Per ''Otto'' Gustaf Rathsman (14 August 1917 – 15 June 1986) was a Swedish diplomat.
Early life
Rathsman was born on 14 August 1917 in Ljung,
Linköping Municipality
Linköping Municipality (''Linköpings kommun'') is a municipality in Östergötland County in southern Sweden. With more than 165,000 inhabitants, it is the fifth largest municipality in Sweden.
The municipality is bordered in the west by Motal ...
,
Sweden, the son of vicar Otto Rathsman and his wife Sara (née Svensson).
He passed ''
studentexamen
Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and r ...
'' in
Linköping
Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...
in 1936 and received a
Candidate of Law
Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries.
...
degree from
Uppsala University
Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation.
The university rose to significance during ...
in 1939 before becoming an attaché at the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
in 1940.
Career
Rathsman served in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
in 1942,
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
in 1943,
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
in 1945 and was First Secretary there in 1950. He was First Legation Secretary in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 1950, First Secretary in 1953, First Legation Secretary in
Ottawa in 1953, and First Secretary in 1957.
While serving as First Secretary in Ottawa, Rathsman was en route to
Stockholm on 25 July 1956 for a two-month vacation when the eastbound
MS ''Stockholm'' collided with westbound Italian ocean liner . He suffered only a minor head injury.
The year after, Rathsman became Director at the Swedish Foreign Ministry and in 1959 he became Embassy Counsellor in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...
.
He became Consul (with the title of Consul-general) in
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...
in 1962 and he was Ambassador in Nairobi, also accredited to
Dar es Salaam,
Kampala
Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...
and
Lusaka from 1962 to 1966 and
Caracas, also accredited to
Santo Domingo
, total_type = Total
, population_density_km2 = auto
, timezone = AST (UTC −4)
, area_code_type = Area codes
, area_code = 809, 829, 849
, postal_code_type = Postal codes
, postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional)
, webs ...
and
Port of Spain from 1966 to 1970. After that he was Ambassador in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
from 1970 to 1973,
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
from 1973 to 1975, Consul-general in
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
from 1976 to 1980 and Consul-general in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
from 1980 to 1982. Before retiring, Rathsman was mediator in the
Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission
The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) was established by the Korean Armistice Agreement signed 27 July 1953, declaring an armistice in the Korean War. It is, with the Military Armistice Commission, part of the mechanism regulating the r ...
in
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
from 1 April 1982 to 31 March 1983 with the rank of major general.
Personal life
Rathsman was married twice. He was married the first time 1944–1954 to Ulla Wennerberg (born 1921), daughter of John Wennerberg and Karin (née Cederberg). He married a second time in 1955 with Gunilla Beskow (born 1927), daughter of the engineer Fritz Beskow and Rut (née Mellander).
He had three children in his first marriage; Ulf (born 1945), Lena (born 1947) and Katarina (born 1949) and two children in his second marriage; Otto (born 1956) and Peter (born 1957).
Rathsman died on 15 June 1986 and was buried in
Skogskyrkogården
Skogskyrkogården (; ) is a cemetery located in the Gamla Enskede district south of central Stockholm, Sweden. Its design, by Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz, reflects the development of architecture from Nordic Classicism to mature function ...
in Stockholm on 21 July 1986.
Awards and decorations
*Commander of the
Order of the Falcon
The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. N ...
*Officer of the
Order of Orange-Nassau
The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands.
The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...
*Knight of the
Order of Civil Merit
The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and fore ...
*Knight of the
Order of the Aztec Eagle
The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle ( es, Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca) forms part of the Mexican Honours System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners in the country.
History
It was created by decree on December 29, 1933 ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathsman, Otto
1917 births
1986 deaths
Consuls-general of Sweden
Ambassadors of Sweden to Kenya
Ambassadors of Sweden to Tanzania
Ambassadors of Sweden to Uganda
Ambassadors of Sweden to Zambia
Ambassadors of Sweden to Venezuela
Ambassadors of Sweden to the Dominican Republic
Ambassadors of Sweden to Haiti
Ambassadors of Sweden to Romania
Ambassadors of Sweden to Iraq
People from Linköping Municipality
Uppsala University alumni
Burials at Skogskyrkogården