Albert ''Åke'' Axel Jonsson (7 August 1919 – 10 July 2007), was a Swedish diplomat. Jonsson had a distinguished diplomatic career, beginning as an attaché in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

in 1940 and serving in numerous postings, including

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, and

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, where he became counselor of the embassy in 1959. He later held ambassadorial roles in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

(1964–1969) and

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

(1969–1974), with concurrent accreditations in several Middle Eastern capitals, and was Sweden's first ambassador to

Sanaa Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation ...

in 1971. After retiring from diplomacy in 1974, he became Director of International Relations for the WWF in Switzerland, facilitating global collaboration on conservation. He also held various advisory and board roles, including with Albany International, Martel Catala et Cie, and WWF International, where he became an honorary member in 1987.

Early life

Jonsson was born on 7 August 1919 in Domkyrkoförsamlingen in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden, the son of Consul General (1888–1950) and his wife Sigyn Janson (1894–1934). Jonsson had three sisters, and the family lived in

Särö Särö () is an area in Kungsbacka Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 3,165 inhabitants in 2010. It is located south of Gothenburg on the Särö peninsula. Geographically, the peninsula marks the transition from the Bohuslän archipelago in ...

Halland County Halland County (, ) is a county ('' län'') on the western coast of Sweden. It corresponds roughly to the cultural and historical province of Halland. The capital is Halmstad. Prince Julian, the son of Prince Carl Philip, is Duke of Halland. ...

. He completed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968, ...

'' at

Lundsbergs boarding school Lundsbergs boarding school () is a Swedish boarding school located in the Parish of Storfors north of Kristinehamn in Värmland, Sweden. Lundsberg was founded in 1896 with inspirations from classical English boarding schools, and has approximate ...

in 1938 and earned a Master of Political Science degree from

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

in 1942.

Career

Diplomatic career

Jonsson began his career as an honorary attaché in

in 1940, followed by

in 1941. In 1942, he served as an attaché at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and subsequently worked in Rome that same year. His postings continued in

and

in 1943,

in 1946, and

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

in 1947. Returning to the Foreign Ministry in 1948, he was appointed first secretary of the embassy in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1952, later serving in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

in 1954, London again in 1955, Washington, D.C. in 1955, and

the same year. In 1959, he was promoted to counselor of the embassy in Mexico City. From 1961 to 1963, he served in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, including as ''chargé d'affaires'' in 1963, before being appointed ambassador to

from 1964 to 1969. During his time in Uruguay, he chaired the Swedish

GATT The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its p ...

delegation in

Punta del Este Punta del Este () is a seaside city and peninsula on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. Starting as a small town, Punta del Este grew to become a resort for the Latin and North American jet set and tourists. T ...

in 1967. In 1969, Jonsson was appointed ambassador to

, with concurrent accreditations to

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

, and

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

. In 1971, he also became Sweden's first accredited ambassador to

. Jonsson concluded his diplomatic career in 1974 when, at his own request, he was assigned the status of ambassador at disposal.

Other work

From 1974 to 1977, Jonsson served as Director of International Relations for the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

(WWF) in

Morges Morges (; , Plurale tantum, plural, probably Ablative (Latin), ablative, else dative; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud and the seat of the Morges District, distri ...

, Switzerland. In this honorary role, he facilitated WWF's relationships with governments and organizations worldwide. From 1978 to 1979, he acted as a diplomatic advisor to the WWF and, from 1980 onward, at the World Conservation Centre in

Gland A gland is a Cell (biology), cell or an Organ (biology), organ in an animal's body that produces and secretes different substances that the organism needs, either into the bloodstream or into a body cavity or outer surface. A gland may also funct ...

, Switzerland. Jonsson was a member of the European Advisory Board of Albany International in New York, USA, from 1977 to 1987. He served as a board member of Martel Catala et Cie from 1978 to 1992 and of Securities Atlanta Corporation starting in 1982. In 1987, he was made an honorary member of WWF International and, from 1991, served on the board of Fondation Baltzar W.A. von Platen.

Personal life

On 14 January 1958, at the Swedish Embassy in

, Jonsson married Gunnel Sahlin (born 1924), the daughter of , chairman of

Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish Multinational corporation, multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool Corporation, Whi ...

, and Sivi (née Michelson). The Jonsson couple resided in Saint-Sulpice, Switzerland.

Death

Jonsson died on 10 July 2007 in

Lonay Lonay is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Morges. History Lonay is first mentioned around 1152-60 as ''Lonna''. In 1177 it was mentioned as ''Losnay''. Geography Lonay has an area, , of . Of this area, ...

, Switzerland.

Awards and decorations

* Commander of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

(6 June 1970) * Knight of the

(1963) * Knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

Knight of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonsson, Ake 1919 births 2007 deaths Ambassadors of Sweden to Uruguay Ambassadors of Sweden to Lebanon Ambassadors of Sweden to Jordan Ambassadors of Sweden to Syria Ambassadors of Sweden to Cyprus Ambassadors of Sweden to Saudi Arabia Ambassadors of Sweden to Yemen Diplomats from Gothenburg Uppsala University alumni Commanders of the Order of the Polar Star Swedish expatriates in Switzerland