The Embassy of Sweden in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

was

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. Diplomatic relations between Peru and Sweden were established in 1930 and the embassy opened the following year. It was closed in 2001 and reopened in 2016, only to close again in 2022. Since then, the Swedish ambassador in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

is also accredited to Lima.

History

Diplomatic relations between Peru and Sweden were established in 1930. However, the first Swedish company,

SKF AB SKF (, 'Swedish Ball Bearing Factory') is a Swedish bearing (mechanical), bearing and seal (mechanical), seal manufacturing company founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1907. The company manufactures and supplies bearings, seals, lubrication an ...

, operated in the country as early as 1918. , CEO of Svenska Tändsticks AB's (STAB) Peruvian subsidiary served as Swedish honorary consul general in Lima from 1925 to 1955. The decision for Sweden to have a representative in Peru was made on 30 July 1930, but it was not until 1 January 1931 that envoy Einar Modig formally began his position and the credentials were signed. He was also accredited to

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. In 1956, an agreement was reached between the Swedish and Peruvian governments on the mutual elevation of the respective countries' legations to embassies. In 1995, it was reported that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs would save 185 million Swedish kronor over the next three budget years. 15 Swedish embassies and consulates were to be closed by 1998. The embassy in Peru was saved from the threat of closure through alternative cost-saving measures. The embassy was closed in 2001 and the ambassador was subsequently accredited from the Swedish embassy in

. The decision to close was made based on budgetary reasons. The press release that went out about the closure stated the following: "Sweden's relations with the outside world are constantly changing, and it is sometimes necessary to change the center of gravity in the monitoring of the outside world. The foreign service currently has a significant deficit, which also makes it necessary to take measures to achieve a balance between operations and resources. The purpose of the structural changes is to have a foreign service as modern and cost-effective as possible." Since 2001, Peruvian affairs are under the embassy in Santiago. These mainly consist of bilateral relations between Peru and Sweden on a political, commercial, economic and cultural level. Remaining in Lima, there was an honorary consulate general that dealt with consular affairs under the leadership of consul general Stefan Sandberg. The consulate also had a vice consul and three local employees. The consulate was housed in an annex to the former Swedish residence in the San Isidro District. There was also an honorary consulate in

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

. Following a government decision in December 2015, it was decided to reopen the embassy in 2016. On 22 November 2016, the Swedish embassy in Lima was inaugurated by Minister for European Union Affairs and Trade Ann Linde together with a Team Sweden delegation. The Swedish government decided on 3 November 2021 to close the embassy. The embassy was closed in August 2022, and was discontinued in October 2022. Sweden's ambassador to Chile is now also accredited to Peru. Sweden has an honorary consulate in

Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...

Staff and tasks

The Swedish Embassy in Lima was structured with various positions and departments. In 2021 it consisted of the following: an ambassador who was the

head of mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, perma ...

, supported by a deputy head of mission. The staff included a secretary and cashier, a trade promotion officer, and an assistant for trade promotion. There was also a communications assistant responsible for cultural promotion, a migration assistant who also handled administrative tasks, a consular assistant who served as a receptionist, and a driver who also functioned as a caretaker.

Buildings

Chancery

From 1931 to 1935, the

chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

was located at Avenida 28 de Julio 878 in the Miraflores District. From 1936, the address was Avenida 28 de Julio 540. In 1940, the residence at Calle La Santa María 120-130 in the San Isidro District was bought. The chancery operated for a number of years in an extension to the residence. From 1969, the address was Las Camélias 780 in the San Isidro District. In the mid-1980s, the chancery moved to Avenida Camino Real. When the

Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

decided to open an embassy again in Lima in 2016 and the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs was also looking for premises, it became a good and efficient solution to put both embassies at the old address in the former ambassador's residence in the San Isidro District. The building was renovated in 2017-18 by Hidemark & Stintzing and local firm Roman Bauer Architects. The renovation created offices for the two embassies, a

pergola A pergola is most commonly used as an outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support crossbeams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are t ...

for a better outdoor environment, energy efficiency, earthquake strengthening and major improvements regarding the accessibility of the house. In 2018, the Swedish and Finnish embassies opened at this long-standing Swedish address.

Residence

The palatial villa at Calle La Santa María 120-130 in the San Isidro District was built in 1938 and purchased in 1940 by the then National Swedish Board of Public Building (''Byggnadsstyrelsen'') as an ambassador's residence. A rebuild done in 1956, was designed by J Fussing. For just over 60 years, until the spring of 2001, when the embassy was closed, the property operated as an ambassador's residence. When the

closed the embassy in Lima, it was decided that the

National Property Board of Sweden The National Property Board of Sweden (, SFV) is a Swedish State administrative authority, organised under the Ministry of Finance. SFV is responsible for managing a portion of the real property assets owned by the State. The portfolio consists ...

(SFV) would keep the building and it was leased for a long time to the aid organization

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

. The villa is one of the few properties in the area that is not of a more modern design and is in its own right a cultural heritage worth preserving. As of summer 2018, it served as the

for the Swedish and Finnish embassies. File:Embajada_De_Suecia_En_Lima.jpg, Entrance with Swedish Embassy sign in 2019 File:Embassy_of_Finland,_Lima_3.jpg, Entrance with Finnish Embassy sign in 2023 File:Embassy_of_Finland,_Lima.jpg, Corner view

References

External links

* {{Diplomatic missions in Peru

Defunct diplomatic missions Peru–Sweden relations 1930 establishments in Peru 2001 disestablishments in Peru 2016 establishments in Peru 2022 disestablishments in Peru San Isidro District, Lima