The Ambassador of Sweden to Syria (known formally as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Syrian Arab Republic) is the official representative of the government of Sweden to the president of Syria and government of Syria.
History Sweden recognized Syria and Lebanon as independent states on 2 November 1945. Sweden and Syria established diplomatic relations in 1946. In the council on 7 February 1947, Sweden's minister in Cairo, Envoy Widar Bagge, was appointed as envoy to both Damascus and Beirut, while remaining stationed in Cairo. In June 1957, Åke Sjölin was appointed as Sweden's first resident envoy in Beirut, with concurrent accreditation in, among other places, Damascus.
In 1958, Syria entered into a political union with Egypt, forming the United Arab Republic, after which the Swedish envoy in Beirut was no longer accredited in Damascus. In 1961, Syria seceded from the union following the 1961 Syrian coup d'état. On 1 February 1962, Gösta Brunnström presented his credentials to Syria's president, Dr. Nazim al-Qudsi, in his capacity as Sweden's new ambassador to Syria. Brunnström thus became the first Swedish ambassador to Syria since 1958, when the country merged with Egypt.
In 1974, Sweden opened an embassy office in Damascus, which was subordinate to the Swedish embassy in Beirut and headed by a chargé d'affaires ad interim until August 1983, when was appointed as Sweden's first resident ambassador to the newly established independent embassy in Damascus.
On 29 March 2012, the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs decided to scale down operations and staff at the embassy in Damascus until further notice. Due to the developments, the embassy in Damascus has not been continuously staffed, and its operations have since been primarily conducted from Beirut. Since then the Sweden's ambassador to Lebanon served as chargé d'affaires in Syria. In June 2026, a resident ambassador was once again appointed to Damascus, with the appointment taking effect in August of the same year.
List of representatives NamePeriodResident/Non residentTitleNotesRefFirst Syrian Republic (1930–1950)Widar Bagge1947–1950 Non-residentEnvoyResident in Cairo.Second Syrian Republic (1950–1958) and Syrian Arab Republic (1961–1963)Widar Bagge1950–1951 Non-residentEnvoyResident in Cairo.Gustaf Weidel1951–1955 Non-residentEnvoyResident in Cairo.Brynolf Eng1955–1957 Non-residentEnvoyResident in Cairo.Åke Sjölin1957–1958 Non-residentEnvoyResident in Beirut.–1958–1961 Non-resident–None during the political union with Egypt.Gösta Brunnström1961–1963 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Beirut.Syrian Arab Republic (1963–2024)Gösta Brunnström1963–1965 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Beirut.Claës Ivar Wollin1965–1969 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Beirut.Åke Jonsson1969–1974 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Beirut.Jean-Jacques von Dardel1974–1978 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Beirut (until 25 March 1976).Göran Wide1976–1979 ResidentChargé d'affaires ad interimSten Strömholm1979–1983 Non-residentAmbassadorResident in Beirut.Ingmar Karlsson1979–1983 ResidentChargé d'affaires ad interimGöran Berg1983–1987 ResidentAmbassadorRolf Gauffin1987–1991 ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Beirut (from 1990).Stig Elvemar1991–1994 ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Beirut.Jan Axel Nordlander1994–1997 ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Beirut.Tommy Arwitz1997–2001 ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Beirut (until 1999).Viola Furubjelke2001–2005 ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Beirut.Catharina Kipp2005–2008 ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Beirut.Niklas Kebbon13 October 2008 – 2014 ResidentAmbassadorAlso accredited to Beirut.Diana JanseOctober 2014 – 2015 Non-residentChargé d'affairesResident in Beirut.Mikael Staaf2015–2015 Non-residentChargé d'affaires ad interimResident in Beirut.Peter Semneby2015–2017 Non-residentChargé d'affairesResident in Beirut.Jörgen LindströmSeptember 2017 – August 2020 Non-residentChargé d'affairesResident in Beirut.Ann DismorrSeptember 2020 – 2024 Non-residentChargé d'affairesResident in Beirut.Syrian Arab Republic (2024–present)Jessica Svärdström2024 – August 2026 Non-residentChargé d'affairesResident in Beirut.Jessica SvärdströmAugust 2026 – present ResidentAmbassador
See also Sweden–Syria relations
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