# List of ambassadors of Sweden to Israel

The Ambassador of Sweden to Israel (known formally as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the State of Israel) is the official representative of the government of Sweden to the president of Israel and government of Israel.

## History

On 16 February 1949, Sweden recognized the State of Israel de facto, and in July 1950, de jure. In January 1951, the Swedish government decided to establish a diplomatic mission in Israel, and Gösta Hedengren [sv] was appointed as the chargé d'affaires there. Hedengren and his wife arrived in Haifa on 2 April 1951, aboard the Italian ship Abbazia. They were received by representatives of the Israeli government and then traveled on to Tel Aviv, where he would open the Swedish legation. On 4 April 1951, Gösta Hedengren presented his letter of credence to Dr. Walter Eytan at the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The Tel Aviv newspaper Maariv wrote at the time that "the appointment marks the end of the tragic Swedish-Israeli conflict that began with the murder of Count Folke Bernadotte".
In June 1953, Jens Malling was appointed as the new chargé d'affaires. He arrived at Lod Airport on 2 July 1953, and was received by representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Swedish legation. In February 1956, Malling was appointed as Sweden's first envoy to Tel Aviv. He presented his letter of credence on 15 March 1956, to Israeli President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi in the presence of Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett.
In September 1957, an agreement was reached between the Swedish and Israeli governments on the mutual elevation of the respective countries' legations to embassies. The diplomatic rank was thereafter changed to ambassador instead of envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary. In connection with this, Sweden's envoy to Tel Aviv, Östen Lundborg, was designated as ambassador.
Between 1981 and 2002, the ambassador held a dual accreditation to Nicosia, Cyprus.

## List of representatives

| Name | Period | Title | Notes |
| Gösta Hedengren | 1951–1953 | Chargé d'affaires | Submitted letter of credence on 5 April 1951. |
| Jens Malling | 1953–1956 | Embassy counsellor and chargé d'affaires | |
| Ingvar Grauers | April 1955 – November 1955 | Chargé d'affaires ad interim | |
| Jens Malling | 1956–1956 | Envoy | Submitted letter of credence on 15 March 1956. |
| Östen Lundborg | 1956 – September 1957 | Envoy | |
| Östen Lundborg | September 1957 – 1960 | Ambassador | |
| Hugo Tamm | 1960–1963 | Ambassador | |
| Inga Thorsson | 1964–1966 | Ambassador | |
| Bo Siegbahn | 1966–1970 | Ambassador | |
| Sten Sundfeldt | 1970–1975 | Ambassador | |
| Iwo Dölling | 1975–1979 | Ambassador | |
| Torsten Örn | 1979–1983 | Ambassador | Dual accreditation to Nicosia (from 1981). |
| Sven Hirdman | 1983–1987 | Ambassador | Dual accreditation to Nicosia. |
| Mats Bergquist | 1987–1992 | Ambassador | Dual accreditation to Nicosia. |
| Carl-Magnus Hyltenius | 1992–1996 | Ambassador | Dual accreditation to Nicosia. |
| John Hagard | 1996–1999 | Ambassador | Dual accreditation to Nicosia. |
| Anders Lidén | 1999–2002 | Ambassador | Dual accreditation to Nicosia. |
| Robert Rydberg | 2003–2007 | Ambassador | |
| Elisabet Borsiin Bonnier | 2007–2010 | Ambassador | |
| Elinor Hammarskjöld | 2010–2013 | Ambassador | |
| Carl Magnus Nesser | April 2013 – 2017 | Ambassador | |
| Magnus Hellgren | 1 September 2017 – 2020 | Ambassador | |
| Erik Ullenhag | September 2020 – 2024 | Ambassador | |
| Alexandra Rydmark | 15 August 2024 – present | Ambassador | |

## Gallery

* Ambassador Hugo Tamm (1960–1963) with President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Golda Meir.
* Ambassador Magnus Hellgren (2017–2020) and President Reuven Rivlin.