Sven Backlund

Sven Backlund (1917–1997) was a Swedish diplomat. He was the ambassador of Sweden to Yugoslavia, European Communities and West Germany. He also served as the permanent representative of Sweden at the Council of Europe.

Early life and education

Backlund was born in 1917. His father who was also named as Sven was a social democratic figure and worked for the Gothenburg-based news magazine ''Ny Tid'' as a foreign editor in the 1940s.

Backlund obtained his university degree in 1936. He founded the Social Democratic student club at Stockholm University. He received a master's degree in politics in 1942.

Career and activities

Following his graduation Backlund joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1942. He worked as an attaché at the Swedish embassies in the USA until 1946 and in the United Kingdom between 1946 and 1947. He was the secretary of legation in Norway from 1947 to 1949 and in the US from 1951 to 1955. Backlund was named as the head of the press office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1955 and remained in office until 1961. He served as the councilor of mission in Belgrade between 1961 and 1964, becoming ambassador to Yugoslavia in 1963. He was the consul general in West Germany from 1964 to 1968. Backlund mediated secret meetings between Willy Brandt, then Mayor of West Berlin, and Pyotr Abrasimov, ambassador of Soviet Union to East Germany, which were held at the Swedish Embassy in Berlin in November 1966.

Backlund was appointed ambassador of Sweden to the European Communities in 1968 which he held until 1972. During his tenure he was also permanent representative of Sweden at the Council of Europe. Backlund was appointed ambassador of Sweden to West Germany in 1972 and remained in office until June 1983. Throughout his diplomatic tenure in West Germany Backlund was one of the people who helped East Germans to flee. His term witnessed a crisis between Sweden and West Germany when his secret report to the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs was leaked to the Swedish press in June 1975. In the report Backlund argued that if Franz Josef Strauss, head of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, would become prime minister, then the relations between two countries would be problematic.

Later years, death and legacy

Backlund worked as a writer after his retirement from diplomatic post. He died in 1997.

German politician Willy Brandt described Backlund as a rare ambassador "who knew the Federal Republic of Germany better than many German politicians."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Backlund, Sven
1917 births
1997 deaths
20th-century Swedish diplomats
20th-century Swedish writers
Ambassadors of Sweden to Yugoslavia
Ambassadors to West Germany
Stockholm University alumni