The Embassy of Sweden in

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 ...

is Sweden's diplomatic mission in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. The mission of the embassy is to represent Swedish interests in Mexico, as well as to strengthen bilateral relations within the governmental, commercial, business, academic, cultural and civil society spheres, with a particular emphasis on cooperation for sustainable development.

History

Sweden and Mexico have had diplomatic relations since 1850. An Honorary Consulate General in

was established by royal decree on 18 December 1885. Its jurisdiction was expanded by a royal decree on 16 November 1886, to include the United Mexican States, except for the city of

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

, which was only added by a decision on 30 November 1894. During the parliamentary session of 1913, a decision was made to establish a salaried Consulate General, whose holder also served as ''chargé d'affaires''. In May 1921, the

Committee of Supply The Standing Committee of Supply (, StU, SU) was a parliamentary committee in the Swedish Riksdag from 1809 to 1970. It was the central committee of the Riksdag for state expenditures and was responsible for issuing reports on the Swedish governmen ...

approved the establishment of a new permanent mission in Mexico. The consulate general was converted into a

legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...

after the

King in Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it refers to the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of app ...

, on 30 September 1921, appointed the Swedish consul general and ''chargé d'affaires'' in Mexico as minister to both Mexico and

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

belonged to the legation's area of operation. The legation consisted during this time of an envoy and a first clerk. In 1956, the Swedish legation was elevated to

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...

and envoy

Lennart Nylander Karl Lennart Hjalmar Nylander (4 September 1901 – 15 July 1966) was a Swedish diplomat. Early life Nylander was born on 4 September 1901 in Edefors, Sweden, the son of Emil Nyland, a physician, and his wife Hedvig von Post. He passed ''student ...

now became ambassador instead. In November 1995, the Swedish embassy was occupied by 23 Mexican sanitation workers. The sanitation workers had been dismissed from their jobs. They entered the Swedish embassy premises on 23 November and requested asylum. Their main demand was to regain their jobs. When the occupiers saw a police force approaching around four in the morning on 27 November, they voluntarily left the area, taking their blankets with them.

Staff and tasks

Staff

As of June 2024, 13 people work at the Embassy, of which four are diplomats sent by 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 ...

Tasks

The embassy have three main priorities: Promotion of Sweden, monitoring the political and economic situation in Mexico and

consular affairs A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

. The promotion of Sweden includes activities that improves the knowledge and strengthen the image of Sweden as a progressive country characterized by innovative thinking, consideration and respect towards others, openness and authenticity. To achieve this, the embassy cooperates with over 100 Swedish companies located in Mexico to stimulate trade relations between the two countries. In addition, the embassy works to promote

Swedish culture The Culture of Sweden is characterised by its art, music, dance, literature, traditions, religious practices and more. It is similar to but distinct from the cultures of neighboring countries. Sweden's modern history has a well-established tradi ...

in Mexico. The embassy informs the

Swedish government The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and their cabinet ministers (). The Government is responsible for its actions ...

about the political and economic situation in the Mexico, a task that requires a large network of contacts in the Mexican society. The third priority concerns consular services and migration issues. This area includes administrative work on migration cases, passports, visas, residence permits and other assistance to Swedish or Mexican citizens.

Buildings

Chancery

From 1920 to 1924, the

chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

was located on Apartado 86 bis in the

Historic center of Mexico City The historic center of Mexico City (), also known as the Centro or Centro Histórico, is the central neighborhood in Mexico City, Mexico, focused on the Zócalo (or main plaza) and extending in all directions for a number of blocks, with its fart ...

. From 1925 to 1928, the chancery was located at Calle Liverpool 5 in Colonia Juárez in the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

Cuauhtémoc Cuauhtémoc (, ), also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the Aztec ruler ('' tlatoani'') of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, and the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuauhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle", an ...

. In 1929, the chancery was located at 34 Calle de Sadi Carnot in

Colonia San Rafael Colonia San Rafael is a colonia (Mexico), colonia of the Cuauhtémoc, D.F., Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City, just west of the historic center of Mexico City, historic city center. It was established in the late 19th century as one of the first f ...

in Cuauhtémoc. From 1930 to 1933, the chancery was located at Calle Londres 136 A in Colonia Juárez. From 1934 to 1938, the chancery was located at Calle Dinamarca 55 in Colonia Juárez. In 1939 it moved around the corner to Calle Liverpool 57 where it remained to 1956. From 1957 to 1970, the chancery was located at Buenavista 3, México 3. From 1971 until at least 1975, the chancery was located at Avenida Homero 136, 10° piso in the Chapultepec Morales neighborhood of

Polanco Polanco is a neighborhood in the Miguel Hidalgo borough of Mexico City. Polanco is an affluent '' colonia'', noted for its luxury shopping along Presidente Masaryk Avenue, the most expensive street in Mexico, as well as for the numerous pro ...

. From 1994, the chancery was located at Paseo de las Palmas 1375 in the

Lomas de Chapultepec Lomas de Chapultepec () is a ''Colonia (Mexico), colonia'', or officially recognized neighborhood, located in the Miguel Hidalgo, D.F., Miguel Hidalgo borough of Mexico City. It dates back to the 1920s, when it was founded with the name Chapultep ...

area. The building consisted of four floors and had a white-plastered facade. It was built in 1946 and the first owners were Aida and David Egea de Naval. They bought the plot from Nueva Chapultepec Heights Company. In 1989, the couple sold the house and in 1994 it was again for sale. This time, Britt Ericsson de Oliva, second secretary of the Swedish Embassy, bought the building on behalf of the Swedish state. The house then underwent extensive renovation and refurbishment. It had until 1994 served as a family residence. Architect for the remodeling was Thord Hallström, BSK Arkitekter. The architects Hidemark & Stintzing were commissioned in the fall of 2017 to develop a simplified system document based on the

' program requirements for a new chancery, where the environmental profile was an important criterion. The American environmental certification system

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

was chosen, with the goal of achieving the highest classification:

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

. The building ended up using 44 percent less energy and around 60 percent less water than similar buildings without LEED certification. The building also has solar panels on the roof and its own water treatment plant. The building is located in the garden of the ambassador's residence at the address Paseo de las Palmas 1225 and replaces the previous chancery a few blocks away, which was located at Paseo de las Palmas 1375. In 2018,

Sweco Sweco (originally "Swedish Consultants") is a European engineering consultancy company, active in the fields of consulting engineering, environmental technology and architecture. Sweco is one of Europe's leading architecture and engineering c ...

was commissioned by the

National Property Board of Sweden The National Property Board of Sweden (, SFV) is a Swedish State administrative authority, organised under the Ministry of Finance. SFV is responsible for managing a portion of the real property assets owned by the State. The portfolio consists ...

to construct the new chancery. The new chancery building of 800 m² was built on the same property as the embassy residence. The building is earthquake-proof and was planned to be the first Swedish embassy in the world to be certified according to LEED Platinum.

Residence

The ambassadorial residence is located at Paseo de las Palmas 1215 in the Lomas de Chapultepec area. The house was built in 1934 on behalf of a doctor. In 1954, the Swedish state acquired the property through Stig Engelfeldt, who was ''chargé d'affaires'' in Mexico City at that time. The house consists of four floors and is built of plastered brick. In the parlour and dining room there are large windows that open onto the garden. On the plot there is also a swimming pool.

References

External links

* {{Polanco, Mexico City

Mexico–Sweden relations

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...