Eric Otto Gunnarsson Virgin (31 March 1920 – 9 September 2004) was a Swedish

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

Early life

Virgin was born on 31 March 1920 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden, the son of Colonel Gunnar Virgin and Elsie, née Ramel (aunt to Povel Ramel). He passed his reserve officer exam in 1941 and received a Candidate of Law degree in 1942. Virgin became an attaché the same year at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Career

Virgin served in New York City in 1943, Washington, D.C. in 1945 and at the Ministry of Finance from 1947 to 1949. Early in his career he was associate of Dag Hammarskjöld in cases involving international financial issues. He became first administrative officer in 1949, first secretary at the Foreign Ministry in 1950 and was director there in 1955. Virgin was embassy counselor in Rome from 1957 to 1962 and was

Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations The Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations is in charge of the Sweden's diplomatic mission to the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, United States. * Gunnar Hägglöf, 1947–1948 * Sven Grafström, 1948–1952 * Osca ...

in New York City from 1962 to 1963. He was head of the Foreign Ministry's Report Secretariat from 1963 to 1965 and was director-general of the Foreign Ministry's negotiating team in Stockholm from 1965 to 1966. Virgin was then envoy in Pretoria, Gaborone and Maseru from 1966 to 1970, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore,

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

and Vientiane from 1970 to 1976 and in

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

from 1976 to 1982. He was fiscal policy negotiator at the Foreign Ministry from 1982 to 1983 and ambassador in Rome and Valletta from 1983 to 1986. Virgin participated in various negotiations, including in the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

between 1947 and 1957. He was a consultant for FFV International in 1986, chairman of the Association of Friends of Swedish Museums (''Svenska museivänföreningen''), Association of Friends of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (''Föreningen Östasiatiska Museets Vänner'') and the Swedish Committee Pro Venezia (''Svenska kommittén Pro Venezia'').

Personal life

Virgin married on 19 May 1951 with Gitt Cassel (born 1927), daughter of works manager Fredrik Cassel and Margareta, née Lindforss. He was the father of Louise (born 1953) and Caroline (born 1954). Virgin died in 2004 and was buried at Norra begravningsplatsen in Stockholm.

Awards

*Knight of the Order of the Polar Star *Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany *Knight, First Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

King Haakon VII Freedom Cross King Haakon VII's Freedom Cross ( no, Haakon VIIs Frihetskors) was established in Norway on 18 May 1945. The medal is awarded to Norwegian or foreign military or civilian personnel for outstanding achievement in wartime. It is ranked fifth in the ...

References