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 On 31 July 1903, the district of the Swedish consulate in Riga was expanded to include the Kovno Governorate. 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).
On 28 September 1921, the King in Council formally recognized the Republic of Lithuania as an independent and sovereign state. The following year, on 9 June 1922, Sweden's minister in Riga and Tallinn, Envoy Torsten Undén, was also appointed envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary in Kaunas.
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. The recommendation was approved, and from that year an honorary consul assumed the role.
In January 1936, the question was raised of stationing a legation counselor permanently in Kaunas to serve as chargé d’affaires ad interim. On 30 April that year, Claes Westring 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.
In September 1939, Sweden's envoy to Riga, Tallinn, and Kaunas, Birger Johansson, 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. 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.
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.
On 27 August 1991, the Swedish government decided to reestablish diplomatic relations with Lithuania. The agreement entered into force the next day, 28 August. 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.
List of representatives NamePeriodTitleNotesRefTorsten Undén1922–1928EnvoyResident in Riga.Patrik Reuterswärd13 June 1928 – 1935EnvoyResident in Riga.Herbert Ribbing30 April – 2 June 1929Chargé d'affaires ad interimAlso in Riga and Tallinn.Herbert Ribbing15 November – 1 December 1929Chargé d'affaires ad interimAlso in Riga and Tallinn.Birger Johansson1935 – September 1939EnvoyResident in Riga.Claes Westring1936 – September 1939Chargé d'affaires ad interimClaes WestringSeptember 1939 – 24 August 1940Chargé d'affaires en piedNo head of mission between 1940 and 1991Lars Magnuson1991–1994AmbassadorStellan Ottosson1994–1998AmbassadorLars Vargö1998–1999AmbassadorJan Palmstierna1999–2004AmbassadorMalin Kärre2004–2008AmbassadorUlrika Cronenberg Mossberg2008–2011AmbassadorCecilia Ruthström-RuinSeptember 2011 – 2016AmbassadorMaria Christina LundqvistSeptember 2016 – 2020AmbassadorInger BuxtonSeptember 2020 – 2023AmbassadorLars WahlundAugust 2023 – 2026AmbassadorUrban AnderssonAugust 2026 – presentAmbassador
See also Lithuania–Sweden relations
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