List of ambassadors of Sweden to Lithuania

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Ambassador of
Sweden to Lithuania
Lesser coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden
Incumbent
Lars Wahlund
since August 2023
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Swedish Embassy, Managua
StyleHis or Her Excellency (formal)
Mr. or Madam Ambassador (informal)
Reports toMinister for Foreign Affairs
ResidenceDidžioji Street 16, Old Town[a]
SeatVilnius, Lithuania
AppointerGovernment of Sweden
Term lengthNo fixed term
Inaugural holderTorsten Undén
Formation9 June 1922
WebsiteSwedish Embassy, Vilnius

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

History

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On 31 July 1903, the district of the Swedish consulate in Riga was expanded to include the Kovno Governorate.[2] On 11 June 1920, the King in Council decided to establish a consulate in Kovno (Kaunas) for Lithuania, but the appointed consul was soon recalled, and duties were temporarily handled by the Dutch consular agent. Despite pressure from business representatives to activate the consulate, the Riksdag in 1922 rejected funding for it, citing the same reasons given for Riga and Reval (Tallinn).[3]

On 28 September 1921, the King in Council formally recognized the Republic of Lithuania as an independent and sovereign state.[4] The following year, on 9 June 1922, Sweden's minister in Riga and Tallinn, Envoy Torsten Undén [sv], was also appointed envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary in Kaunas.[5]

A salaried consulate in Kaunas was established in 1924 to support Swedish trade in Lithuania. However, as commercial activity remained limited, the consulate was soon considered unnecessary, with the legation in Riga deemed sufficient to handle both trade and political matters. In 1928, the closure of the consulate was recommended, with responsibilities to be handled instead by an honorary consul.[6] The recommendation was approved, and from that year an honorary consul assumed the role.[7]

In January 1936, the question was raised of stationing a legation counselor permanently in Kaunas to serve as chargé d’affaires ad interim.[8] On 30 April that year, Claes Westring [sv] was appointed legation counselor at the Swedish mission in Riga, Kaunas, and Tallinn, with his post based in Kaunas. In the absence of the envoy, he served as chargé d’affaires ad interim.[9]

In September 1939, Sweden's envoy to Riga, Tallinn, and Kaunas, Birger Johansson [sv], presented his letters of recall to the Lithuanian and Estonian presidents after the Swedish Riksdag approved the establishment of independent legations in Lithuania and Estonia. At the same time, Legation Counselor Claes Westring took office in Kaunas as chargé d’affaires en pied.[10] On 15 June 1940, the Soviet Union began its occupation of the Baltic states. Sweden closed its diplomatic missions in Riga, Tallinn, and Kaunas on 24 August 1940, with a deadline of 25 August set for the withdrawal.[11]

In 1989, Sweden opened branch offices in Riga and Tallinn, headed by consuls and subordinate to the Swedish Consulate General in Leningrad. Lithuania, however, opposed the idea of an office tied to Leningrad. Instead, in 1991 Sweden opened an information office in Vilnius, subordinate to Stockholm and headed by Consul Vilhelm Rappe.[12]

On 27 August 1991, the Swedish government decided to reestablish diplomatic relations with Lithuania. The agreement entered into force the next day, 28 August.[13] Sweden’s new embassy in Vilnius was inaugurated on 29 August 1991, in a ceremony led by Minister for International Development Cooperation Lena Hjelm-Wallén.[14]

List of representatives

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Name Period Title Notes Ref
Torsten Undén 1922–1928 Envoy Resident in Riga. [15]
Patrik Reuterswärd 13 June 1928 – 1935 Envoy Resident in Riga. [16]
Birger Johansson 1935 – September 1939 Envoy Resident in Riga. [17][10]
Claes Westring 1936 – September 1939 Chargé d'affaires ad interim[b] [18]
Claes Westring September 1939 – 24 August 1940 Chargé d'affaires en pied [10][11]
No head of mission between 1940 and 1991
Lars Magnuson 1991–1994 Ambassador [19]
Stellan Ottosson 1994–1998 Ambassador [20]
Lars Vargö 1998–1999 Ambassador [21]
Jan Palmstierna 1999–2004 Ambassador [22]
Malin Kärre 2004–2008 Ambassador [23]
Ulrika Cronenberg Mossberg 2008–2011 Ambassador [24]
Cecilia Ruthström-Ruin September 2011 – 2016 Ambassador [25]
Maria Christina Lundqvist September 2016 – 2020 Ambassador [26]
Inger Buxton September 2020 – 2023 Ambassador [27]
Lars Wahlund August 2023 – present Ambassador [28]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ The ambassador's residence is at the same location as the chancery.[1]
  2. ^ With diplomatic rank of legation counsellor.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Sveriges ambassad i Vilnius, Litauen" [Embassy of Sweden in Vilnius, Lithuania] (in Swedish). National Property Board of Sweden. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  2. ^ 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. 419. SELIBR 844316.
  3. ^ "Kungl. Maj:ts proposition nr 160" [King in Council's Bill No. 160] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Riksdag. 14 March 1924. 1924:160. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  4. ^ "Förbindelserna med Litauen nu officiella" [Relations with Lithuania now official]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 29 September 1921. p. 4. Retrieved 25 September 2025. Svenska regeringen har på onsdagen [28 September 1921] officiellt tillkännagivit att republiken Litauen erkänts såsom oberoende och självständig stad [The Swedish government has officially announced on Wednesday [28 September 1921] that the Republic of Lithuania has been recognized as an independent and sovereign state.]
  5. ^ "Nya ministrar i Nederländerna och i Litauen" [New ministers in the Netherlands and Lithuania]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). No. 153. 10 June 1922. p. 1. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  6. ^ "Kungl. Maj:ts proposition nr 50" [King in Council's Bill No. 50] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Riksdag. 3 February 1928. 1928:50. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  7. ^ Sveriges statskalender för året 1929 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell. 1929. p. 205.
  8. ^ "Beskickning i Teheran ej i Kairo" [Mission in Tehran not in Cairo]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 12 January 1936. p. 8A. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  9. ^ "Förflyttningar inom U.D." [Transfers within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 1 May 1936. p. A7. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  10. ^ a b c "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.
  11. ^ a b "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.
  12. ^ Magnergård, Omar (26 August 1991). "Ambassader om några veckor" [Embassies in a few weeks]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 13. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  13. ^ Sveriges internationella överenskommelser: SÖ 1991:36 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Utrikesdepartementet. 1991. p. 1. ISSN 0284-1967. SELIBR 4110996. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Sveriges statskalender för året 1928 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell. 1928. p. 187.
  16. ^ Elgenstierna, Gustaf, ed. (1931). Den introducerade svenska adelns ättartavlor (in Swedish). Vol. 6 Posse-von Scheven. Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 276. SELIBR 10076758.
  17. ^ a b Sveriges statskalender för året 1939 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1939. pp. 217, 219.
  18. ^ Burling, Ingeborg, ed. (1956). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1957 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1957] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 1040.
  19. ^ Almqvist, Gerd, ed. (1994). Sveriges statskalender 1994 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes. p. 184. ISBN 9138129485. SELIBR 3682773.
  20. ^ Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (1998). Sveriges statskalender 1998 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes. p. 184. ISBN 9138313111. SELIBR 3682777.
  21. ^ Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (1999). Sveriges statskalender 1999 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes. p. 186. ISBN 91-38-31445-2. SELIBR 3682778.
  22. ^ Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (2004). Sveriges statskalender 2004 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes. p. 180. ISBN 91-38-32120-3. SELIBR 89506762.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ Sveriges statskalender 2010 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedts Juridik AB/Fritzes. 2010. p. 188. ISBN 978-91-38-32520-9. SELIBR 11846164.
  25. ^ "Fyra nya ambassadörer utsedda" [Four new ambassadors appointed] (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. TT. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  26. ^ "Ny ambassadör i Lettland" [New ambassador to Lithuania] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  27. ^ "Ny ambassadör i Lettland" [New ambassador to Lithuania] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  28. ^ "Lars Wahlund ny ambassadör i Lettland" [Lars Wahlund new ambassador to Lithuania] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
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