List of ambassadors of Sweden to the Holy See

Contents

The Ambassador of Sweden to the Holy See (known formally as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Holy See) is the official representative of the government of Sweden to the Holy See, the leadership of the Catholic Church. The official representation began with the formal opening of diplomatic relations between Sweden and the Holy See in 1982. Sweden accredited its first ambassador to the Holy See in 1983. The ambassador is resident in Stockholm, Sweden.

History

Diplomatic relations between Sweden and the Holy See were severed at the Riksdag of 1527 in Västerås under Gustav Vasa, who carried out the Reformation and became Sweden's first Protestant king.[1]

After more than 450 years, diplomatic relations were re-established through an exchange of notes conducted in Stockholm and Rome on 30 June, 12 July, and 26 July 1982. Sweden and the Holy See agreed to establish diplomatic relations with effect from 2 August 1982.[2]

On 24 March 1983, Ambassador Gunnar Ljungdahl, Sweden's first ambassador to the Holy See, presented his credentials to Pope John Paul II.[1] During the initial years, the ambassador was resident in Stockholm. From 1988 to 2001, the ambassador was resident in Rome, and since 2001 the ambassador has once again been resident in Stockholm.[3]

Over the years, the ambassador to the Holy See has also been accredited as Sweden's ambassador to Malta (1987–1992, 2008–present) and San Marino (1989–2005).

List of representatives

NamePeriodResident/Non residentTitleNotesPresented credentialsRef
Gunnar Ljungdahl1983–1986Non-residentAmbassador24 March 1983[4][1]
Bengt Friedman1986–1988Non-residentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Valetta (from 1987).[5]
Lars Bergquist1988–1993ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to the City of San Marino (from 1989) and Valetta (1989–1992).December 1988[6][7]
Tom Tscherning1993–1994ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to the City of San Marino.[8]
Torsten Örn1994–1996ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to the City of San Marino.November 1994[9][10]
Anders Thunborg1996–1999ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to the City of San Marino.[11]
Bo Henrikson1999–2001ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to the City of San Marino.20 December 1999[12][13]
Fredrik Vahlquist2001–2007Non-residentAmbassadorAlso accredited to the City of San Marino (2003–2005).[14][15]
Ulla Gudmundson2008–2013Non-residentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Valetta.[16]
Lars-Hjalmar Wide2013–2016Non-residentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Valetta.[17]
Cecilia BjörnerSeptember 2016 – 2021Non-residentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Valetta.[18]
Andrés Jato2021 – August 2023Non-residentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Valetta.[19][20][21]
Per Holmström2023–presentNon-residentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Valetta.[22]

References

  1. 1.[1.2][1.3]"För första gången sedan Gustav Vasas dagar. Svensk ambassadör i Vatikanen" [For the first time since the days of Gustav Vasa. Swedish ambassador to the Vatican]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 25 March 1983. p. 33. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  2. 2.Sveriges internationella överenskommelser: SÖ 1982:81 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Utrikesdepartementet. 1982. p. 1. ISSN 0284-1967. SELIBR 4110996.
  3. 3.Amberg, Jan Henrik (2017). "Förbindelserna mellan Heliga stolen och Sverige" [Relations between the Holy See and Sweden]. Signum (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  4. 4.Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (1986). Sveriges statskalender 1986 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Liber Allmänna. p. 355. ISBN 91-38-08944-0. SELIBR 3682765.
  5. 5.Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (1988). Sveriges statskalender 1988 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Allmänna. pp. 363, 368. ISBN 91-38-09927-6. SELIBR 3682767.
  6. 6.Uddling, Hans; Paabo, Katrin, eds. (1994). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1995 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1995] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 113. ISBN 91-1-943202-X. SELIBR 8261514.
  7. 7.Kjellander, Ann-Marie (5 June 1990). "Dagens jubilar. Skrivande ambassadör" [Today's anniversary. Writing ambassador]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 18. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  8. 8.Salander Mortensen, Jill, ed. (1996). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1997 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1997] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 1134. ISBN 91-1-960852-7. SELIBR 3681533.
  9. 9.Jönsson, Lena, ed. (2000). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 2001 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 2001] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 1270. ISBN 9172850426. SELIBR 8261515.
  10. 10.Kjellander, Ann-Marie (22 November 1994). "Påven pratade Sverigeminnen med nya ambassadören" [The Pope spoke about memories of Sweden with the new ambassador]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 25. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  11. 11.Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (1999). Sveriges statskalender 1999 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes. pp. 181, 192. ISBN 91-38-31445-2. SELIBR 3682778.
  12. 12.Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (2001). Sveriges statskalender 2001 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes. pp. 179, 190. ISBN 9138318385. SELIBR 8261601.
  13. 13."ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER TO THE NEW AMBASSADOR OF SWEDEN TO THE HOLY SEE". L'Osservatore Romano. No. 1. Vatican Publishing House. 20 December 1999. p. 4. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  14. 14.Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (2005). Sveriges statskalender 2005 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes. p. 188. ISBN 9138321971. SELIBR 9879458.
  15. 15.Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (2007). Sveriges statskalender 2007 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedts Juridik AB/Fritzes. p. 176. ISBN 9138323583. SELIBR 10414913.
  16. 16.Sveriges statskalender 2010 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedts Juridik AB/Fritzes. 2010. pp. 182, 189. ISBN 978-91-38-32520-9. SELIBR 11846164.
  17. 17."Ny ambassadör i Spanien" [New ambassador to Spain] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2026. Lars-Hjalmar Wide är idag Stockholmsbaserat sändebud för Heliga stolen och Malta. [Lars-Hjalmar Wide is currently the Stockholm-based envoy for the Holy See and Malta.]
  18. 18."Ny ambassadör vid den Heliga stolen och i Malta" [New ambassador to the Holy See and to Malta] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  19. 19."Ny ambassadör vid den Heliga stolen" [New ambassador to the Holy See] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  20. 20."Andres Jato avslutar sitt uppdrag som Sveriges ambassadör vid Heliga Stolen" [Andres Jato ends his mission as Sweden's ambassador to the Holy See]. Vatican News (in Swedish). 31 August 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  21. 21."Ny ambassadör i Moçambique" [New ambassador to Mozambique] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 8 May 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2026. Han har tidigare varit ambassadör vid den Heliga stolen och Malta med stationering i Stockholm. [He has previously served as ambassador to the Holy See and Malta, stationed in Stockholm.]
  22. 22."Ny ambassadör vid den Heliga stolen och i Malta" [New ambassador to the Holy See and to Malta] (Press release) (in Swedish). Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2026.