List of ambassadors of Sweden to Somalia

Last updated

Ambassador of
Sweden to Somalia
Coat of arms of Sweden.svg
Lesser coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden
Incumbent
Hans Henric Lundqvist
since 2025
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Swedish Embassy, Nairobi
Style His or Her Excellency (formal)
Mr. or Madam Ambassador (informal)
Reports to Minister for Foreign Affairs
Seat Nairobi, Kenya [a]
Appointer Government of Sweden
Term length No fixed term
Inaugural holder Åke Sjölin
FormationJuly 1961

The Ambassador of Sweden to Somalia (known formally as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Federal Republic of Somalia) is the official representative of the government of Sweden to the president of Somalia and Federal Government of Somalia. The ambassador is based at the Somalia Section at the Swedish Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

Contents

History

On the occasion of Somalia’s declaration of independence on 1 July 1960, Acting Foreign Minister Herman Kling sent a congratulatory telegram to Somalia’s head of government, Abdullahi Issa, in which he stated that the Swedish government recognized the Somali Republic as a sovereign and independent state. The telegram also expressed hopes for friendly and cordial relations between the two countries. Sweden was represented at the celebrations in Mogadishu by its envoy in Addis Ababa, Åke Sjölin, who had been instructed to convey the King’s congratulations. [1]

In July 1961, Ambassador Sjölin, based in Addis Ababa, was appointed as Sweden’s first envoy to Somalia when he was also accredited to Mogadishu. [2] On 6 December 1961, Sjölin presented his credentials to President Cheab in Mogadishu. [3]

Sweden has never had a resident Swedish ambassador in Mogadishu. Instead, the Swedish ambassadors based in the capitals of nearby countries—Addis Ababa (1961–1964), Cairo (1964–1970, 1980–1981), and Dar es Salaam (1971–1979)—were accredited to Mogadishu from 1961. From 1980 onward, the ambassador was based in Stockholm.

In 1991, the collapse of the Somali Democratic Republic amid the outbreak of the Somali Civil War left the country without a central government. Krister Göranson  [ sv ] was Sweden’s ambassador to Somalia during 1992. In early 1993, it was reported that there was no formal government or president in Somalia who could accredit Swedish diplomats. [4] As a result, the ambassadorial post remained vacant from 1992 onward.

In April 2013, a new Swedish ambassador to Somalia was appointed after the post had been vacant since 1992. [5] That same year, the ambassador was based at the Somalia Section of the Swedish Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. The ambassador, who heads the section, travels regularly to Somalia. [6] [7]

List of representatives

NamePeriodTitleNotesRef
Somali Republic (1960–1969)
Åke Sjölin 1961–1964AmbassadorResident in Addis Ababa. [8]
Adolf Croneborg1964–1966AmbassadorResident in Cairo. [9]
Tord Hagen 1967–1969AmbassadorResident in Cairo. [10] [11] [12]
Somali Democratic Republic (1969–1991)
Tord Hagen 1969–1970AmbassadorResident in Cairo. [11] [12]
Sven Fredrik Hedin 1971–1973AmbassadorResident in Dar es Salaam [13]
Knut Granstedt1973–1977AmbassadorResident in Dar es Salaam [14]
Lennart Eckerberg1977–1979AmbassadorResident in Dar es Salaam [15]
Axel Edelstam 1980–1981AmbassadorResident in Cairo. [16]
Arne Fältheim1980–1983AmbassadorResident in Stockholm. [17]
Finn Bergstrand1983–1986AmbassadorResident in Stockholm. [18]
Lars Arnö1986–1988AmbassadorResident in Stockholm. [19]
Lars Schönander1988–1992AmbassadorResident in Stockholm. [20]
Krister Göranson1992–1992AmbassadorResident in Stockholm. [b]
No Swedish ambassador was accredited to Somalia between 1992 and 2013.
Mikael LindvallApril 2013 – July 2017AmbassadorResident in Nairobi. [5] [23] [6]
Andreas von Uexküll1 September 2017 – 2019AmbassadorResident in Nairobi. [24]
Staffan Tillander1 September 2019 – 2021AmbassadorResident in Nairobi. [25]
Per Lindgärde2021–2023AmbassadorResident in Nairobi. [26]
Joachim WaernAugust 2023 – 2025AmbassadorResident in Nairobi. [27]
Hans Henric Lundqvist2025 – presentAmbassadorResident in Nairobi. [28]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The ambassador is based at the Somalia Section at the Swedish Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.
  2. ↑ From 1992 the position was vacant. [4] [21] [22]

References

  1. ↑ "Gratulationer från Sverige" [Congratulations from Sweden]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 2 July 1960. p. 6A. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  2. ↑ "Sändebud" [Envoy]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 28 July 1961. p. 18A. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  3. ↑ "Åke Sjölin" . Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 8 December 1961. p. 18A. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  4. 1 2 "President Bush rosade svenska fältsjukhuset" [President Bush praised the Swedish field hospital]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). TT. 4 January 1993. p. 8. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Betänkande 2013/14:UU15: Mänskliga rättigheter i svensk utrikespolitik" (in Swedish). Riksdag. 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2025. För första gången sedan 1992 utsåg Sverige i april 2013 en ambassadör till Somalia.[For the first time since 1992, Sweden appointed an ambassador to Somalia in April 2013.]
  6. 1 2 ""Min hjälte – han räddade mig"" [“My hero – he saved me”]. SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. 21 September 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2025. Det var Sveriges Somaliaambassadör, Mikael Lindvall, som arbetar från Nairobi.[It was Sweden's Ambassador to Somalia, Mikael Lindvall, who works from Nairobi.]
  7. ↑ "Somaliasektionen" [Somalia Section] (in Swedish). Embassy of Sweden, Nairobi. 5 April 2023. Archived from the original on 13 May 2025. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  8. ↑ Uddling, Hans; Paabo, Katrin, eds. (1992). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1993 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1993] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 998. ISBN   91-1-914072-X. SELIBR   8261513.
  9. ↑ Sveriges statskalender 1966 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1966. pp. 290, 298.
  10. ↑ Uddling, Hans; Paabo, Katrin, eds. (1992). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1993 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1993] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 419. ISBN   91-1-914072-X. SELIBR   8261513.
  11. 1 2 Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1970). Sveriges statskalender 1970 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. p. 349.
  12. 1 2 Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1972). Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1972 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. p. 353. SELIBR   3682755.
  13. ↑ Uddling, Hans; Paabo, Katrin, eds. (1992). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1993 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1993] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 456. ISBN   91-1-914072-X. SELIBR   8261513.
  14. ↑ Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1985 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1985] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. 1984. p. 388. ISBN   91-1-843222-0. SELIBR   3681527.
  15. ↑ Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1979). Sveriges statskalender 1979 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Liber. p. 351. ISBN   91-38-04622-9. SELIBR   3682760.
  16. ↑ Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1981). Sveriges statskalender 1981 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Liber. p. 351. ISBN   91-38-06008-6. SELIBR   3682762.
  17. ↑ 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. 364. ISBN   91-1-943202-X. SELIBR   8261514.
  18. ↑ Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (1986). Sveriges statskalender 1986 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Liber Allmänna. pp. 59, 365. ISBN   91-38-08944-0. SELIBR   3682765.
  19. ↑ Almqvist, Gerd, ed. (1997). Sveriges statskalender 1997 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes. p. 73. ISBN   9138309734. SELIBR   3682776.
  20. ↑ Salander Mortensen, Jill, ed. (1996). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1997 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1997] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 997. ISBN   91-1-960852-7. SELIBR   3681533.
  21. ↑ Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (1998). Sveriges statskalender 1998 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes. pp. 87, 191. ISBN   9138313111. SELIBR   3682777.
  22. ↑ Carlsson, Gunilla. "Interpellation 2012/13:146 av Hägg, Carina (S): Situationen i Somalia - Anf. 187 Statsrådet Gunilla Carlsson (M)" [Interpellation 2012/13:146 by Hägg, Carina (S): The situation in Somalia - Speech 187 Prime Minister Gunilla Carlsson (M)] (in Swedish). Riksdag . Retrieved 13 May 2025. Sverige har inte haft en ambassadör ackrediterad till Somalia sedan 1992.[Sweden has not had an ambassador accredited to Somalia since 1992.]
  23. ↑ Lindvall, Mikael [@MikaelLindvall] (19 July 2017). "An honour & privilege to have served 5 years in this great country & to have witnessed steady progress in peace- and statebuilding. @SweMFA" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 May 2025– via Twitter.
  24. ↑ "Ny ambassadör i Somalia" [New ambassador to Somalia] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  25. ↑ "Ny ambassadör i Somalia" [New ambassador to Somalia] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  26. ↑ "Ny ambassadör i Somalia" [New ambassador to Somalia] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 15 April 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  27. ↑ "Joachim Waern ny ambassadör i Somalia" [Joachim Waern new ambassador to Somalia] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  28. ↑ "Ny ambassadör i Somalia" [New ambassador to Somalia] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 7 August 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
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