List of ambassadors of Sweden to Israel

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StyleHis or Her Excellency (formal)
Mr. or Madam Ambassador (informal)
Reports toMinister for Foreign Affairs
Residence93 Eliezer Kaplan Street,
Herzliya Pituah
SeatTel Aviv, Israel
Ambassador of
Sweden to Israel
Lesser coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden
Incumbent
Alexandra Rydmark
since 15 August 2024
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Swedish Embassy, Tel Aviv
StyleHis or Her Excellency (formal)
Mr. or Madam Ambassador (informal)
Reports toMinister for Foreign Affairs
Residence93 Eliezer Kaplan Street,
Herzliya Pituah
SeatTel Aviv, Israel
AppointerGovernment of Sweden
Term lengthNo fixed term
Inaugural holderGösta Hedengren
Formation1951
WebsiteSwedish Embassy, Tel Aviv

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

On 16 February 1949, Sweden recognized the State of Israel de facto,[1] and in July 1950, de jure.[2] In January 1951, the Swedish government decided to establish a diplomatic mission in Israel, and Gösta Hedengren [sv] was appointed as the chargé d'affaires there.[3] Hedengren and his wife arrived in Haifa on 2 April 1951, aboard the Italian ship Abbazia. They were received by representatives of the Israeli government and then traveled on to Tel Aviv, where he would open the Swedish legation.[4] On 4 April 1951, Gösta Hedengren presented his credentials to Dr. Walter Eytan at the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The Tel Aviv newspaper Maariv wrote at the time that "the appointment marks the end of the tragic Swedish-Israeli conflict that began with the murder of Count Folke Bernadotte".[5]

In June 1953, Jens Malling was appointed as the new chargé d'affaires.[6] He arrived at Lod Airport on 2 July 1953, and was received by representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Swedish legation.[7] In February 1956, Malling was appointed as Sweden's first envoy to Tel Aviv.[8] He presented his credentials on 15 March 1956, to Israeli President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi in the presence of Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett.[9]

In September 1957, an agreement was reached between the Swedish and Israeli governments on the mutual elevation of the respective countries' legations to embassies. The diplomatic rank was thereafter changed to ambassador instead of envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary. In connection with this, Sweden's envoy to Tel Aviv, Östen Lundborg [sv], was designated as ambassador.[10]

Between 1981 and 2002, the ambassador held a dual accreditation to Nicosia, Cyprus.

List of representatives

NamePeriodTitleNotesPresented credentialsRef
Gösta Hedengren1951–1953Chargé d'affaires4 April 1951[5][11]
Jens Malling1953–1956Chargé d'affaires[a][12]
Ingvar GrauersApril 1955 – November 1955Chargé d'affaires ad interim[b][13][14]
Jens Malling1956–1956Envoy15 March 1956[9][12]
Östen Lundborg1956 – September 1957Envoy5 July 1956[15][10][16]
Östen LundborgSeptember 1957 – 1960Ambassador8 October 1957[10][15][17]
Hugo Tamm1960–1963Ambassador[18]
Inga Thorsson1964–1966Ambassador[19]
Bo Siegbahn1966–1970Ambassador[20]
Sten Sundfeldt1970–1975Ambassador[21]
Iwo Dölling1975–1979Ambassador[22]
Torsten Örn1979–1983AmbassadorDual accreditation to Nicosia (from 1981).[23]
Sven Hirdman1983–1987AmbassadorDual accreditation to Nicosia.[24]
Mats Bergquist1987–1992AmbassadorDual accreditation to Nicosia.[25]
Carl-Magnus Hyltenius1992–1996AmbassadorDual accreditation to Nicosia.[26]
John Hagard1996–1999AmbassadorDual accreditation to Nicosia.[27]
Anders Lidén1999–2002AmbassadorDual accreditation to Nicosia.[28]
Robert Rydberg2003–2007Ambassador[29]
Elisabet Borsiin Bonnier2007–2010Ambassador3 December 2007[30][31]
Elinor Hammarskjöld2010–2013Ambassador5 October 2010[32]
Carl Magnus NesserApril 2013 – 2017Ambassador8 Aagust 2013[33][34]
Magnus Hellgren1 September 2017 – 2020Ambassador29 November 2017[35][36]
Erik UllenhagSeptember 2020 – 2024Ambassador4 November 2020[37][38]
Alexandra Rydmark15 August 2024 – presentAmbassador30 September 2025[39][40][41]

Gallery

See also

Footnotes

References

External links

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