Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations

The Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations is head of the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations in New York City, United States.

Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations
Lesser coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden
Incumbent Nicola Clase since 2024
Ministry for Foreign Affairs Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations
Style	His or Her Excellency (formal) Mr. or Madam Ambassador (informal)
Reports to	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Seat	United Nations Headquarters New York City, New York, USA
Appointer	Government of Sweden
Term length	No fixed term
Formation	1947
First holder	Herman Eriksson
Deputy	Deputy Permanent Representative
Website	www.swedenabroad.se/en/embassies/un-new-york/

History

In 1947, Sweden appointed its first permanent representative to the United Nations, Herman Eriksson [sv], who had been the Swedish minister in Washington, D.C. for the previous two years. For long periods, Eriksson served as the sole Swedish delegate during the negotiations. When he later fell ill and required a lengthy period of convalescence, the Swedish government appointed him to the less demanding post of Swedish ambassador in Copenhagen.^[1] The UN position was then taken over by Ambassador Gunnar Hägglöf, who was appointed in August 1947.^[2]

Olof Rydbeck was appointed permanent representative in 1972. His first major task as UN ambassador was to help complete the preparations for the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972. He strongly advocated for China's participation, a goal that was successfully realized when China was admitted to the UN around the same time. Rydbeck actively supported Sweden's positive stance on this sensitive issue.^[3] Another major and controversial topic during his tenure was South Africa's apartheid policy, where his views were met with respect.^[3] His talent for achieving compromise proved valuable when, in 1976, he became chairman of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) of General Assembly, which was marked by sharp divisions between industrialized and developing countries. The highlight of Rydbeck's time as head of the Swedish UN delegation came when Sweden gained a seat on the Security Council in 1975–76. He contributed to reforms in the Council's working procedures, and Sweden's decisive "yes" vote on the question of granting the PLO the right to speak before the Council had significant political impact.^[3]

List of permanent representatives

No.	Portrait	Ambassador	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Prime Minister	Ref.
1		Eriksson, HermanHerman Eriksson [sv] (1892–1949)	17 January 1947	25 August 1947	220 days	Tage Erlander	[1]
2		Hägglöf, GunnarGunnar Hägglöf (1904–1994)	1947	1948	0–1 years	Tage Erlander	[4]
3		Grafström, SvenSven Grafström [sv] (1902–1955)	26 August 1948	1952	3–4 years	Tage Erlander	[5]
4		Thorsing, OscarOscar Thorsing [sv] (1896–1967)	1952	1956	3–4 years	Tage Erlander	[6]
5		Jarring, GunnarGunnar Jarring (1907–2002)	1956	1958	1–2 years	Tage Erlander	[7]
6		Rössel, AgdaAgda Rössel (1910–2001)	1958	1964	5–6 years	Tage Erlander	[8]
7		Åström, SverkerSverker Åström (1915–2012)	1964	1970	5–6 years	Tage Erlander Olof Palme	[9]
-		Rydbeck, OlofOlof Rydbeck (1913–1995) Acting	10 September 1970	30 September 1972	2 years, 20 days	Olof Palme	[3]
8		Rydbeck, OlofOlof Rydbeck (1913–1995)	1 October 1972	1976	3–4 years	Olof Palme	[3]
9		Thunborg, AndersAnders Thunborg (1934–2004)	1977	1983	5–6 years	Thorbjörn Fälldin Ola Ullsten Thorbjörn Fälldin Olof Palme	[10]
10		Anders, OlofAnders Ferm (1938–2019)	1983	1988	4–5 years	Olof Palme Ingvar Carlsson	[11]
11		Eliasson, JanJan Eliasson (born 1940)	1988	1992	3–4 years	Ingvar Carlsson Carl Bildt	[12]
12		Osvald, PeterPeter Osvald [sv] (born 1939)	1992	1997	4–5 years	Carl Bildt Ingvar Carlsson Göran Persson	[13]
13		Dahlgren, HansHans Dahlgren (born 1948)	1997	2000	2–3 years	Göran Persson	[14]
14		Schori, PierrePierre Schori (born 1938)	2000	2004	3–4 years	Göran Persson	-
15		Lidén, AndersAnders Lidén (born 1949)	2004	2010	5–6 years	Göran Persson Fredrik Reinfeldt	[15]
16		Grunditz, MårtenMårten Grunditz [sv] (1949–2015)	2010	2015	4–5 years	Fredrik Reinfeldt Stefan Löfven	-
17		Skoog, OlofOlof Skoog (born 1962)	2015	2019	3–4 years	Stefan Löfven	[16]
18		Eneström, Anna KarinAnna Karin Eneström (born 1961)	December 2019	30 September 2024	4–5 years	Stefan Löfven Magdalena Andersson Ulf Kristersson	[17][18]
19		Clase, NicolaNicola Clase [sv; no] (born 1965)	2024	Incumbent	–	Ulf Kristersson	[19]

List of deputy permanent representatives

Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
	Strömholm, StenAmbassador Sten Strömholm (1930–1997)	1985	1989	3–4 years	[20][21]
	Engfeldt, Lars-GöranAmbassador Lars-Göran Engfeldt (1944–2025)	1989	1993	3–4 years	[22]
	Salander, HenrikAmbassador[a] Henrik Salander [sv] (born 1945)	1993	1998	4–5 years	[24]
	Norström, PerAmbassador Per Norström (born 1947)	1998	2001	2–3 years	[25]
	Eriksson Fogh, IngaAmbassador Inga Eriksson Fogh [sv; pl; uk] (born 1950)	2001	2004	2–3 years	[26]
	Ström, UllaAmbassador Ulla Ström (born 1942)	2004	2008	3–4 years	[27]
	Örnéus, PerMinister Per Örneus (born 1962)	2008	2010	1–2 years	[15]
	Burgstaller, SigneAmbassador Signe Burgstaller (born 1965)	September 2010	2014	3–4 years	[28]
	Thöresson, PerAmbassador Per Thöresson [sv; de] (born 1962)	2014	2016	1–2 years	[29]
	Skau, CarlAmbassador Carl Skau (born 1977)	September 2016	December 2018	1–2 years	[30]
	Eneström, Anna KarinAmbassador Anna Karin Eneström (born 1961)	2019	December 2019	–	[17]
	Lennartsson, MagnusAmbassador Magnus Lennartsson (born 1961)	March 2020	September 2023	2–3 years	[31][32]
	Uexküll, Andreas vonAmbassador Andreas von Uexküll (born 1971)	2023	Incumbent	–	[33]

See also

• List of current permanent representatives to the United Nations
• Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations in Geneva

Footnotes

1. Minister 1993–1995 and ambassador from 1995.^[23].