The Ambassador of Sweden to Sierra Leone (known formally as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Republic of Sierra Leone) is the official representative of the government of Sweden to the president of Sierra Leone and government of Sierra Leone. Since Sweden does not have an embassy in Freetown, Sweden's ambassador to Sierra Leone is based in Monrovia, Liberia.
History In January 1961, the Swedish government budget bill proposed the establishment of at least two diplomatic missions in West Africa. These, it was suggested, should preferably be located in Monrovia and Lagos. The mission in Monrovia would cover not only Liberia but also Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Guinea.
Following the proclamation of Sierra Leone's independence on 27 April 1961, , Acting Head of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, stated in a congratulatory telegram to Sierra Leone's Prime Minister, Sir Milton Margai, that the Swedish government recognized Sierra Leone as a sovereign and independent state. He also expressed the Swedish government's desire to maintain friendly and cordial relations with Sierra Leone. At the same time, the Regent, Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland, sent a congratulatory telegram of his own.
In August 1961, Sweden's ambassador to Liberia, Torsten Brandel, based in Monrovia, was also appointed ambassador to Sierra Leone. In December of that year, he presented his credentials in Freetown, becoming the first Swedish ambassador to Sierra Leone. The Swedish ambassador to Sierra Leone was resident in Monrovia, Liberia, until 1977, when Sweden scaled back its diplomatic presence in Liberia, reflecting shifting foreign-policy priorities.
From 1979 to 1998, an ambassador-at-large, resident in Stockholm, Sweden, was accredited to Sierra Leone as well as to several neighboring countries in West Africa. Thereafter, accreditation was transferred to the Swedish ambassador in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, from 2000 to 2004, when the embassy there closed due to the ongoing Ivorian Civil War. In 2006, responsibility for Sierra Leone was transferred to the Swedish ambassador in Dakar, Senegal. When the embassy there closed in 2010, accreditation to Sierra Leone was once again transferred to an ambassador-at-large resident in Stockholm. From 2013, Sweden once again had a resident ambassador in Monrovia, who in 2021 assumed responsibility for Sierra Leone.
List of representatives NamePeriodTitleResidence/concurrent accreditationNotesPresented credentialsRefDominion of Sierra Leone (1961–1971)Torsten Brandel1961–1962AmbassadorResident in MonroviaDecember 1961Bo Järnstedt1962–1964AmbassadorResident in MonroviaOlof Ripa1964–1968AmbassadorResident in MonroviaHans-Efraim Sköld1969–1971AmbassadorResident in MonroviaRepublic of Sierra Leone (1971–present)Hans-Efraim Sköld1971–1972AmbassadorResident in MonroviaBengt Friedman1973–1976AmbassadorResident in MonroviaOlof Skoglund1976–1977AmbassadorResident in Monrovia–1978–1978AmbassadorVacantCai Melin1979–1982AmbassadorResident in StockholmErik Cornell1983–1988AmbassadorResident in StockholmBengt Holmquist1989–1992AmbassadorResident in StockholmAnnie Marie Sundbom1993–1997AmbassadorResident in StockholmArne Ekfelt1997–1998AmbassadorResident in Stockholm–1999–1999AmbassadorVacantGöran Ankarberg2000–2002AmbassadorResident in AbidjanInga Björk-Klevby2002–2005AmbassadorResident in AbidjanAgneta Bohman2006–2010AmbassadorResident in Dakar?2010–2012Ambassador?Per Carlson2012–2017AmbassadorResident in Stockholm5 June 2012Maria Leissner2017–2021AmbassadorResident in StockholmPolitical appointee (non-career diplomat)Urban Sjöström2021–2024AmbassadorResident in Monrovia25 August 2022Karl Backéus2024–presentAmbassadorResident in Monrovia
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