The Ambassador of Sweden to Israel (known formally as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the State of Israel) is the official representative of the government of Sweden to the president of Israel and government of Israel.
History On 16 February 1949, Sweden recognized the State of Israel de facto, and in July 1950, de jure. In January 1951, the Swedish government decided to establish a diplomatic mission in Israel, and was appointed as the chargé d'affaires there. Hedengren and his wife arrived in Haifa on 2 April 1951, aboard the Italian ship Abbazia. They were received by representatives of the Israeli government and then traveled on to Tel Aviv, where he would open the Swedish legation. On 4 April 1951, Gösta Hedengren presented his credentials to Dr. Walter Eytan at the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The Tel Aviv newspaper Maariv wrote at the time that "the appointment marks the end of the tragic Swedish-Israeli conflict that began with the murder of Count Folke Bernadotte".
In June 1953, Jens Malling was appointed as the new chargé d'affaires. He arrived at Lod Airport on 2 July 1953, and was received by representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Swedish legation. In February 1956, Malling was appointed as Sweden's first envoy to Tel Aviv. He presented his credentials on 15 March 1956, to Israeli President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi in the presence of Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett.
In September 1957, an agreement was reached between the Swedish and Israeli governments on the mutual elevation of the respective countries' legations to embassies. The diplomatic rank was thereafter changed to ambassador instead of envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary. In connection with this, Sweden's envoy to Tel Aviv, , was designated as ambassador.
Between 1981 and 2002, the ambassador held a dual accreditation to Nicosia, Cyprus.
List of representatives NamePeriodTitleNotesPresented credentialsRefGösta Hedengren1951–1953Chargé d'affaires4 April 1951Jens Malling1953–1956Chargé d'affairesIngvar GrauersApril 1955 – November 1955Chargé d'affaires ad interimJens Malling1956–1956Envoy15 March 1956Östen Lundborg1956 – September 1957Envoy5 July 1956Östen LundborgSeptember 1957 – 1960Ambassador8 October 1957Hugo Tamm1960–1963AmbassadorInga Thorsson1964–1966AmbassadorBo Siegbahn1966–1970AmbassadorSten Sundfeldt1970–1975AmbassadorIwo Dölling1975–1979AmbassadorTorsten Örn1979–1983AmbassadorDual accreditation to Nicosia (from 1981).Sven Hirdman1983–1987AmbassadorDual accreditation to Nicosia.Mats Bergquist1987–1992AmbassadorDual accreditation to Nicosia.Carl-Magnus Hyltenius1992–1996AmbassadorDual accreditation to Nicosia.John Hagard1996–1999AmbassadorDual accreditation to Nicosia.Anders Lidén1999–2002AmbassadorDual accreditation to Nicosia.Robert Rydberg2003–2007AmbassadorElisabet Borsiin Bonnier2007–2010Ambassador3 December 2007Elinor Hammarskjöld2010–2013Ambassador5 October 2010Carl Magnus NesserApril 2013 – 2017Ambassador8 Aagust 2013Magnus Hellgren1 September 2017 – 2020Ambassador29 November 2017Erik UllenhagSeptember 2020 – 2024Ambassador4 November 2020Alexandra Rydmark15 August 2024 – presentAmbassador30 September 2025
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See also Israel–Sweden relations Embassy of Sweden, Tel Aviv
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