List of ambassadors of Sweden to Botswana

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.