Embassy of Sweden, Washington, D.C.
Embassy of Sweden, Washington, D.C. | |
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Location | Washington, D.C. |
Address | Postal address: Embassy of Sweden 2900 K Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20007-5118 USA Visiting address: Embassy of Sweden 2900 K Street, N.W. Washington |
Ambassador | Urban Ahlin |
Website | Official website |
The Embassy of Sweden in Washington, D.C., is Sweden's diplomatic mission in the United States. The Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C., is one of Sweden's largest diplomatic missions with more than fifty employees.[1] Ambassador since 2023 is Urban Ahlin. Sweden also has a Consulate General in New York City and in San Francisco[2] and a number of Honorary Consulates General in the United States.[3] Since 2006, the chancery is located in the House of Sweden building on the Potomac River.
History
Swedish-American relations have a long history stretching back to the 17th century when Sweden in 1638 established the colony of New Sweden in the state of Delaware. In 1782, diplomatic relations were established by Samuel Gustaf Hermelin.[4] Sweden was the first country, in addition to the states that were directly involved in the American Revolutionary War (the United Kingdom and France), to recognize the United States in 1783.[5] In 1783 the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Sweden and the United States was signed.
A break in diplomatic relations occurred in 1973 when the then Ambassador Hubert de Bèsche and his newly elected successor Yngve Möller were declared undesirable in the United States as a result of a diplomatic crisis that followed Olof Palme's statement about the Hanoi bombings in December 1972.[6] In 1974 the new Swedish Ambassador Wilhelm Wachtmeister took office and held the post until 1989. Wachtmeister was eventually given the title Dean of the Diplomatic Corps (Doyen) as the longest serving Ambassador in Washington, D.C.[7] Other famous diplomats who held the Ambassador post are Jan Eliasson, Rolf Ekéus and Anders Thunborg.
The former embassy building was located at 2006 N Street,
When the rent in the Watergate complex became too high, the embassy was moved to a couple of floors at 1501
Buildings
Chancery
1913–2006
From 1 December 1913 to 1920, the
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The chancery was 1923–1971 located here at 2249 R Street,N.W. Today it's used as the Kenyan embassy.
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Watergate complex with Watergate Six Hundred to the right
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Watergate at 600 New Hampshire Avenue
2006–present
The
The building was designed by architects Gert Wingårdh and Tomas Hansen and Wingårdh received the Architects Sweden's (Sveriges Arkitekter) Kasper Salin Prize in 2007 for the building. The Washington Post named the House of Sweden the "Venue of the Year" in 2008. The cost of construction amounted to 482 million SEK.[28] House of Sweden houses the embassy building, embassy offices, 19 apartments and a 700 square metres (7,500 sq ft) event center with conference facilities and exhibition spaces. The building is about 6,400 square metres (69,000 sq ft) and is managed by the National Property Board of Sweden.[27] In 2009 Sweden and Iceland signed a 15-year long contract for office and a residential apartment for the Embassy of Iceland in the House of Sweden.[29]
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Exterior
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Exterior
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Exterior
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Interior
Residence
The residence at 3900 Nebraska Avenue was acquired by Ambassador
On the night between 20-21 February 1973, eleven paintings, including works by Anders Zorn and Hugo Zuhr , were stolen during a break-in at the residence on Nebraska Avenue. Ambassador Hubert de Bèsche had moved out during a restoration. The thieves had lifted a newly glazed window to gain entry to the house. The theft was discovered the next morning by an architect involved in the restoration of the residence. The stolen paintings included, among others: Anders Zorn's "Braskulla," Hugo Zuhr's "Nämforsen," Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller's "Amor as Bacchus," Frans Timén 's "Vårvinter," Gunnar Svenson 's "Norrländskt landskap," Bertil Landelius 's "Röda lador," an unknown artist's portrait of Adolf Frederick, and a large painting of Charles XII.[32]
In June 2019, a decision was taken to sell the residence and that the Swedish ambassador would move into House of Sweden.[33]
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Residence of the Ambassador of Sweden in Washington, D.C
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Residence of the Ambassador of Sweden in Washington, D.C
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Detail of the doorway to the residence of the Ambassador of Sweden in Washington, D.C
Heads of Mission
Name | Period | Title | Refs/Notes |
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Johan Albert Kantzow | 1812–1819 | Resident Minister | |
Berndt Robert Gustaf Stackelberg | 1819–1831 | Chargé d'affaires | |
David Gustaf Anckarloo | 1831–1833 | Chargé d'affaires | |
Severin Lorich | 1834–1837 | Chargé d'affaires | |
Gustaf af Nordin | 1838–1845 | Chargé d'affaires | |
Adam Christopher Lövenskiöld | 1845–1850 | Chargé d'affaires | |
Georg Sibbern | 1850–1854 | Chargé d'affaires | |
Georg Sibbern | 1854–1858 | Resident Minister | |
Nils Erik Wilhelm af Wetterstedt | 1858–1860 | Resident Minister | |
Carl Edward Vilhelm Piper | 1861–1864 | Resident Minister | |
Nils Erik Wilhelm af Wetterstedt | 1864–1870 | Envoy | |
Oluf Stenersen | 1870–1875 | Envoy | |
Carl Lewenhaupt | 6 March 1876 – 1884 | Envoy | Also Acting Consul General there from 10 March 1876.[34] |
Gustaf Lennart Reuterskiöld | 1884–1888 | Envoy | |
Johan Anton Wolff Grip | 1889–1906 | Envoy | |
Herman Lagercrantz | 25 January 1907 – 4 June 1907 | Acting Envoy | [35] |
Herman Lagercrantz | 5 June 1907–1910 | Envoy | [35] |
Albert Ehrensvärd | 8 October 1910 – 1911 | Envoy | [36] |
August Ekengren | 1912–1920 | Envoy | |
Axel Wallenberg | 1921–1925 | Envoy | |
Wollmar Boström | 1925–1945 | Envoy | |
Herman Eriksson | 1 October 1945 – 8 December 1947 | Envoy | [37] |
Herman Eriksson | 9 December 1947 – 1948 | Ambassador | [37] |
Erik Boheman | 1948–1958 | Ambassador | |
Gunnar Jarring | 1958–1964 | Ambassador | |
Hubert de Bèsche | 1964–1973 | Ambassador | |
Yngve Möller | 1972–1972 | Never took office[note 1] | |
Wilhelm Wachtmeister | 1974–1989 | Ambassador | |
Anders Thunborg | 1989–1993 | Ambassador | |
Henrik Liljegren | 1993–1997 | Ambassador | |
Rolf Ekéus | 1997–2000 | Ambassador | |
Jan Eliasson | 2000–2005 | Ambassador | |
Gunnar Lund | 2005–2007 | Ambassador | |
Jonas Hafström | 2007–2013 | Ambassador | |
Björn Lyrvall | 2013–2017 | Ambassador | |
Karin Olofsdotter | 2017–2023 | Ambassador | |
Urban Ahlin[39] | 15 August 2023–present | Ambassador |
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Yngve Möller was appointed Swedish ambassador in 1972 but never took office because of a temporary break in Swedish-American relations.[38]
References
- ^ "Ambassaden" [The Embassy] (in Swedish). Embassy of Sweden, Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ "Swedish Consulate-General opens in San Francisco" (Press release). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ "Ambassaden & konsulat" [The Embassy & Consulate] (in Swedish). Embassy of Sweden, Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ "Title: Map of Sweden - Description". World Digital Library. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ "Amerikas Förenta Stater (USA)" [United States of America (USA)] (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 4 March 2008. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- SELIBR 9649081.
- ^ Sciolino, Elain; Greenhouse, Linda (4 November 1988). "WASHINGTON TALK: BRIEFING; Transition Note (2)". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- SELIBR 8261599.
- SELIBR 8261599.
- SELIBR 3682782.
- ^ a b "Modernt i Washington" [Modern in Washington]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 1971-10-01. p. 7. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ Magnergård, Omar (1987-05-10). "Bostadskris för diplomater i Tokyo" [Housing crisis for diplomats in Tokyo]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 24. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ "Groundbreaking". Embassy of Sweden, Washington, D.C. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ a b c Mattsson, Britt-Marie (15 May 2006). "Svenskt nybygge granne med Watergate" [New Swedish building next door to the Watergate]. Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ "Svenska beskickningen i Washington" [Swedish mission in Washington]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). No. 321. 1913-11-25. p. 4. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1920 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell. 1920. p. 171.
- ^ Sveriges statskalender för året 1921 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell. 1921. p. 171.
- ^ Sveriges statskalender för året 1922 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell. 1922. p. 171.
- ^ Sveriges statskalender för året 1923 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell. 1923. p. 184.
- ^ a b Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1971). Sveriges statskalender 1971 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. p. 345.
- ^ a b "Svenskt ambassadörresidens i USA" [Swedish ambassador's residence in the USA]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 1950-05-02. p. 3. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- SELIBR 3682773.
- ^ Björkstén, Ingmar (1994-06-15). "Sverige utan ansikte i USA". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 26. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- SELIBR 3682775.
- SELIBR 10156707.
- ^ "House of Sweden – en ny svensk arena i USA" [House of Sweden - the new Swedish arena in the United States] (in Swedish). Embassy of Sweden, Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ a b "House of Sweden, Washington D.C." (in Swedish). National Property Board of Sweden. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ "Full aktivitet i House of Sweden" [Full activity in the House of Sweden] (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 16 May 2006. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
- ^ "SFV välkomnar Island till House of Sweden" [SFV welcome Iceland to the House of Sweden] (in Swedish). National Property Board of Sweden. 2009-09-10. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ Svegfors, Mats (1995-05-28). "Från modellbygge till synvilla". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 73. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ a b c "Washington D.C, ambassadörens residens" (in Swedish). National Property Board of Sweden. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- ^ Wigardt, Gaby (1973-02-22). "Elva tavlor stulna från ambassaden i USA" [Eleven paintings stolen from the embassy in the United States]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 18. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ "House of Sweden blir ny chefsbostad för Sveriges ambassadör i Washington" (in Swedish). National Property Board of Sweden. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- ^ Holm, Nils F (1977–1979). "Carl Lewenhaupt". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). Vol. 22. National Archives of Sweden. p. 631. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ^ a b Kjellander, Rune (1977–1979). "Herman L F Lagercrantz". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). Vol. 22. National Archives of Sweden. p. 93. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ^ Hildebrand, Bengt; Lindberg, Folke (1949). "Johan Jakob Albert Ehrensvärd". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). Vol. 12. National Archives of Sweden. p. 496. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ^ a b Hemming, Sten J:r. (1953). "Gustaf Herman Eriksson". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). Vol. 14. National Archives of Sweden. p. 410. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ^ Janzon, Beatrice; Sjöström, Sten (14 May 2007). "Reinfeldts inbjudan en tidig invit" [Reinfeldt's invitation an early invite]. Dagens Eko (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ "Embassy of Sweden in USA". Today, we bid farewell to Karin... 2023-09-16. Archived from the original on 2023-09-16. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
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External links
- Official website (in English)
- Official website (in Swedish)
- Embassy of Sweden, Washington, D.C. on Facebook
- Embassy of Sweden, Washington, D.C. on Twitter
- Embassy of Sweden, Washington, D.C. on Instagram