The Ambassador of Sweden to Ivory Coast (known formally as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire) is the official representative of the government of Sweden to the president of Ivory Coast and government of Ivory Coast. The ambassador is based in Stockholm and travels regularly to the Ivory Coast.
History On the occasion of Ivory Coast's independence on 7 August 1960, Sweden's acting foreign minister, Ragnar Edenman, sent a congratulatory telegram to the new nation's president and head of government, Félix Houphouët-Boigny. The telegram stated that the Swedish government recognized Ivory Coast as a sovereign and independent state, and expressed hopes for friendly and cordial relations between the two countries. At the same time, King Gustaf Adolf also sent his congratulations by telegram.
A Swedish delegation returned from a study and inspection trip in West Africa in May 1960 and submitted their report to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in January 1961, recommending that a Swedish diplomatic mission be opened in Monrovia, Liberia, with the head of the mission temporarily accredited to neighboring countries, including Ivory Coast. The embassy in Monrovia was later opened in the same year, and the head of the mission was accredited in Abidjan.
At the celebration of Ivory Coast's first anniversary as an independent state on 6–7 August 1961, Sweden was represented at the festivities in Abidjan by Consul Carl Gustav Blomqwist in Monrovia in the capacity of ambassadeur en mission spéciale.
In December 1962, the so-called Ministry for Foreign Affairs (UD) investigation proposed that a new diplomatic mission be opened in West Africa, either in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, or Accra, Ghana. In a proposal to Parliament in March 1963, it was suggested that an embassy be opened in Abidjan, with its jurisdiction also covering the republics of Mali, Niger, Togo, and Upper Volta. In September, Karl Henrik Andersson was appointed as Sweden's first resident ambassador in Abidjan, where the new Swedish embassy was established later that year. The ambassador was also accredited to the Dahomey, Mali, Niger, and the Upper Volta.
In 1967, the embassy was closed after it was determined that a permanent diplomatic mission was not as necessary as in other African countries. The Swedish ambassador in Monrovia was once again accredited to Abidjan.
In 1978, Sweden reestablished an embassy in Abidjan. On 15 November 2004, in the aftermath of the French–Ivorian clashes during the Ivorian Civil War, the Swedish embassy in Abidjan was closed temporarily, and the ambassador returned to Stockholm. Since 2007, Sweden has had a Stockholm-based ambassador to Ivory Coast.
List of representatives NamePeriodResident/Non residentTitleNotesPresented credentialsRefTorsten Brandel1961–1962 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Monrovia.Bo Järnstedt1962–1964 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Monrovia.Karl Henrik Andersson1964–1967 ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited in Bamako, Niamey, Ouagadougou, and Porto-Novo.Olof Ripa1967–1969 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Monrovia.Hans-Efraim Sköld1969–1972 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Monrovia.Bengt Friedman1973–1976 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Monrovia.Olof Skoglund1976–1977 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Monrovia.Hans-Olle Olsson1978–1981 ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Bissau, Praia (both 1979–1980), and Bamako (from 1980).Bengt Borglund1982–1987 ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Lomé, Ouagadougou, and Porto-Novo (all from 1983).Arne Ekfeldt1987–1992 ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Lomé, Ouagadougou, and Porto-Novo.Peter Bruce1992–1995 ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Lomé, Ouagadougou, and Porto-Novo.Bo Wilén1995–1999 ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Lomé, Ouagadougou, and Porto-Novo (all from 1996).Göran Ankarberg1999–2002 ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Freetown (from 2000), Monrovia, and Ouagadougou.Inga Björk-Klevby2002–2005 ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Freetown, Monrovia, and Ouagadougou (from 2003).–2006–2007 Non-residentAmbassadorVacant.Carin Wall2007–2010 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Stockholm.Per Carlson2012–2017 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Stockholm12 April 2012Maria Leissner2018–2021 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Stockholm13 November 2018Mia Rimby2021–2025 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Stockholm2 March 2023Katrin Månsson2025–present Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Stockholm.11 February 2026
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