Gaborone.

History

On the occasion of the proclamation of the Bechuanaland Protectorate's independence under the name Botswana on 30 September 1966, Swedish Prime Minister Tage Erlander stated in a congratulatory telegram to President Seretse Khama that the Swedish government recognized Botswana as a sovereign and independent state and expressed the Swedish government's wish to maintain friendly relations with this country. Sweden was represented at Botswana's independence celebrations by Ambassador Dag Malm in Kinshasa, in the capacity of ambassadeur en mission spéciale. ^[1]

From 1969, Sweden's envoy in Pretoria, South Africa, was also accredited to Gaborone, Botswana. ^[2] In 1972, Sweden proposed establishing an embassy in Gaborone, to support its growing development cooperation. Although Botswana was small, economically dependent on South Africa, and had limited foreign ties, the government argued that direct representation was needed. The embassy was to be headed by an embassy counsellor as chargé d'affaires ad interim. ^[3] The envoy in Pretoria remained accredited to Gaborone until 1974, when accreditation was transferred to the Swedish ambassador in Lusaka, Zambia. The ambassador in Lusaka was accredited to Botswana until the embassy in Gaborone became independent in 1979. ^[4] The ambassador in Lusaka was accredited to Botswana until the embassy in Gaborone became independent in 1979.

When Irene Larsson was appointed the new Swedish ambassador in Gaborone on 28 June 1979, she became the sixth Swedish female ambassador in the history of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. ^[b] Between 1979 and 2001, the ambassador in Gaborone was also accredited to Maseru, Lesotho.

Since most of Sweden's aid to Botswana was phased out at the end of the 1990s, the embassy's most important tasks have been to maintain a dialogue with the country and monitor cooperation with the Southern African Development Community (SADC). On 15 November 2007, the Reinfeldt cabinet decided that the embassy would be phased out. The embassy was converted into an honorary consulate, and political and consular functions were taken over by Sweden's embassy in South Africa. The phase-out was expected to be completed by the end of May 2008. ^[6] From the same year, Sweden's ambassador in Pretoria, South Africa, was again accredited to Gaborone.

List of representatives

Name	Period	Resident/Non resident	Title	Notes	Presented credentials	Ref
Eric Virgin	1969–1970	Non-resident	Envoy	Resident in Pretoria.		[2]
Carl Johan Rappe	1970–1973	Non-resident	Envoy	Resident in Pretoria.		[7]
Ethel Wiklund	1972–1975	Resident	Chargé d'affaires ad interim [c]			[8]
Iwo Dölling	1974–1975	Non-resident	Ambassador	Resident in Lusaka.		[4]
Bo Kälfors	1975–1978	Resident	Chargé d'affaires ad interim [d]			[9]
Ove Heyman	1976–1979	Non-resident	Ambassador	Resident in Lusaka.		[10] [11]
Irene Larsson	1978 – 30 June 1979	Resident	Chargé d'affaires ad interim [e]			[12] [5]
Irene Larsson	1 July 1979 – 1981	Resident	Ambassador	Also accredited to Maseru.		[13] [14]
Karl-Göran Engström	1981–1985	Resident	Ambassador	Also accredited to Maseru.		[15]
Göran Zetterqvist	1985–1987	Resident	Ambassador	Also accredited to Maseru.		[16]
Folke Löfgren	1987–1992	Resident	Ambassador	Also accredited to Maseru.		[17]
Bengt Sparre	1992–1993	Resident	Chargé d'affaires ad interim			[18]
Rasmus Rasmusson	1993–1996	Resident	Ambassador	Also accredited to Maseru (from 1994).		[19]
Christina Rehlén	1997–2001	Resident	Ambassador	Also accredited to Maseru.		[20]
Birgitta Karlström Dorph	2001–2003	Resident	Ambassador			[21]
Annika Jagander	2004–2007	Resident	Ambassador			[22]
Peter Tejler	2008–2012	Non-resident	Ambassador	Resident in Pretoria.		[23]
Anders Hagelberg	2012–2016	Non-resident	Ambassador	Resident in Pretoria.	September 2013	[24]
Cecilia Julin	September 2016 – 2020	Non-resident	Ambassador	Resident in Pretoria.	9 February 2017	[25]
Håkan Juholt	September 2020 – 2025	Non-resident	Ambassador	Resident in Pretoria.	March 2022	[26]
Anna Karin Eneström	2025–present	Non-resident	Ambassador	Resident in Pretoria.

Footnotes

1. The Swedish ambassador in Pretoria, South Africa is also accredited in Gaborone, Botswana.
2. Larsson became the sixth Swedish female ambassador after Alva Myrdal (1955), Agda Rössel (1964), Inga Thorsson (1964), Cecilia Nettelbrandt (1978), and Ethel Wiklund (1978). ^[5]
3. With diplomatic rank of embassy counsellor. ^[8]
4. With diplomatic rank of embassy counsellor. ^[9]
5. With diplomatic rank of embassy counsellor. ^[12]

References

1. "Erlander gratulerar Botswana" [Erlander congratulates Botswana]. Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning (in Swedish). 1 October 1966. p. 4. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
2. Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1970). Sveriges statskalender 1970 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. p. 350.
3. "Utrikesutskottets betänkande nr 1 år 1972 UU 1972:1" (in Swedish). Committee on Foreign Affairs. 1972. Retrieved 12 November 2025– via Riksdag.
4. Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1975). Sveriges statskalender 1975 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Liber/Allmänna. p. 400. ISBN   91-38-02088-2. SELIBR   3682757.
5. Westtorp, Hans, ed. (29 June 1979). "Kvinnlig ambassadörsduo blir trio" [Female ambassador duo becomes trio]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 13. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
6. "Två ambassader och två konsulat avvecklas" [Two embassies and two consulates are being closed down] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 15 November 2007. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
7. Uddling, Hans; Paabo, Katrin, eds. (1994). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1995 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1995] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 916. ISBN   91-1-943202-X. SELIBR   8261514.
8. Salander Mortensen, Jill, ed. (1996). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1997 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1997] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 1204. ISBN   91-1-960852-7. SELIBR   3681533.
9. Salander Mortensen, Jill, ed. (1996). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1997 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1997] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 627. ISBN   91-1-960852-7. SELIBR   3681533.
10. Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1978). Sveriges statskalender 1978 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Liber/Allmänna. p. 461. ISBN   91-38-03894-3. SELIBR   3682759.
11. Salander Mortensen, Jill, ed. (1996). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1997 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1997] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 485. ISBN   91-1-960852-7. SELIBR   3681533.
12. Uddling, Hans; Paabo, Katrin, eds. (1994). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1995 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1995] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 639. ISBN   91-1-943202-X. SELIBR   8261514.
13. "officiellt" [officially]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 29 June 1979. p. 25. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
14. Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1981). Sveriges statskalender 1981 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Liber. pp. 344, 355. ISBN   91-38-06008-6. SELIBR   3682762.
15. Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1985 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1985] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. 1984. p. 298. ISBN   91-1-843222-0. SELIBR   3681527.
16. Uddling, Hans; Paabo, Katrin, eds. (1994). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1995 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1995] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 1220. ISBN   91-1-943202-X. SELIBR   8261514.
17. Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (1992). Sveriges statskalender 1992 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Allmänna. pp. 348, 359. ISBN   913812694X. SELIBR   3682771.
18. Salander Mortensen, Jill, ed. (1996). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1997 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1997] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 1036. ISBN   91-1-960852-7. SELIBR   3681533.
19. Almqvist, Gerd, ed. (1996). Sveriges statskalender 1996 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes. pp. 177, 187. ISBN   9138350211. SELIBR   3682781.
20. Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (2001). Sveriges statskalender 2001 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes. pp. 173, 184. ISBN   9138318385. SELIBR   8261601.
21. Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (2003). Sveriges statskalender 2003 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes. p. 167. ISBN   91-38-32045-2. SELIBR   8869747.
22. Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (2007). Sveriges statskalender 2007 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedts Juridik AB/Fritzes. p. 169. ISBN   9138323583. SELIBR   10414913.
23. Sveriges statskalender 2010 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedts Juridik AB/Fritzes. 2010. p. 175. ISBN   978-91-38-32520-9. SELIBR   11846164.
24. "PRESIDENT KHAMA RECEIVES NEW DIPLOMATIC ENVOYS". Government of Botswana. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2025– via Facebook.
25. Ikgopoleng, Portia (9 February 2017). "Botswana Sweden renew relations". Daily News Botswana . Gaborone. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
26. Lebanna, Pako (20 March 2022). "Botswana canvasses for European support in Kimberly Process bid". Daily News Botswana . Gaborone. Archived from the original on 31 October 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2025.

External links

• Sweden Abroad, Botswana (in Swedish)