The Embassy of Sweden in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

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 ...

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a 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 usually denotes ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The Swedish embassy in South Africa represents the Swedish government in South Africa,

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

and

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

. The embassy is located in the suburb of Hatfield in the capital of

. The ambassador since 2020 is Håkan Juholt.

History

Until 1944, Sweden was represented in the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

by a

consulate general 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 ...

located in the Prudential House at 235 Pretorius Street. The consulate general was upgraded to 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 ...

in 1944 and Harry Eriksson was appointed Acting

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

, and became a regular in 1945. During the 1960s, Sweden upgraded its legations to embassies. However, not the Swedish legation in South Africa. This was due to Sweden's tense relationship with South Africa. It was not until 1 November 1993, after

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

's release, that the legation was upgraded to an embassy. The agreement was a step in the normalization of relations between Sweden and South Africa. On the Swedish side, it was a result of the democratic developments in South Africa and the decision to hold democratic elections in April the following year.

Staff and tasks

Staff

At the embassy, in addition to the ambassador, several staff members are dispatched from 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 the

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (, ) is a government agency of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Sida is responsible for organization of the bulk of Sweden's official development assistance to developing coun ...

(Sida), along with a defence attaché sent from the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

, and a number of locally employed staff. At Business Sweden in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, a trade commissioner is employed.

Tasks

The embassy's responsibilities include: *Promotion: The Swedish embassy in Pretoria represents the Swedish government in

and

. The embassy's task is to strengthen relations between Sweden and these countries' governments, residents, organizations and companies. The embassy is also responsible for cooperation with the regional

Southern African Development Community The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Goals The SADC's goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and se ...

(SADC) organization based in

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...

, Botswana. Trade issues are an important part of the embassy's work. The embassy collaborates with Business Sweden to promote trade and investment between Sweden and South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. *Development Cooperation: The embassy's development work aligns with the regional strategy for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Africa (2022–2026) and the mission of Team Democracy, ensuring the effective use of synergies. *Consular and Administrative Affairs: This includes handling passport applications, citizenship matters, and migration cases.

Buildings

Chancery

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 at 235 Pretorius Street until 1947. In 1948, it moved 247 Skinner Street (renamed Nana Sita Street in 2012), where it remained until 1953. In 1954, the legation moved to the Van der Stel Building at 177 Pretorius Street. In 2000, the chancery was located in the suburb of Hatfield. the chancery is located in the iParioli Complex at 1166 Park Street in the suburb of Hatfield in

. The Danish embassy is located in the same complex.

Residence

From at least 1965, the ambassadorial residence was located on 180 Nicolson Street in the suburb of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. The decision to build a new residence in South Africa in the early 2000s was the result of the existing residence feeling too small in relation to the "new" South Africa, a country with which Sweden has very good relations since the struggle against

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

. Money was released through the sale of a former house in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, an oversized villa with an expression that rhymed poorly with Sweden's identity. The very goal of strengthening Sweden's profile internationally, in accordance with the state's action program for architecture, design and design, became the guiding principle for the work on the new ambassadorial residence. The new residence opened in April 2003 and is located on 297 Canopus Street in Waterkloof Ridge. The house was designed by Anders Landström at Landström Architects. Interior designers were Jonas Bohlin and Jacob Hertzell at Jonas Bohlin Architects. The landscape was designed by Bengt Isling at Nyréns Architects. Architect in South Africa was Boogertman Krige Architects through Ernes Wilken (responsible) and Marlise Teunissen and construction management in South Africa was Kerr Developments through Len Sloan and

general contractor A contractor (North American English) or builder (British English), is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the c ...

was van der Linde & Venter Construction through Gerhard van der Linde, Johan Venter and Arthur Milbrandt. Landström's drawings were praised especially for their well-balanced volumes. The residence is located on one of Pretoria's green hills overlooking the central parts of the city. Here on the South African plateau, 1,500 meters above sea level, the climate is similar to Swedish summer for most of the year. It does not get too hot and rarely minus degrees, so the need for both heat supply and cooling is small. Apart from the accommodation of the servants, the residence is divided into two: the official spaces with a large hall, library and dining room, and the ambassador's private residence with five rooms and a kitchen. Separate entrances and kitchens prevent the private and the official from colliding. The pool is located secluded. It is an elongated building located along the street that provides a protected garden. As protection for the low-lying morning and evening sun, the building has dense

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s. In the middle of the day, the overhanging roofs of the long sides take care of the high-rising sun and shield the glazed rooms. Guests can move freely between the lounge/diner and the furnished garden rooms. A representation part furnished by the

Ministry of 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 r ...

with Swedish interior design is the primary one. There are service and staff rooms for locally employed staff. The ambassador's own private quarters at the top of the house has an unobstructed view of both the city and the garden. The interior of the representation part should give a feeling of simplicity. The floor is made of oak while stairs and other details consist of flamed granite. The ceilings are in white painted wood paneling. In front of the glass surfaces are linen curtains with embroidered Swedish province flowers. The furniture is made in Sweden in genuine materials and with visible signs of craftsmanship. The hall and lounge are neutrally white and light gray. Lighting comes from copper tube chandeliers. The dining room has a green painted wood panel as the room reflects the garden. The library is colored in red with an associated

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

References

External links

* {{Diplomatic missions in South Africa

South Africa–Sweden relations