Consulate General of Sweden, London

The Consulate General of Sweden, London was the diplomatic mission of Sweden in London between 1850 and 1973. The consulate general originated from the consulate opened in 1722, which was converted into a consulate general in 1850. The tasks of the consulate general included consular services, promotion of trade relations, cultural and political relations, matters concerning the maritime industry, and more.

Consulate General of Sweden, London
Location	London
Address	23 North Row, London W1R 2DN[a]
Coordinates	51.51287°N 0.15777°W / 51.51287; -0.15777
Opening	1722[b]
Closed	1973
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom, Ireland, Northern Ireland

The consulate general's district initially encompassed the United Kingdom and Ireland. The district later comprised United Kingdom and Northern Ireland as well as associated islands. In 1973, the consulate general was merged into the Swedish embassy.

History

In 1772, a consulate was established in London with United Kingdom and Ireland as its area of operation.^[2] According to King in Council's decision on 18 January 1786, the consul's income consisted of ship tonnage fees based on a tariff, which, according to the National Board of Trade circular on 21 August 1833, was to continue to be applied during the consul's tenure (letters patent of 29 June 1833). The consulate, whose district was to include United Kingdom and Ireland and surrounding islands according to the decision on 1 October 1823, was maintained by letters patent on 25 May 1850, as a consulate general for United Kingdom and Ireland. By letters patent on 14 April 1869, the consul general received a fixed salary (6,000 riksdaler Hamburger banco excluding office expenses), in addition to which the following salaried officials were employed as his assistants:^[3]

Vice consul, also secretary (salary 2,500 riksdaler Hamburger banco), clerk, also accountant and registrar (salary 1,500 riksdaler Hamburger banco), two office clerks (salary for each 1,000 riksdaler Hamburger banco). By he consul's tenure (letters patent of 29 June 1833). The consulate, whose district was to include United Kingdom and Ireland and surrounding islands according to the decision on 1 October 1823, was maintained by on 26 October 1877, the district of the consulate general was restricted to England and Ireland, and the salaries were designated in Swedish currency, so that the consul general received 24,000 SEK, the vice consul 10,000 SEK, the clerk 6,000 SEK, and the two office clerks 4,000 SEK each. However, the consul general received a personal salary supplement of 3,000 SEK from 1907 to 1913. The office clerk positions were abolished in 1906, and other salaries were reduced, but they were raised again at the Riksdag of 1910, so that they amounted to 21,000 SEK for the consul general, 9,000 SEK for the vice consul (from 7,200), and 5,500 SEK for the clerk, excluding four age supplements of 300 SEK each (previously 3,600 SEK). In addition, the salary for the second clerk position, established in 1909, was raised from 3,600 to 4,000 SEK in the same year (with age supplements equal to those of the first clerk). The latter salary was further increased to 4,500 SEK in 1913.^[3]

In September 1944, Staple Inn in Holborn was hit by a flying bomb, which also severely damaged the Swedish consulate general. The windows and doors were torn apart, and at least two rooms were rendered completely unusable. No work was taking place at the consulate at the time of the bombing. The consulate was now expected to be housed in the same building near Portland Place that accommodated the Swedish legation's military department. Consul General Constans Lundquist had also had his private residence somewhat damaged in connection with a strike near Hyde Park.^[4]

The consulate general was transferred to the Swedish embassy in 1973.^[5] The consulate general remained vacant from July 31 of the same year.^[6]

Tasks

The tasks of the consulate general included handling passport and visa matters, providing information services, and dealing with issues related to the maritime industry, among others.^[7] The activities of the Consulate General changed after the Second World War. The regular trade reports were taken over by the Swedish embassy's trade department, and the Consulate General's most important task then lay in the area of maritime affairs, maritime declarations, and various forms of assistance to Swedish seamen. Disputes about working conditions on board ships were referred to the appropriate organizations without the Consulate General needing to act as an arbitrator.^[8]

Another task was to maintain contact with and provide advice and instructions to the honorary consulates, of which there were about 40, not only in the United Kingdom but also in British colonies in Africa, which were under the jurisdiction of the Consulate General in London. Additionally, the consulate issued passports for Swedes abroad and visas for citizens of countries for which the visa requirement still applied. Young people from Asia and Africa studying in London who wanted to go on holiday in Sweden applied for visas at the Consulate General. Swedes who wanted to work in England also turned to the Consulate General for help with permits.^[8]

District

According to the decision made on 1 October 1823, the district of the consulate general was to include United Kingdom and Ireland as well as the surrounding islands.^[3] At the time of the consulate general's closure in 1973, its district comprised United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and associated islands.^[1]

Buildings

Chancery

On 29 September 1910, the chancery of the consulate general moved to 63 Finsbury Pavement in the London Borough of Islington.^[9] At the end of September 1919 the chancery moved to 329 High Holborn in Holborn, Central London.^[10] It remained there until 1947.^[11] In 1948, it moved to 14 Trinity Square, next to Byward Street in the City of London.^[12] At the same address, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the United Kingdom had been located since 1921.^[13]

In 1949 the address was 27 Portland Place in the Marylebone district of Central London, the same as the Swedish embassy,^[14] but from 1950 the address was again 14 Trinity Square.^[15] It remained here until 1969.^[16] In 1969 the house was to be sold and the chamber of commerce moved to new modern premises.^[17] From 1970 until its closure three years later, the consulate general was located at the same address as the Swedish embassy, at 23 North Row in Mayfair, across the street from Marble Arch.^[18][1]

• 
  14 Trinity Square (1948–1969)

Residence

From at least 1965 to at least 1968, the residence was located at 58 Melton Court.^[19][20]

Heads of Mission

Name	Period	Title	Notes	Ref
Jonas Alströmer	6 November 1722 – 11 September 1739	Consul		[3]
Peter Christian Algehr	12 March 1772 – 20 November 1776	Consul		[3]
Claes Grill[c]	7 August 1777 – 15 March 1815.	Consul general	Consul general from 1786.	[3][21]
Charles Tottie	15 March 1815 – 14 December 1869	Consul		[3]
Theodor Willerding	20 May 1870 – 31 August 1877	Consul		[3]
Ole Richter	7 June 1878 – 26 June 1884	Consul general		[3]
Magnus Björnstjerna	31 October 1884 – 9 January 1886	Acting consul general		[3]
Carl Juhlin-Dannfelt	9 January 1886 – 30 October 1898	Consul general		[3]
Daniel Danielsson	24 October 1899 – 31 December 1913	Consul general		[3]
Adolf Berencreutz	31 December 1913 – 31 December 1917	Consul general		[3][22]
Emil Sahlin	1918 – 1 February 1944	Consul general		[23]
Constans Lundquist	1944–1945	Consul general		[24]
Nils Ihre	1945–1949	Consul general		[14]
Magnus Hallenborg	26 September 1949 – April 1960	Consul general		[25][26][27]
Carl Bergenstråhle	1957–1960	Acting consul general		[28]
Carl Bergenstråhle	1 April 1960 – 1962	Consul general		[26][28]
Göran von Otter	1962–1973	Consul general		[29]

See also

• Embassy of Sweden, London

Footnotes

1. The address when the consulate general closed in 1973.^[1]
2. The consulate general has its origins in the consulate which opened in 1722 which became a consulate general in 1850.
3. During Grill's extended leave of absence, the consulate was overseen by Carl Henrik Grill from 14 May 1805, to †12 June 1811, and by Charles Tottie [sv] from 16 November 1813, to 15 March 1815.^[3]

References

1. Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1973). Sveriges statskalender 1973 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell. p. 376. SELIBR 3682755.
2. "Generalkonsulatet i London (1722 – 1973)" [Consulate General in London (1722 – 1973)] (in Swedish). National Archives of Sweden. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
3. Almquist, Johan Axel (1914). Kommerskollegium och Riksens Ständers Manufakturkontor samt konsulsstaten 1651-1910: administrativa och biografiska anteckningar (PDF). Meddelanden från svenska Riksarkivet, Ny följd. Ser. 2, 99-0506720-5 ; 4 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. pp. 355–356. SELIBR 844316.
4. "Vårt konsulat i London sönderbombat" [Our consulate in London bombed]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). London. 7 September 1944. p. 3. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
5. "Utrikes: Katastrofbistånd anlås för insats i Indokina" [Foreign Affairs: Disaster relief funds allocated for operation in Indochina]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 1973-01-12. p. 14. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
6. "London idag" [London today]. Göteborgs-Tidningen (in Swedish). 20 May 1973. p. 27. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
7. "Praktikant" [Trainee]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 1963-11-22. p. A7. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
8. Bolander, K. G. (1960-03-27). "Avgående generalkonsul: Allt sällsyntare att svenskar råkar i klammeri utomlands" [Outgoing consul general: It is increasingly rare for Swedes to get stuck abroad]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 16A. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
9. "Svenska generalkonsulatets i London adress" [Address of the Swedish Consulate General]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 1910-09-29. p. 9. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
10. "Vårt generalkonsulat i London ändrar adress" [Our Consulate General in London is changing address]. Sydsvenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Stockholm. 1919-09-19. p. 4. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
11. Sveriges statskalender för året 1947 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1947. p. 284.
12. Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1948 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1948. p. 274.
13. "Svenska handelskammaren i London i eget hus" [The Swedish Chamber of Commerce in London in its own building]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 1921-07-14. p. 9. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
14. Sveriges statskalender för året 1949 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1949. p. 285.
15. Sveriges statskalender för året 1950 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1950. p. 290.
16. Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1969). Sveriges statskalender 1969 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. p. 362. SELIBR 3682754.
17. Persson, Per (1969-01-23). "Handelskammaren i London: Verksamheten intensifieras. Nya lokaler söks i centrum" [The Chamber of Commerce in London: Operations are intensifying. New premises are being sought in the centre]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 20. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
18. Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1970). Sveriges statskalender 1970 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. p. 374.
19. Sveriges statskalender 1965 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1965. p. 339.
20. Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1968 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1968. p. 339.
21. "Grill, släkt" [Grill, kindred]. Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). Vol. 17. National Archives of Sweden. 1967–1969. p. 276. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
22. "Utnämningar inom diplomatien" [Appointments in diplomacy]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). No. 2. 1918-01-03. p. 10. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
23. "Nya generalkonsuler i London och Bombay" [New Consuls General in London and Bombay]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 1944-01-15. p. 4A. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
24. Sveriges statskalender för året 1945 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1945. p. 272.
25. The Foreign Office List and Diplomatic and Consular Year Book for 1959. Vol. 132. London: Harrison and Sons, Ltd. 1959. p. 557. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
26. Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1960 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1960. p. 326.
27. "Utnämningar i utrikesdepartementet". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 1959-12-31. p. A11. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
28. Sveriges statskalender 1962 (PDF) (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1962. p. 322.
29. H G-m (1992–1994). "Otter, von, släkt" [Otter, von, kinship]. Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). Vol. 28. National Archives of Sweden. p. 430. Retrieved 2024-03-25.