Embassy of Sweden, Athens
LocationAthens
AddressEmbassy of Sweden
Vassileos Konstantinou 7
106 74 Athens
Greece
Opening1945
AmbassadorJohan Borgstam
WebsiteOfficial website

The Embassy of Sweden in Athens, is Sweden's diplomatic mission in Greece. The mission opened in 1945 and was elevated to an embassy in 1956. Sweden also has five honorary consulates in Chania, Heraklion, Corfu, Rhodes, and in Thessaloniki

History

Sweden has had diplomatic relations with Greece since 1833.[1] The first resident Swedish minister in Greece was appointed in 1944 after the Swedish envoy had previously been accredited from the Swedish embassy in Bucharest and in Ankara. Knut Richard Thyberg arrived in Greece in August 1944. As the Germans did not permit any foreign diplomatic representatives, Minister Thyberg initially held the title of Swedish Consul General and only gained full diplomatic status after Greece's liberation and the Germans' withdrawal in October 1944. At that time, apart from Minister Thyberg, the only remaining diplomatic and consular foreign personnel in Athens were the Swedish Consul Gösta Risberg, a former Spanish minister, and a Swiss former charge d'affaires. Minister Thyberg conducted his official duties at the Dutch legation, whose interests Sweden represented. Furthermore, Sweden also looked after the interests of the Soviet Union and Argentina. During the activities associated with these protective missions, Minister Thyberg, thanks to a considerable level of understanding from SS General Walter Schimana, who was then the highest-ranking German military officer in Athens, managed to liberate around 50 Jews from captivity and return them to their homes.[2]

The Swedish legation was elevated to an embassy in 1956 after an agreement was reached between the Swedish and Greek governments to elevate each other's legations to embassies. Sweden's newly appointed envoy in Athens, Count Fritz Stackelberg, was thus given the position of ambassador.[3]

On 15 December 1967, the Swedish government decided to recall Ambassador Gösta Brunnström for consultations as a demonstration against the Greek military junta.[4] The embassy was then without an ambassador for five years until embassy counselor Dag Bergman was appointed as ambassador to Athens in 1972.[5]

In March 1976, the Tokyo Police announced that the Swedish embassy in Athens was close to being occupied by the Japanese Red Army, as it was part of the terrorists' contingency plan in case the operation against the French embassy in The Hague in 1974 had failed.[6] The Japanese Red Army had occupied the Swedish embassy in Kuala Lumpur the previous year, holding 15 people hostage.

Tasks

The embassy's task is to represent Sweden in Greece and promote relations between Sweden and Greece. The embassy monitors and reports on political and economic developments in Greece. The embassy promotes trade between Sweden and Greece in collaboration with Business Sweden and also promotes tourism and cultural exchange between the countries and contributes to strengthening the image of, and increasing knowledge of, Sweden in Greece. The embassy carries out consular work regarding the approximately 850,000 Swedish citizens who visit Greece annually, as well as the Swedish citizens who are permanently resident in Greece.[7]

Buildings

Chancery

The chancery was 1945–1955 located at rue Patriarchou loachim 20, Athens,[8][9] 1956–1963 at rue Stissichorou 15, Athens,[10][11] in 1964 at rue Méléagrou, Athens 138,[12] and from 1965 at 4 rue Méléagrou & Boulevard Vassileos Konstantinou, Athens 138,[13]

As of 2023, the chancery are located at Vassileos Konstantinou 7, at the top of the fifth floor of a building built in 1977. The building also houses the embassies of the Netherlands and Ireland. Across the street is the Panathenaic Stadium from 1896, the year the first modern Olympic Games took place. The Swedish Embassy moved in during 1979 and in connection with that the chancery was rebuilt. Ten years later, in 1989, a thorough renovation and installation of a new reception, security lock and interview room was carried out. In 2003, the embassy's premises were renovated and a new heating and cooling system was installed. In 2012, a new elevator was installed.[14]

Residence

The ambassador's residence was 1955–1956 located at Rue Méléagrou 5,[9][10] 1957–1964 at Rue Roi Georges II, n:o 1,[15][12] 1965–1966 at 1 rue Vassileos Georgiou B,[13][16] and from 1967 at 17 rue Hirodou Attikou.[17]

The landlord of the previously rented Swedish ambassadoral residence sold the house and the new owner did not want to rent it out. A suitable replacement property was found in the Filothei district, located on the slope northeast of the city center overlooking Athens and Mount Pentelicus. The district is a quiet residential area and several countries have relocated their ambassadoral residences here. The ambassador's residence was built and purchased in 1989. The architect's name is Stelios Agiostatitis.[14] Its located at Ioannou Metaxa 56 in Filothei.[18]

The ambassador's residence is a detached earth shelter villa in two floors and a basement. Both exterior and interior are white, the latter with white marble floors and white painted walls. There are glass walls facing the valley. The entrance is on the street level, as is the representation floor with study, lounge, dining room and kitchen. Outside the dining room and lounge is a large terrace of about 120 square metre. On the ambassador's private floor, there are five bedrooms, a living room, four bathrooms and two smaller terraces. Recreation room, storage rooms and rooms for service staff are located in the basement. There is also a garage. The property has a walled raised plot of 1,200 square metre. In the garden there is a solar heated pool.[14]

Heads of Mission

NamePeriodTitleAccreditation
Carl Peter von Heidenstam1833–1878Chargé d’affaires
Einar af Wirsén1921–1925EnvoyAccredited from the embassy in Bucharest.
Jonas Alströmer1925–1933EnvoyAccredited from the embassy in Bucharest.
Erik Boheman1933–1934EnvoyAccredited from the embassy in Ankara.
Wilhelm Winther1934–1937EnvoyAccredited from the embassy in Ankara.
Eric Gyllenstierna1938–1939EnvoyAccredited from the embassy in Ankara.
Einar Modig21 August 1939[lower-alpha 1]–1944EnvoyAccredited from the embassy in Ankara.[19]
Knut Richard Thyberg1944–1948Chargé d’affaires
Alexis Aminoff1949–1951Envoy
Tage Grönwall1951–1956Envoy
Fritz Stackelberg1956–1962Ambassador
Tage Grönwall1962–1965Ambassador
Gösta Brunnström1965–1972[lower-alpha 2]Ambassador
Dag Bergman1972–1973Ambassador
Agda Rössel1973–1976Ambassador
Ivar Öhman1976–1980Ambassador
Iwo Dölling1980–1985Ambassador
Hans Colliander1985–1989Ambassador
Karl-Anders Wollter1989–1992Ambassador
Krister Kumlin1993–1997Ambassador
Björn Elmér1997–2002Ambassador
Mårten Grunditz2002–2008Ambassador
Håkan Malmqvist2008–2013Ambassador
Charlotte Wrangberg2013–2017Ambassador
Charlotte Sammelin2017–2021Ambassador
Johan Borgstam2021–presentAmbassador

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Assumed the position in 1941.[19]
  2. ↑ Brunnström was called home to Stockholm on 15 December 1967 and never returned to Athens but retained his accreditation with the King of Greece until 1972.[4][20]

References

  1. ↑ "Grekland" [Greece] (in Swedish). Government Offices of Sweden. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  2. ↑ Bretholz (1945-05-12). "Grekerna...". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. A15. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Svensk ambassad i Aten" [Swedish embassy in Athens]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 1956-05-31. p. 4A. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Svenske ambassadören hem - "Demonstration mot juntan"" [Swedish ambassador called home - "Demonstration against the junta"]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 1967-12-16. p. 8. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "Snöpligt". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 1972-06-28. p. 4. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  6. ↑ "Svensk ambassad terrormål i reserv" [Swedish embassy a terrorist target in reserve]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). No. 74. 1976-03-16. p. 1. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Välkommen till den svenska ambassaden i Athen, Grekland" [Welcome to the Swedish Embassy in Athens, Greece] (in Swedish). Embassy of Sweden, Athens. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  8. ↑ Sveriges statskalender för året 1945 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1945. p. 265.
  9. 1 2 Sveriges statskalender för året 1955 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1955. p. 309.
  10. 1 2 Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1956 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1956. p. 317.
  11. ↑ Sveriges statskalender 1963 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1963. p. 303.
  12. 1 2 Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1964 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1964. p. 309.
  13. 1 2 Sveriges statskalender 1965 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1965. p. 318.
  14. 1 2 3 "Aten, Grekland. Ambassad och residens" (in Swedish). National Property Board of Sweden. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  15. ↑ Sveriges statskalender för året 1957 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1957. p. 291.
  16. ↑ Sveriges statskalender 1966 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1966. p. 293.
  17. ↑ Sveriges statskalender 1967 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1967. p. 307.
  18. ↑ "Justitieutskottets delegationsresa till Aten och Thessaloniki den 23-26 augusti 2016" [The Justice Committee's delegation trip to Athens and Thessaloniki on 23-26 August 2016] (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Riksdag. 2016-09-20. p. 6. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  19. 1 2 Rockberger, Nicolaus (1985–1987). "Einar Modig". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). Vol. 25. National Archives of Sweden. p. 600. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  20. ↑ "Till Montreal" [To Montreal]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 1969-09-27. p. 13. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
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