Carl Otto ''Örjan'' Berner (born 15 November 1937) is a Swedish diplomat. Berner began his diplomatic career in 1960 and held various positions, including serving at the Swedish UN delegation,

SIPRI Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international institute based in Stockholm, Sweden. It was founded in 1966 and provides data, analysis and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditure and arms trade a ...

, and embassies in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. He later became ambassador to multiple countries, including Poland, India, and Russia, where he was also accredited to several former Soviet republics. His final postings were as ambassador to

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

before retiring in 2001. After retirement, he remained active in international relations, serving on boards and advising organizations focused on Swedish-Russian cooperation.

Early life

Berner was born on 15 November 1937 in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

, Sweden, the son of Carl Berner, an agricultural engineer, and his wife Karin (née Sylwan). During his studies, in November 1958, Berner was awarded a scholarship from the Countess Anna Bogeman-Stackelberg Foundation (''Grevinnan Anna Bogeman-Stackelbergs stiftelse''), along with, among others, and Henrik Liljegren. He earned a Candidate of Law degree from

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

in 1960.

Career

Berner was hired as an attaché at the

Ministry for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral rela ...

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 ...

in 1960. He served at the Swedish UN delegation in

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 ...

from 1961 to 1964, as deputy director at the

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international institute based in Stockholm, Sweden. It was founded in 1966 and provides data, analysis and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditure and arms trade a ...

from 1966 to 1967, and as first secretary at the Swedish embassy in

from 1968 to 1971. He then held the same position at the Swedish embassy in

from 1971 to 1974 before becoming a desk officer (''departementssekreterare'') at the political department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1976. From 1978 to 1983, he served as minister at the Swedish embassy in

. In 1983–1984, he studied at the

Center for International Affairs The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (WCFIA), formerly Center for International Affairs (CFIA) is a research center for international affairs and the largest international research center within Harvard University's Faculty of Arts a ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Berner was appointed ambassador to

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

(1984–1987) and

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

(1987–1989), where he was also accredited to Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan. He then served as ambassador to

(1989–1994). During his posting in Moscow, he was also accredited to Mongolia (1989–1992), Armenia (1992–1994), Azerbaijan (1992–1994), Georgia (1992–1994),

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

(1992–1994), Kazakhstan (1993–1994), Kyrgyzstan (1993–1994), Tajikistan (1993–1994), Turkmenistan (1993–1994), and Uzbekistan (1993–1994). He later served as ambassador to

(1994–1996) and Paris (1996–2001) before retiring. Berner is a board member of the Sverker Åström Foundation, which promotes Swedish-Russian relations. He has also been an advisor to , secretary-general of Swedes Worldwide (''Svenskar i Världen'', SVIV), chairman of the Swedish branch of

Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil s ...

, and chairman of several Swedish-Russian companies, including Vostok Oil Ltd (until 2004).

Personal life

In May 1978, at the Stockholm City Court, Berner married embassy secretary Kristin Svensson (1948–1979), daughter of Gustav Svensson and Molka (née Mutas). Svensson passed away due to cancer less than a year later. In 1981, Berner wrote a book about his wife's battle with cancer. Berner later remarried Benedicte Eyde (born 1955), the daughter of Sigurd Mörner-Eyde and Kate (née Schröder). They have three children.

Awards and decorations

H. M. The King's Medal, 12th size gold (silver-gilt) medal worn around the neck on the Order of the Seraphim ribbon (2011)

Bibliography

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References