List of ambassadors of Sweden to Latvia

Ambassador of Sweden to Latvia
Lesser coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden
Incumbent Karin Höglund since September 2020
Ministry for Foreign Affairs Swedish Embassy, Riga
Style	His or Her Excellency (formal) Mr. or Madam Ambassador (informal)
Reports to	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Seat	Riga, Latvia
Appointer	Government of Sweden
Term length	No fixed term
Inaugural holder	Torsten Undén
Formation	1921
Website	Swedish Embassy, Riga

The Ambassador of Sweden to Latvia (known formally as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Republic of Latvia) is the official representative of the government of Sweden to the president of Latvia and government of Latvia.

History

A Swedish consulate was established in Riga in 1776, and its jurisdiction was expanded several times during the 19th century. It became a paid consulate in 1881, had its district extended in 1903, and was converted into a vice-consulate in 1906. In 1913, the Swedish Parliament approved the reestablishment of the consulate.^[1] The consulate was closed in 1924. Three years earlier, in 1921, Sweden opened a legation in Riga.^[2]

On 4 February 1921, it was announced that the King in Council had recognized the Republic of Latvia as an independent and sovereign state.^[3][4] Later that summer, a chargé d'affaires ad interim was appointed to head the consulate in Tallinn, which functioned as a legation during the interwar period.^[5][2] On 30 September 1921, Torsten Undén [sv; et] was appointed Sweden's first minister in Riga and Tallinn.^[6] After just one year, the legation was relocated to Riga, and the mission in Tallinn was downgraded to a consulate under the Riga embassy.^[7] The head of mission in Riga thus became accredited in Tallinn as well.^[2]

In September 1939, Sweden's envoy to Riga, Tallinn, and Kaunas, Birger Johansson [sv], presented his letters of recall to the Estonian and Lithuanian presidents after that year's regular session of the Swedish Parliament approved the proposal for independent legations in Estonia and Lithuania.^[8] On 15 June 1940, the Soviet Union began its occupation of the Baltic states. On 24 August 1940, Sweden closed its diplomatic missions in Riga, Tallinn, and Kaunas, with a deadline of 25 August to complete the withdrawal.^[9]

In 1989, Sweden opened a branch office in Riga under the Consulate General in Leningrad, managed by a consul.^[10] On 27 August 1991, the Swedish government decided to reestablish diplomatic relations with Latvia. The agreement took effect the following day, 28 August.^[11]

The new Swedish embassy in Riga was inaugurated on 29 August 1991, in a ceremony officiated by Minister of Justice Laila Freivalds.^[12][13]

List of representatives

Name	Period	Title	Notes	Ref
Einar af Wirsén	24 June 1921 – December 1921	Chargé d'affaires ad interim	Also in Riga.	[14][15]
Torsten Undén	1921–1928	Envoy	Also accredited to Tallinn.	[16]
Patrik Reuterswärd	13 June 1928 – 1935	Envoy	Also accredited to Tallinn.	[17]
Birger Johansson	1935 – September 1939	Envoy	Also accredited to Tallinn.	[18][8]
No head of mission between 1940 and 1991
Lars Fredén	1991–1991	Chargé d'affaires	Consul 1989–1991.	[19][20]
Vidar Hellners	1991–1992	Ambassador		[21]
Andreas Ådahl	1992–1996	Ambassador		[22]
Hans Magnusson	1996–2000	Ambassador		[23]
Tomas Bertelman	2000–2003	Ambassador		[24]
Göran Håkansson	2003–2008	Ambassador		[25]
Mats Staffanson	2008–2013	Ambassador		[26]
Henrik Landerholm	2013–2017	Ambassador		[27]
Annika Jagander	1 September 2017 – 2020	Ambassador		[28]
Karin Höglund	September 2020 – 2025	Ambassador		[29]
Daniel Olsson	Fall 2025	Ambassador		[30]

Gallery

• 
  Ambassador Mats Staffanson (2008–2013) with the Speaker of the Saeima Solvita Āboltiņa.
• 
  Ambassador Henrik Landerholm (2013–2017) with the Speaker of the Saeima Solvita Āboltiņa.
• 
  Ambassador Annika Jagander (2017–2020) with the Speaker of the Saeima Ināra Mūrniece.
• 
  Ambassador Karin Höglund (2020–2025) with the Speaker of the Saeima Daiga Mieriņa.

See also

• Latvia–Sweden relations

References

1. Almquist, Johan Axel (1914). Kommerskollegium och Riksens Ständers Manufakturkontor samt konsulsstaten 1651-1910: administrativa och biografiska anteckningar (PDF). Meddelanden från svenska Riksarkivet, Ny följd. Ser. 2, 99-0506720-5 ; 4 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 418. SELIBR 844316.
2. Dahlbäck, Elisabet (1997). "Beskickningsarkiv Riga" [Mission Archive Riga] (in Swedish). National Archives of Sweden. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
3. "Sverige erkänner Lettland och Estland de jure" [Sweden recognizes Latvia and Estonia de jure]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 5 February 1921. p. 3. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
4. "Namn och nytt..." [Name and new...]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 5 February 1921. p. 13. Retrieved 12 February 2025. Regeringen har i gårdagens konselj erkänt republikerna Estland och Lettland såsom självständiga och oberoende stater. [At yesterday's council, the government recognized the republics of Estonia and Latvia as independent and sovereign states.]
5. "Legation i Estland och Lettland" [Legation in Estonia and Latvia]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 9 July 1921. p. 3. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
6. "Östersjöstaterna och Mexiko få svenska ministrar" [The Baltic states and Mexico get Swedish ministers]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 1 October 1921. p. 3. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
7. Scheutz, Bobo (8 November 1989). "'Bekvämt ignorera baltiska staterna'" ['Conveniently ignoring the Baltic states']. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 15. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
8. "Sändebudet i Riga, Tallinn och Kaunas" [The envoy in Riga, Tallinn and Kaunas]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 14 September 1939. p. 8A. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
9. "Nästan hela svenska kolonien i Riga kom med 'Konung Oscar'" [Almost the entire Swedish colony in Riga came with 'Konung Oscar']. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 24 August 1940. p. 3. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
10. Magnergård, Omar (26 August 1991). "Ambassader om några veckor" [Embassies in a few weeks]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 13. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
11. Sveriges internationella överenskommelser: SÖ 1991:35 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Utrikesdepartementet. 1991. p. 1. ISSN 0284-1967. SELIBR 4110996. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
12. Östberg, Lars (30 August 1991). "Dorpat och Reval är dagens Tartu och Tallinn" [Dorpat and Reval are today's Tartu and Tallinn]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 5. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
13. "Diplomatiska relationer 1776-1995" [Diplomatic relations 1776-1995] (in Swedish). Embassy of Latvia, Stockholm. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
14. Elgenstierna, Gustaf, ed. (1934). Den introducerade svenska adelns ättartavlor (in Swedish). Vol. 8 Stålarm-Voltemat. Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 825. SELIBR 10076764.
15. "I marginalen" [In the margin]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). No. 293. 30 October 1921. p. 8. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
16. Sveriges statskalender för året 1928 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell. 1928. p. 185.
17. Elgenstierna, Gustaf, ed. (1931). Den introducerade svenska adelns ättartavlor (in Swedish). Vol. 6 Posse-von Scheven. Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 276. SELIBR 10076758.
18. Sveriges statskalender för året 1939 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1939. pp. 217, 219.
19. Holmström, Mikael (24 December 1991). "Bildt inrättar egen säkerhetsgrupp" [Bildt establishes own security group]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 6. Retrieved 12 February 2025. Lars Fredén byggde upp Sveriges konsulat i Riga i Lettland där han är chargé d'affaires vid ambassaden. [Lars Fredén established Sweden's consulate in Riga, Latvia, where he is chargé d'affaires at the embassy.]
20. Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (1991). Sveriges statskalender 1991 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Allmänna. p. 361. ISBN 9138125277. SELIBR 3682770.
21. Jönsson, Lena, ed. (2000). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 2001 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 2001] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 480. ISBN 9172850426. SELIBR 8261515.
22. Jönsson, Lena, ed. (2000). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 2001 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 2001] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 1254. ISBN 9172850426. SELIBR 8261515.
23. Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (2000). Sveriges statskalender 2000 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes. p. 182. ISBN 91-38-31692-7. SELIBR 8261600.
24. Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (2003). Sveriges statskalender 2003 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes. p. 177. ISBN 91-38-32045-2. SELIBR 8869747.
25. Henriksson, Maria, ed. (2008). Sveriges statskalender 2008 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedts Juridik AB/Fritzes. p. 188. ISBN 978-91-38-32405-9. SELIBR 10900526.
26. Sveriges statskalender 2010 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedts Juridik AB/Fritzes. 2010. p. 188. ISBN 978-91-38-32520-9. SELIBR 11846164.
27. "CV Henrik Landerholm" (PDF) (in Swedish). Government Offices of Sweden. September 2023. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
28. "Ny ambassadör i Lettland" [New ambassador to Latvia] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
29. "Ny ambassadör i Lettland" [New ambassador to Latvia] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
30. "Ny ambassadör i Lettland" [New ambassador to Latvia] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 3 April 2025. Retrieved 11 April 2025.

External links

• Embassy of Sweden, Riga (in Swedish, English, and Latvian)