Embassy of Sweden, Baghdad

The Embassy of Sweden in Baghdad is Sweden's diplomatic mission in Iraq. The mission consists of an embassy, a number of Swedes from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and local staff. Ambassador since 2019 is Lars Ronnås.

Embassy of Sweden, Baghdad
LocationBaghdad
AddressEmbassy of Sweden
P.O. Box 55550
Baghdad Post Office
Karadat Mariam
Baghdad
Iraq
AmbassadorLars Ronnås
(since 2019)
WebsiteOfficial website

History

Sweden's diplomatic relations with Iraq go way back. Already in 1903 Sweden started at the King's initiative diplomatic relations with what was then the Ottoman Empire and a Swedish consulate was established. Today there is an embassy in Baghdad, reopened in summer 2009, after being closed since 1990. Sweden opened a Section Office in Erbil on 1 December 2011. The office is a part of the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad. The Office serve as a link between authorities and people in the Iraqi Kurdistan region and the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad.[1]

Gulf War

On 14 January 1991 the embassy was evacuated before the US-led alliance's attack on Iraq on 17 January - after Iraq invaded Kuwait.[2] The then Swedish ambassador (1988-1991) was Henry Amnéus. He had instructions from the Swedish Foreign Ministry to evacuate the embassy as soon as the UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar departed. The Swedish Foreign Ministry telecom and communications expert Stig "Lina" Lindström and ambassador Amnéus closed the embassy and drove on Monday 14 January through northern Iraq and across the border to Turkey. Since then there was no permanent staffing in the Swedish Embassy. Sweden never broke off diplomatic relations, but the embassy was only unmanned.[3] The embassy was then located on Nidhal Street 132/2 in central Baghdad.[4][5]

Iraq War

Around the former Swedish embassy where was a high wall reinforced with barbed wire. There were several houses in the area. The main house contained the embassy chancellery. There were also a smaller house containing backup power, storage, and also home of the guards. Nearby there were a row of houses which was destroyed during the war. It was the former seat of the trade department.[4]

The Swedish embassy was highly acclaimed in the Swedish press at the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003, when it was abandoned by all but one man, the caretaker Ibrahim Ali Suza who had worked there for 35 years and refused to leave the building. The same thing happened when Iraq invaded Kuwait in the early 1990s and all left the embassy except the Iraqi Kurd who stayed and kept watch for looters and with the help of a number of Kalashnikovs and grenades.[6] In April 2004, the embassy was hit by mortars. Parts of an annex of the embassy was damaged but the fire was put out by the caretaker.[4]

Ibrahim Ali Suza was in June 2004 rewarded with a trip to Sweden and received the medals For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm as well as the North Star Medal for his contributions to the embassy during three wars.[2][7] Ibrahim Ali Suza has since continued to guard the embassy and then had the help of a couple of security guards which the Iraqi authorities deployed.[8] He is now retired but show up at the embassy now and then.[2]

In September 2004, an Iraq Office was established in Amman, Jordan, as an interim solution because of the security situation in Baghdad as a result of the Iraq War. The embassy chancellery in Baghdad was closed in May 2005.[9] In 2009, the Swedish embassy was again manned with ambassador Niclas Trouvé as ambassador which has during the Iraq War been based in Amman.[10]

New embassy

A new embassy was opened on 1 July 2009.[11] It was inaugurated on 24 February 2010 by Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt, Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari and ambassador Niclas Trouvé before a crowd of 150 specially invited guests.[12] The new embassy complex comprises three buildings and an extensive security area around. In addition to the new embassy and residence outside the International Zone (IZ), a small Swedish embassy offices opened up inside the IZ during construction. This was to serve as a fulcrum during construction and then used as a branch of the embassy to enable it to operate outside as well as inside the IZ when required.[13] The embassy was moderately damaged in the August 2009 Baghdad bombings. The embassy is located about 500 meters from where one of the attacks took place. No member of the embassy staff were injured.[14] The embassy building was shaken again during the 20 March 2012 Iraq attacks. This time the building wasn't damaged.[15]

Embassy operations

The Swedish embassy carries out the following operations:[16]

  • Monitoring and reporting on the political, social and economic developments in Iraq.
  • Reporting on migration and human rights.
  • Processing of consular and legal matters in Iraq.
  • In collaboration with SIDA and NGOs support the implementation of the Government's country strategy for development cooperation with Iraq.
  • Strengthening economic relations with Iran and support Swedish companies operating in Iraq.

Heads of Mission
NamePeriodTitleAccredition
Eric Gyllenstierna1934–1936EnvoyAccredited from the embassy in Teheran.
Hugo von Heidenstam1936–1942EnvoyAccredited from the embassy in Teheran.
Harald Pousette1942–1945Chargé d'affairesAccredited from the embassy in Teheran.
Harald Pousette1945–1947EnvoyAccredited from the embassy in Teheran.
Harry Eriksson1948–1951EnvoyAccredited from the embassy in Teheran.
Gunnar Jarring1951–1952EnvoyAccredited from the embassy in Teheran.
Ragnvald Bagge1953–1959EnvoyAccredited from the embassy in Teheran.
Dick Hichens-Bergström1959–1960EnvoyAccredited from the embassy in Teheran.
Dick Hichens-Bergström1960–1963AmbassadorAccredited from the embassy in Teheran.
Bengt Odhner1964–1969Ambassador
Gunnar Gerring1969–1973Ambassador
Otto Rathsman1973–1975Ambassador
Fredrik Bergenstråhle1975–1979Ambassador
Lars-Olof Brilioth1979–1983Ambassador
Arne Thorén1983–1988Ambassador
Henrik Amnéus1988–1991Ambassador
unmanned1991–2009-
Karin Roxman2004–2006AmbassadorAccredited from the embassy in Amman.
Niclas Trouvé2006–2010AmbassadorAccredited from the embassy in Amman.[note 1]
Carl Magnus Nesser2010–2012Ambassador
Jörgen Lindström2012–2015Ambassador
Annika Molin Hellgren2015–2017Ambassador
Pontus Melander2017–2019Ambassador
Lars Ronnås2019–presentAmbassadorTakes office 1 September.

Footnotes
  1. After the new embassy was opened in 2009, ambassador Trouvé was stationed in Baghdad.
gollark: You didn't collect the complementary cheddar cheese cubes?
gollark: Which is also not very necessary as travel takes a few seconds, but you know.
gollark: It isn't strictly necessary, but they have nice drinks dispensers.
gollark: The tesseracts *contain* employees for shipping.
gollark: Yes it is. GTech™ interuniversal portals allow GTech™ employee tesseracts to traverse them trivially.

References
  1. "Irak" [Iraq] (in Swedish). Government Offices of Sweden. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  2. TT (13 May 2009). "Sveriges ambassad i Irak öppnas" [The Swedish Embassy in Iraq opens] (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  3. Sörbring, Gunnar (26 May 2003). "Sverige på väg öppna ambassaden i Bagdad" [Sweden on the way to open embassy in Baghdad]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  4. Olsson, Caroline (2004-04-19). "Svenska ambassaden i Bagdad beskjuten" [Swedish Embassy in Baghdad was fired upon]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  5. Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1970). Sveriges statskalender. 1970 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. p. 353.
  6. Ovander, Petter (25 April 2003). "Plundrarnas fasa: Ali, 66" [The looters horror: Ali, 66]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 March 2008.
  7. TT (10 June 2004). ""Ambassadhjälten" i Bagdad till Sverige" ["Embassy hero" in Baghdad to Sweden]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  8. TT (19 April 2004). "Raketattack mot svenska ambassaden i Bagdad" [Mortar attack against the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad]. Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
  9. Malm, Fredrik (4 October 2007). "Sveriges ambassad i Bagdad" [Embassy of Sweden, Baghdad] (in Swedish). Government of Sweden. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  10. Yass, Talib (22 April 2009). "Sveriges ambassad i Bagdad öppnar igen" [The Swedish Embassy in Baghdad reopens] (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  11. "Officiell invigning av ambassaden" [Official opening of the Embassy] (in Swedish). Embassy of Sweden, Baghdad. 24 February 2010. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  12. Hammargren, Bitte (22 April 2009). "Sveriges ambassad i Irak invigd" [The Swedish Embassy in Iraq inaugurated]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  13. "Nordisk lunch på nya residenset i Bagdad" [Nordic lunch at the new residence in Baghdad] (in Swedish). Swedenabroad.com. 17 July 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  14. Hammargren, Bitte (19 August 2009). "Sveriges nya ambassad skadad" [Sweden's new embassy damaged]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  15. TT (20 March 2012). "Bomberna skakade Sveriges ambassad" [The bombs shook the Swedish Embassy]. Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  16. "Ambassadens verksamhet" [Embassy operations] (in Swedish). Embassy of Sweden, Baghdad. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
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