Sverker Åström
Sverker Åstrom | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Carl Sverker Åström 30 December 1915 Uppsala, Sweden |
| Died | 26 June 2012 (aged 96) Stockholm, Sweden |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
Carl Sverker Åström (30 December 1915 – 26 June 2012)[1] was a Swedish diplomat.
Early life and education
[edit]Åström was born on 30 December 1915 in Uppsala, Sweden, the son of John Åström, a lawyer, and his wife Brita Kugelberg.[2] His father died shortly before the Kreuger Crash in 1930.
Åström studied at Uppsala University where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1935 and a Candidate of Law in 1939. Åström was a member of the National Student Association in Uppsala, an organization affiliated with the pro-Nazi National League of Sweden, from 1932 to 1937.[3]
Diplomatic career
[edit]Following his studies, Åström was employed as an attaché at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm. From 1940 to 1943 he served at the Swedish mission to the Soviet Union, first in Moscow and then in Kuybyshev. In 1946 he became secretary of legation at the Swedish embassy in Washington, D.C. He returned to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1948 and became its head of division in 1949. From 1953 to 1956 he served as councillor (Swedish: beskickningsråd) at the Swedish embassy in London, and from 1956 to 1963 he was head of the political division and a foreign affairs councillor (Swedish: utrikesråd) at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
In 1964, Åström succeeded Agda Rössel as Sweden's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He stayed on this post until 1970, when he became Sweden's chief negotiator on the EEC treaty in Brussels. Thereafter he served as Swedish State Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 1972 to 1977, and as Swedish ambassador to France from 1978 until his retirement in 1982.
Although Åström was a close friend of Olof Palme, the former Prime Minister of the Social Democratic Party, Åström was never member of, or attached to, a political party.
Later life
[edit]Åström's autobiography, Ögonblick: från ett halvsekel i UD-tjänst ("Moments: From Half a Century in the Duty of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs"), was published in 1992.
In 2003, at the age of 87, Åström came out as a homosexual. In an interview he has explained that his role as a diplomat made it impossible to declare himself as homosexual in public, but that his superiors and others were informed to eliminate the possibility of him being blackmailed by foreign agents.[4]
In 2004 he received the "Gay person of the Year"-award from the Swedish gay-oriented magazine QX. In 2006 he was one of the co-hosts of the Swedish TV-series Böglobbyn ("The Gay Lobby") on Sveriges Television. However he decided to leave the series after just two episodes had been broadcast.
In 2011 Åström was awarded the congress prize from the Green Party recognizing his contributions to the global environment through the UN Environment Conference in Stockholm 1972.[5]
He died in Stockholm in 2012.[6]
Awards and honours
[edit]Swedish
[edit]
Illis quorum, 12th size (1995)[7]
Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star (6 June 1974)[8]
Knight of the Order of Vasa[2]
Foreign
[edit]
Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon (10 June 1975)[9]
Grand Officer of the Order of the Star of Abyssinia[10]
Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria (1958)[11]
Commander of the Order of St. Olav[10]
Commander of the Royal Victorian Order[10]
Knight 1st Class of the Order of the Lion of Finland[10]
Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau[10]
Knight of the Order of the White Lion[10]
Bibliography
[edit]- Åström, Sverker (2003). Ögonblick: från ett halvsekel i UD-tjänst [Moment: from half a century in Foreign Ministry service] (in Swedish) (New ed.). Stockholm: Lind & Co. ISBN 9189538722. SELIBR 9079872.
- Åström, Sverker (1992). Ögonblick: från ett halvsekel i UD-tjänst [Moment: from half a century in Foreign Ministry service] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Bonnier Alba. ISBN 9134511792. SELIBR 7247284.
- Åström, Sverker (1987). Sweden's policy of neutrality (3rd ed.). Stockholm: Swedish Institute (Svenska institutet) (SI. ISBN 9152002063. SELIBR 7409119.
- Åström, Sverker (1985). La politique de neutralité de la Suède [Sweden's policy of neutrality] (in French). Stockholm: Inst. suédois [Sv. inst.] ISBN 9152001679. SELIBR 7409085.
- Åström, Sverker (1984). La politica de neutralidad de Suecia [Sweden's policy of neutrality] (in Spanish). Stockholm: Istituto Sueco [Sv. inst.] ISBN 91-520-0145-8. SELIBR 7409065.
- Åström, Sverker (1984). Schwedens Neutralitätspolitik [Sweden's policy of neutrality] (in German). Stockholm: Sv. inst. ISBN 9152001466. SELIBR 7409066.
- Åström, Sverker (1983). Svensk neutralitetspolitik [Sweden's policy of neutrality] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Sv. inst. ISBN 9152001261. SELIBR 7409052.
- Åström, Sverker (1983). Sweden's policy of neutrality (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Sv. inst. (SI. ISBN 915200127X. SELIBR 7409053.
- Åström, Sverker (1977). Sweden's policy of neutrality. Stockholm: The Swedish inst. [Sv. inst.] ISBN 9152000680. SELIBR 7408995.
References
[edit]- ^ Death report at Swedish Radio (in Swedish)
- ^ a b Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1962). Vem är vem? [Who's Who?] (in Swedish). Vol. 1, Stor–Stockholm (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem bokförlag. p. 1455. SELIBR 53509.
- ^ Hübinette, Tobias (2002). Den svenska nationalsocialismen : medlemmar och sympatisörer 1931-45 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Carlsson. p. 485. ISBN 91-7203-472-6.
- ^ Peruzzi, Britt (2006-04-15). "Vi dansar, dricker och ser solen gå upp" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
- ^ Nises, Erik (2011-05-21). "Sverker Åström hyllas av MP" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
- ^ Sveriges dödbok 1901–2013 (in Swedish) (DVD-ROM, version 6.0 ed.). Sveriges Släktforskarförbund. 2014.
- ^ Regeringens belöningsmedaljer och regeringens utmärkelse Professors namn. SB PM, 99-0433409-9 ; 2006:1 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Statsrådsberedningen, Regeringskansliet. 2006. p. 26. SELIBR 10400721.
- ^ Kungl. Hovstaterna: Kungl. Maj:ts Ordens arkiv, Matriklar (D 1), vol. 14 (1970–1979), p. 177, digital avbildning.
- ^ "ORÐUHAFASKRÁ" (in Icelandic). President of Iceland. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Sveriges statskalender för året 1955 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1955. p. 313.
- ^ "Anfragebeantwortung" [Response to inquiries] (PDF) (in German). Austrian Parliament. 23 April 2012. p. 53. 10542/AB XXIV. GP. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
- 1915 births
- 2012 deaths
- People from Uppsala
- Uppsala University alumni
- Gay diplomats
- Swedish gay men
- Permanent Representatives of Sweden to the United Nations
- Ambassadors of Sweden to France
- Recipients of the Illis quorum
- Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star
- Knights of the Order of Vasa
- 20th-century Swedish LGBT people
- 21st-century Swedish LGBT people