Sweden–United States relations

Swedish–American relations

Sweden	United States
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of Sweden, Washington, D.C.	Embassy of the United States, Stockholm
Envoy
Ambassador Urban Ahlin	Ambassador Erik Ramanathan

Embassy of Sweden, Washington, D.C.

Embassy of the United States, Stockholm

The relations between Sweden and the United States reach back to the days of the American Revolutionary War. The Kingdom of Sweden was the first country not formally engaged in the conflict (although around a hundred Swedish volunteers partook on the side of the Patriots ^[1] ) to recognize the United States before the Treaty of Paris. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce was signed subsequently in 1783 between Benjamin Franklin and Swedish representative Gustaf Philip Creutz.

In the 1800s, relations were largely cordial. Masses of Swedes emigrated to the United States from the 1840s–1920s, estimated at around a quarter of the Swedish population. The immigrants were eager for the promise of opportunity and land; many settled in the American Midwest. The result was a substantial Swedish American population. In the 20th century, the countries were fellow democracies (with the end of the Swedish monarchy's power after World War I) and maintained cordial if distant relations. Sweden maintained official neutrality but supplied nearby Nazi Germany during World War II, causing some tension with the Allies.

During the Cold War, Sweden did not join NATO and maintained a neutral status between the Western and Eastern Bloc, although its democratic and mixed capitalist approach was generally more in tune with the West and the United States. After the end of the Vietnam War, which was deeply unpopular in Sweden, relations between the two countries improved. The two countries have been largely friendly to each other since. United States supports Sweden's NATO membership. Under a comprehensive mandate, Sweden's nonalignment policy has led it to serve as the protecting power for the United States and to represent Washington in North Korea on consular matters. ^[2] U.S. President Joe Biden approved the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden in August 2022. ^[3]

The United States supported Sweden's NATO membership during Sweden's accession into NATO, which was finalized on 7 March 2024. ^[4] The present both countries NATO and AC. And United States is observer bureau of the BEAC and CBSS.

History

Colonies and early United States

See also: Swedish colonization of the Americas

Like many European powers, Sweden participated in the colonization of America that started in the 17th century. The first Swedish colony along the banks of the Delaware River was established in 1638 (see New Sweden).

Sweden under king Gustavus III was the first country not engaged in the American Revolutionary War to recognize the young American republic. The Swedish Count Axel von Fersen was a distinguished soldier during the war, serving as an interpreter between General Rochambeau and General Washington. Also the Swedish count Curt von Stedingk, led the second assault during the Siege of Savannah in 1779. Both were made members of the Society of the Cincinnati.

In 1783 the United States' Ambassador to Paris, Benjamin Franklin, and the Swedish Ambassador, Count Gustaf Philip Creutz, signed a Treaty of Amity and Commerce. ^[5]

From 1801-02, Sweden was allied with the United States during the First Barbary War, fought against the Barbary corsairs to prevent further disruption of trade in the Mediterranean Sea. ^[6]

Emigration

A ship leaving the port in Gothenburg, Sweden, on its way to America.

Main article: Swedish emigration to the United States

During the period between 1820–1930 approximately 1.3 million Swedes, a third of the country's population, emigrated to North America and most of them to the United States. Like the Irish diaspora it was sparked by poverty in Sweden, which was exacerbated during bad years. Only Britain (especially Ireland) and Norway had a higher emigration rate. Most of the Swedish emigrants settled in the central and Western United States. By 1910, Chicago had a greater population of Swedes than Gothenburg. Minnesota was also a place where many Swedish emigrants settled. The majority of Swedish-Americans fought in the American Civil War on the Union side. ^[7] (See also John Ericsson USS Monitor)

In 1938, on the tercentenary of New Sweden, the Delaware monument was inaugurated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prince Bertil of Sweden. Roosevelt said in his speech: ^[8]

Nor have we as Americans forgotten that after the War of the Revolution, Sweden was the first neutral European power to negotiate a treaty of amity and trade with our young and struggling nation. All these things we Americans recall today with grateful hearts.

Worsening relations

Olof Palme demonstrating side by side with North Vietnam ambassador Nguyen Tho Chan on February 21, 1968 in Stockholm.

See also: Vietnam War resisters in Sweden

The first Swedish head of government who met with a US President was Prime Minister Tage Erlander, who visited Harry S. Truman at the White House in 1952.

The period between 1960 and 1968 also marked a cold period in the political relations between Sweden and the U.S., mainly due to the Swedish government's vocal opposition to the Vietnam War. In February 1968, the US recalled its Ambassador from Sweden after the Swedish Minister of Education and future prime minister Olof Palme, a Social Democrat, had participated in a protest in Stockholm against the war together with the North Vietnamese Ambassador to the Soviet Union Nguyen Tho Chan. ^[9] The post of US Ambassador to Sweden remained vacant until February 1970. In December 1972, Olof Palme (then Prime Minister) made a speech on Swedish national radio where he compared the ongoing US bombings of Hanoi to some of the worst atrocities committed by the Nazis. The US government called the comparison a "gross insult" and once again decided to freeze its diplomatic relations with Sweden (this time the freeze lasted for over a year). ^[9]

Warmer period

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and US President George W. Bush at the White House on May 15, 2007.

President Trump and Swedish Prime Minister Löfven give a joint statement at the White House in March 2018

Relations improved when Thorbjörn Fälldin became Swedish prime minister in 1976, and following the assassination of Olof Palme in 1986 and the succession of Ingvar Carlsson as new Prime Minister, Swedish-American relations improved. Ingvar Carlsson met with President Ronald Reagan in 1987, the first time that a Swedish Prime Minister was invited to the White House since 1961, when Erlander paid a visit to Kennedy.

Carlsson's successor as Prime Minister, Carl Bildt, visited both President George H. W. Bush in 1992 and President Bill Clinton in 1994.

Immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Swedish government expressed its sympathies with the U.S. and supported the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan. ^{[10] [11]} However, like many other European governments, Sweden opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, reasoning that the invasion was a breach of international law. ^[12] However, Prime Minister Göran Persson was relatively mild in his criticism of the U.S. compared to Olof Palme's strong criticism during the Vietnam War.

In the Statement of Government Policy presented to the Riksdag on October 6, 2006, the new centre-right Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt declared that the new government will work for a "strengthening of the transatlantic link". Reinfeldt's party, the Moderate Party, is more pro-American than the social democrats and supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq and Swedish membership of NATO. Reinfeldt visited President Bush at the White House on May 15, 2007.

According to a 2012 Gallup poll, 36% of Swedes approve of U.S. leadership, with 30% disapproving and 34% uncertain. ^[13]

Following President Donald Trump's first 2020 presidential campaign rally at which he referred to "what's happening last night in Sweden" the Swedish government requested clarification from the U.S. State Department in regards to Trump's understanding of what was going on in Sweden. ^{[14] [15]} On February 19, the Cabinet of Sweden requested an explanation from the White House and the Swedish Embassy in the United States offered to inform the US administration in the future about Swedish immigration and integration policies. ^[16] On February 23, the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs referred to discussions about Sweden's refugee policies as "simplistic and occasionally completely inaccurate." ^[17] On March 6, 2018 Prime Minister Stefan Löfven visited the United States and met with President Donald Trump.

In June 2019, American rapper ASAP Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, was arrested and held on remand in Sweden over a physical altercation in Stockholm. President Donald Trump made several tweets where he demanded that the Swedish government release Mayers. A spokesperson for prime minister Löfven released a statement in response to Trump's request which stated that the government was not allowed to influence legal proceedings in Sweden and that "everyone is equal before the law". ^[18]

Economic relations

The United States and Sweden have strong economic relations. The United States is, as of 2022, the third-largest Swedish export trade partner, ^[19] and U.S. companies are the most represented foreign companies in Sweden.

Military relations

Although Sweden has a longstanding policy of political neutrality in international affairs, Sweden decided to apply for full membership of NATO in May 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. ^[20] Sweden is a participant in the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. Sweden currently participates with around 500 troops in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), under the command of NATO, in Afghanistan. Four parties represented in the Parliament, the centre-right Alliance, support NATO membership. During the Libyan Civil War of 2011, the Swedish Air Force worked closely with NATO and the USA.

President George W. Bush and Laura Bush welcome King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden to the White House.

During the Cold War, the Swedish government secretly made preparations to receive military aid from the United States in case of Soviet aggression. ^[21]

Sweden also aided the US in secrecy, possibly most famously when four Swedish pilots were awarded US Air Medals for saving the highly classified Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy plane from Soviet hands. The US pilots of the SR-71 has stated that had Sweden not intervened and escorted the plane to safety a dramatic escalation to the Cold War could have occurred through an international crisis. ^[22] The event had been classified for over 30 years, and when the report was unsealed, data from the NSA showed that several MiG-25s had been dispatched with the order to shoot down the SR-71 or force it to land after it had gotten an engine failure. A MiG-25 had locked a missile on the damaged SR-71, but as the aircraft was under escort by the Swedish Saab 37 Viggen pilots no missiles were fired. On 29 November 2018, the four Swedish pilots involved were awarded medals from the US Air Force. ^[23]

Cultural links

Reflecting the fact that Sweden has a higher proportion of English speakers than most other countries which were never part of the British Empire, Swedish producers and songwriters have played a significant role in the sound of American pop music since the 1990s. One in particular, Max Martin, has written and produced more Billboard Hot 100 number one hits than any American songwriter or producer. ^[24]

List of visits

Guest	Host	Place of visit	Date of visit
Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf - Later King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden.	President Calvin Coolidge	John Ericsson National Memorial & The White House, Washington, D.C.	May 29, 1926
Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland Crown Princess Louise	President Franklin D. Roosevelt	Wilmington, Delaware Springwood, Hyde Park, New York	June 27, 1938 July 1, 1938
Prime Minister Tage Erlander	President Harry S. Truman	White House, Washington, D.C.	April 14, 1952
Prime Minister Tage Erlander	President Dwight D. Eisenhower	White House, Washington, D.C.	November 24, 1954
Prime Minister Tage Erlander	President John F. Kennedy	White House, Washington, D.C.	March 29, 1961
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson	King Gustaf VI Adolf	Uppsala Cathedral & Uppsala Castle, Uppsala, Sweden	September 29, 1961
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson	King Gustaf VI Adolf Prime Minister Tage Erlander	Sofiero Palace, Helsingborg, Sweden Kanslihuset, Stockholm, Sweden	September 4, 1963 September 5, 1963
Prime Minister Tage Erlander Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland	President Lyndon B. Johnson Mrs. John F. Kennedy	Cathedral of St. Matthews & The White House, Washington, D.C.	November 25, 1963
King Carl XVI Gustaf	President Gerald Ford	White House, Washington, D.C.	April 5, 1976 [25]
Prime Minister Ola Ullsten	President Jimmy Carter Vice President Walter Mondale	White House, Washington, D.C.	January 18, 1979
Vice President Walter Mondale	Prime Minister Ola Ullsten	Kanslihuset, Stockholm, Sweden	May 1979
King Carl XVI Gustaf	President Ronald Reagan	White House, Washington, D.C.	November 22, 1981
Vice President George H. W. Bush	Prime Minister Olof Palme	Rosenbad, Stockholm, Sweden	June 27, 1983
First Lady Nancy Reagan	King Carl XVI Gustaf	Stockholm, Sweden	June 1987
Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson	President Ronald Reagan	White House, Washington, D.C.	September 9, 1987
King Carl XVI Gustaf	President Ronald Reagan	White House, Washington, D.C.	April 11, 1988
Prime Minister Carl Bildt	President George H. W. Bush	White House, Washington, D.C.	February 20, 1992
Prime Minister Carl Bildt	President Bill Clinton	White House, Washington, D.C.	December 1, 1993
Prime Minister Göran Persson	President Bill Clinton	White House, Washington, D.C.	August 6, 1996
President George W. Bush	King Carl XVI Gustaf Prime Minister Göran Persson	Gunnebo Slott, Residenset & Svenska Mässan, Gothenburg, Sweden	June 14, 2001
Prime Minister Göran Persson	President George W. Bush	White House, Washington, D.C.	December 3, 2001
Prime Minister Göran Persson	President George W. Bush	White House, Washington, D.C.	April 28, 2004
King Carl XVI Gustaf	President George W. Bush	White House, Washington, D.C.	October 23, 2006
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt	President George W. Bush	White House, Washington, D.C.	May 15, 2007
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt	President Barack Obama	White House, Washington, D.C.	November 2, 2009
President Barack Obama	King Carl XVI Gustaf Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt	Rosenbad, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm Synagogue & the Royal Palace, Stockholm, Sweden	September 4–5, 2013
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven	President Barack Obama	White House & Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D.C.	May 13, 2016 [26] [27]
Vice President Joe Biden	Prime Minister Stefan Löfven	Kanslihuset, Stockholm, Sweden	August 25, 2016
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven	President Donald Trump	White House, Washington, D.C.	March 6, 2018
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson	President Joe Biden	White House, Washington, D.C.	March 16, 2022
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson	President Joe Biden	White House, Washington, D.C.	July 5, 2023
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson	President Joe Biden	White House & Congress, Washington, D.C.	March 7, 2024 [28] [29]
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson	President Joe Biden	Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.	July 9-11, 2024

See also

• Sweden portal
• United States portal
• Politics portal

• Foreign relations of Sweden
• Foreign relations of the United States
• United States-EU relations
• NATO-EU relations
• Embassy of Sweden, Washington, D.C.
• Ambassadors of Sweden to the United States
• Ambassadors of the United States to Sweden
• Swedish response to Hurricane Katrina

References

1. Barton, H. A. (1966). "Sweden and the War of American Independence". The William and Mary Quarterly. 23 (3): 408–430. doi:10.2307/1919238. JSTOR   1919238 – via JSTOR.
2. "About the Embassy". Embassy of Sweden, Pyongyang. Archived from the original on April 23, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2017. In particular, Sweden functions as Protective Power for the United States ... including consular responsibility for citizens.
3. "Biden signs ratification documents approving NATO membership for Finland and Sweden". CNBC. August 9, 2022.
4. Knight, Christian Edwards, Radina Gigova, Jennifer Hansler, Mariya (March 7, 2024). "Sweden officially joins NATO, becoming alliance's 32nd member". CNN. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
5. "American Memory from the Library of Congress". Memory.loc.gov. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
6. "First Barbary War". Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. August 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
7. "Swedish History - Hans Högman". www.hhogman.se.
8. Roosevelt: Address at the Tercentenary Celebration, Wilmington, Delaware.
9. Andersson, Stellan. "Olof Palme och Vietnamfrågan 1965–1983" (in Swedish). olofpalme.org. Retrieved February 27, 2008.
10. "Utrikesminister Anna Lindh med anledning av terrorattacken i USA | Press & info | Utrikesdepartementet | Departement | Regeringskansliet". Archived from the original on November 9, 2001.
11. "Riksdagens snabbprotokoll 2001/02:13 Onsdagen den 17 oktober Protokoll 2001/02:13 - Riksdagen". Riksdagen.se. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
12. ^[ dead link ]
13. "THE U.S.-GLOBAL LEADERSHIP PROJECT : A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE MERIDIAN INTERNATIONAL CENTER AND GALLUP" (PDF). Gallup.com. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
14. Topping, Alexandra. "'Sweden, who would believe this?': Trump cites non-existent terror attack". The Guardian. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
15. Jennifer Calfas (February 19, 2017), "Sweden offers to teach Trump about its immigration policies", The Hill, retrieved February 23, 2017
16. Embassy of Sweden US [@SwedeninUSA] (February 19, 2017). "We look forward to informing the US administration about Swedish immigration and integration policies" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
17. "Facts about migration and crime in Sweden". Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. February 23, 2017. Archived from the original on February 24, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
18. "A$AP Rocky: Donald Trump demands Sweden release US rapper charged with assault". Sky News. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
19. "Exports to our 30 largest trade partners". Statistiska Centralbyrån. August 27, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
20. "Denmark follows Sweden and Finland in signing US defence deal".
21. SOU 1994:11 Om kriget kommit... Förberedelser för mottagande av militärt bistånd 1949–1969
22. "Cold War declassified: Swedish pilots honored for protecting crippled US spy plane from Soviets". Stars and Stripes.
23. Rempfer, Kyle (December 31, 2018). "Finally declassified: Swedish pilots awarded US Air Medals for saving SR-71 spy plane". Air Force Times.
24. "The Weeknd's 'Can't Feel My Face' Gives Max Martin His 21st No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100". Billboard .
25. Memorandum of Conversation Gerald R. Ford Library, Accessed on May 17, 2010
26. Holmqvist, Anette (May 13, 2016). "Stefan Löfven anländer till Vita huset" [Stefan Löfven arrives at the White House]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved May 13, 2016.
27. "Statement by the Press Secretary on the U.S.-Nordic Leaders Summit". White House Office of the Press Secretary. March 18, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
28. "Sweden officially joins NATO, prime minister declares it a 'safer country'". France 24. March 7, 2024. Archived from the original on March 7, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024. Later Thursday. Kristersson will visit the White House and then be a guest of honor at President Joe Biden's State of the Union address to Congress.
29. Scott, Liam (March 7, 2024). "Biden Calls for Defending Democracy in State of Union Address". Voice of America. Archived from the original on March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024. He pointed out Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who attended the address as a guest of first lady Jill Biden. Sweden officially joined NATO on Thursday. First lady Jill Biden applauds Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, as President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol, March 7, 2024.

Further reading

Further information: Swedish Americans § Further reading, and Nordic and Scandinavian Americans § Further reading

• Adamson, R. "Swedish iron exports to the United States, 1783–1860" Scandinavian Economic History Review, (1969) 17(1), 58–114.
• Biltekin, Nevra. "Migrating women and transnational relations: Swedish-American connections since the 1920s." Scandinavian Journal of History (2021): 1-19. online
• Blanck, Dag, and Adam Hjorthén, eds. Swedish-American Borderlands: New Histories of Transatlantic Relations (U of Minnesota Press, 2021).
• Blanck, Dag. "'Very Welcome Home Mr. Swanson': Swedish Americans Encounter Homeland Swedes." American Studies in Scandinavia 48.2 (2016): 107-121. online On the 250,000 who went to USA but returned to Sweden.
• Kastrup, Allan. "Swedish heritage in America" (1975) online
• Kronvall, Olof. "US–Scandinavian Relations Since 1940." in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. (Oxford University Press, 2020)
• Mays, Christin. "Have Money, Will Travel. Scholarships and Academic Exchange between Sweden and the United States, 1912-1980 (Uppsala: Uppsala University Press, 2022).
• Müller, Leos. “Swedish-American Trade and the Swedish Consular Service, 1780-1840,” International Journal of Maritime History 14#1 (2002) 173–188.
• O’Dell, Tom. Culture Unbound: Americanization and Everyday Life in Sweden (Lund: Nordic Academic Press, 1997).

External links

• Nordstjernan - The Swedish Newspaper in America
• History of Sweden - U.S. relations