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Johan Beck-Friis

{{Short description|Swedish diplomat}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Johan Beck-Friis

| image = Utenriksminister Trygve Lie besøker Sverige (6992727266).jpg

| alt =

| caption = Beck-Friis (left) with Norwegian foreign minister Trygve Lie in London in 1944.

| birth_name = Johan Hugo Beck-Friis

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1890|6|5|df=y}}

| birth_place = Stockholm, Sweden

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1969|6|30|1890|6|5|df=y}}

| death_place = Nacka, Sweden

| other_names =

| occupation = Diplomat

| years_active = 1912–1956

| known_for =

| notable_works =

| spouse = {{marriage|Gunilla Bielke|1913|||}}

| children = 3

| alma_mater = Stockholm School of Economics

}}

Baron Johan Hugo Beck-Friis (5 June 1890 – 30 June 1969), was a Swedish diplomat. Beck-Friis had a long career in Swedish diplomacy. He began as an attaché in Paris in 1912, later serving in Hamburg, Berlin, and Bern before advancing to legation secretary in various cities, including Paris and Bucharest. His career progressed with appointments in Washington, D.C., and as Consul General in Shanghai. During World War II, he served as envoy to Oslo, where he remained until the German occupation, and later represented Sweden to the Norwegian government-in-exile in London. In 1947, he became Sweden's first modern ambassador when the Swedish legation in Oslo was elevated to embassy status. He later served as envoy and ambassador to Rome before retiring in 1956. In 1959, as Dag Hammarskjöld's personal representative, he successfully mediated the resumption of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Cambodia. Beck-Friis also held numerous honorary positions, including chairman of several Swedish organizations, Grand Master of the Great Order of the Amaranth, and Chamberlain.

Early life

Beck-Friis was born on 5 June 1890 in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of Baron {{ill|Joachim Beck-Friis (1856–1927)|lt=Joachim Beck-Friis|sv|Joachim Beck-Friis (1856–1927)}} and Baroness Anna von Otter.{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/vemarvem/sthlm62/0115.html |editor1-last=Harnesk |editor1-first=Paul |date=1962 |title=Vem är vem? |volume=1, Stor-Stockholm |trans-title=Who's Who? |edition=2nd |location=Stockholm |publisher=Vem är vem bokförlag |language=sv |id={{SELIBR|53509}} |pages=91–92}} His paternal grandfather was the officer, court marshal, and Member of Parliament {{ill|Joachim Tawast Beck-Friis|sv}} (1827–1888), and his maternal grandfather was Vice Admiral {{ill|Carl Gustaf von Otter|sv}} (1827–1900), who served as Sweden's Minister of Naval Defence from 1880 to 1892. Johan Hugo Beck-Friis had three siblings: one sister and twin brothers. His sister, Eva Ebba Gustava (1884–1963), married Admiral Fabian Tamm (1879–1955), who was Chief of the Navy from 1939 to 1945. His brother {{ill|Carl Beck-Friis (1886–1969)|lt=Carl Beck-Friis|sv|Carl Beck-Friis}} (1886–1969) was a conservative Member of Parliament, officer, and estate owner. The other brother, Ryttmästare Gustaf Joachim Beck-Friis (1886–1936), was CEO of the Swedish Farmers' Accident Insurance Company (Svenska Landbrukarnes Olycksfallsförsäkringsbolag).{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/arkiv/1936-12-05/2/SVD |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |title=Döde |trans-title=Deceased |page=2A |date=1936-12-05 |access-date=23 September 2023 |language=sv |url-access=subscription}}

He passed mogenhetsexamen at {{ill|Nya Elementar|sv}} in Stockholm on 19 May 1908, became a underlöjtnant in the Dalarna Regiment reserve on 30 December 1910, and was a student at Stockholm University College. He earned his Candidate of Law degree on 31 May 1912.{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/elgenst/1/0282.html |editor-last=Elgenstierna |editor-first=Gustaf |title=Den introducerade svenska adelns ättartavlor |volume=1 Abrahamsson-Celsing |year=1925 |publisher=Norstedt |location=Stockholm |language=sv |id={{SELIBR|10076137}} |pages=260–261}}

Career

=Diplomatic career=

Beck-Friis became an assistant notary at the Svea Court of Appeal on 10 June 1912. He obtained an economics degree from the Stockholm School of Economics on 21 December 1912 and began serving at the Swedish legation in Paris on 20 August 1912. On 26 October 1912, he was appointed attaché (diplomatic trainee) at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He then served as attaché at the consulate general in Hamburg from 25 September 1913 and at the legation in Berlin starting 2 January 1914. After passing the diplomatic exam on 7 February 1917, he was appointed acting second secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on 9 February 1917 and promoted to acting first legation secretary on 26 March 1918. He also served as acting legation secretary in Bern beginning 20 June 1918.

Following his discharge from military service on 29 August 1919, he was appointed second legation secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on 12 September 1919. He later became the first legation secretary in Paris on 16 December 1919 and served as Sweden's observer at the International Congress of Intellectual Workers in Paris in 1923. His diplomatic career continued as first legation secretary in Bucharest, Athens, and Belgrade starting 16 October 1923. He was appointed chargé d'affaires ad interim in Athens on 11 November 1923 and later became the first legation secretary in Copenhagen on 28 June 1924.

In his diplomatic career, he became director (byråchef) at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on 27 November 1925.{{cite web |url=https://www.adelsvapen.com/genealogi/Beck-Friis_nr_104#TAB_15 |website=www.adelsvapen.com |title=Beck-Friis nr 104 |access-date=20 September 2024 |language=sv}} From 1928 to 1930, he served as secretary to King Gustaf V during the king's foreign travels. On 1 July 1930, he was appointed legation counsellor at the legation in Washington, D.C.. Later, on 18 January 1936, he became Consul General in Shanghai, where he also served as chargé d'affaires ad interim in China. On 28 November 1936, he was granted the title of minister. He was formally appointed envoy to China on 30 May 1937, a role he officially assumed on 1 July 1937. In 1939, he took on the position of acting head of Department B at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm.{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/vemardet/1969/0077.html |editor-last=Lagerström |editor-first=Sten |year=1968 |title=Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1969 |trans-title=Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1969 |location=Stockholm |publisher=Norstedt |language=sv |id={{SELIBR|3681519}} |page=61}}

He was appointed envoy to Oslo in January 1940. When the Germans occupied Oslo in April 1940, Beck-Friis remained in the city but was recalled in July of that year after the Germans demanded the closure of the legation.{{cite book |url=http://svenskuppslagsbok.se/scans/band_03/0375_0376-0062.jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150819123314/http://svenskuppslagsbok.se/scans/band_03/0375_0376-0062.jpg |editor-last=Carlquist |editor-first=Gunnar |editor-last2=Carlsson |editor-first2=Josef |title=Svensk uppslagsbok |edition=2nd |year=1947 |location=Malmö |publisher=Förlagshuset Norden |volume=3 |language=sv |id={{LIBRIS|11112}} |pages=375–376 |archive-date=19 August 2015}} On 24 December 1940, he was appointed to temporarily head the mission in Lisbon. Beck-Friis became envoy in Lisbon, though his appointment as envoy to the Norwegian government was never revoked, and from the Swedish side, he continued to be regarded as accredited to them. In June 1943, he was sent to London, where he represented Sweden to the Norwegian government-in-exile. After Norway's liberation in 1945, he resumed his duties in Oslo. Many of Beck-Friis's reports have been published in Sweden's white papers on the country's policy during World War II.

In 1947, the first Swedish legation in the world was elevated to an embassy, located in Oslo, Norway. As a result, Beck-Friis became Sweden's first modern ambassador, following his promotion from envoy to ambassador. On 20 September that same year, during an audience with King Haakon VII, Beck-Friis presented his credentials as ambassador.{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/arkiv/1947-09-21/3/SVD |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |title=Sveriges förste ambassadör i modern tid |trans-title=Sweden's first ambassador in modern times |page=3 |date=1947-09-21 |access-date=23 September 2023 |language=sv |url-access=subscription}} He was appointed envoy to Rome in 1950 and became ambassador there in 1956, before retiring later that year. In 1959, as Dag Hammarskjöld's personal representative, he successfully persuaded Thailand and Cambodia to resume diplomatic relations. In 1960, he was appointed Chamberlain.

=Other work=

Beck-Friis became chairman of the Swedish Travellers Club in 1958, the Association of Men of 1890 (Föreningen 1890 års män) in 1958, and Stockholm's Rotary Club from 1959 to 1960. In 1961, he was appointed Grand Master of the Great Order of the Amaranth (Stora Amaranterorden) and was made an honorary member of the Pontifical Academy of Arcadia, as well as an honorary citizen of Pontecorvo, Italy. Additionally, in 1956, he was named an honorary member of the Circolo Scandinavo in Rome, the first person to be honored in the association's then 97-year history. In 1951, Beck-Friis became administrator of the Protestant Cemetery in Rome.{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/arkiv/1956-07-13/9/SVD |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |title=Avskedsintervju med ambassadör Beck-Friis: Återuppbyggnaden i Italien har gett imponerande resultatet |trans-title=Farewell interview with Ambassador Beck-Friis: The reconstruction in Italy has produced impressive results |page=A9 |date=1956-07-13 |access-date=21 September 2023 |language=sv |url-access=subscription}} He was appointed first sovereign and Grand Master of the {{ill|Svea Orden|sv}} in 1959, and was succeeded by Justice of the Supreme Administrative

Court {{ill|Hilding Björne|sv}} in 1967.{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/arkiv/1967-02-05/32/SVD |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |title=Svea Orden fick ny Förste Drott |page=32 |date=1967-02-05 |access-date=21 September 2023 |language=sv |url-access=subscription}}

Personal life

On 26 August 1913 in {{ill|Vists Church, Östergötland|lt=Vists Church|sv|Vists kyrka, Östergötland}}, Beck-Friis married Countess Gunilla Bielke (17 January 1893 at {{ill|Slattefors|sv}} in {{ill|Landeryds socken|sv}}, Östergötland – 6 December 1983), the daughter of underlöjtnant, Count Nils Bielke and Edith Maria Clementine Carleson.

They had three children: Ebba Gunilla Christina (born 12 January 1916 in Berlin), a son (born and died 20 October 1917 in Stockholm), and Jan (1930–2016).{{cite web |url=https://www.familjesidan.se/cases/jan-beck-friis |website=www.familjesidan.se |title=Jan Beck-Friis |access-date=24 September 2024 |language=sv}}

Death

Beck-Friis died on 30 June 1969 in {{ill|Nacka Parish|sv|Nacka församling}}, Stockholm County.{{cite book |title=Sveriges dödbok 9: 1815-2022 |edition=Version 9.0 |year=2023 |publisher=Sveriges släktforskarförbund |language=sv |id={{LIBRIS|p7r39b8bm406gwwp}}}} The funeral service took place on 11 July 1969 at Erstavik Chapel in Nacka Municipality.{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/arkiv/1969-07-04/2/SVD |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |title=Döde |trans-title=Deceased |page=2a |date=1969-07-04 |access-date=21 September 2023 |language=sv |url-access=subscription}}

Awards and decorations

=Swedish=

=Foreign=

Bibliography

  • {{cite book

|last=Beck-Friis

|first=Johan

|title=Protestantiska kyrkogården i Rom: konstnärernas och poeternas kyrkogård |trans-title=The Protestant cemetery of Rome: the cemetery of artists and poets

|year=1956

|publisher=Allhem

|location=Malmö

|language=sv

|id={{LIBRIS|1034710}}

}}

  • {{cite book

|last=Beck-Friis

|first=Johan

|title=Il cimitero acattolico di Roma: il cimitero degli artisti e dei poeti |trans-title=The Non-Catholic Cemetery of Rome: The Cemetery of Artists and Poets

|year=1956

|publisher=Allhem

|location=Malmö

|language=it

|id={{LIBRIS|1034711}}

}}

  • {{cite book

|last=Beck-Friis

|first=Johan

|title=The Protestant cemetery in Rome: the cemetery of artists and poets

|year=1956

|publisher=Allhem

|location=Malmö

|id={{LIBRIS|1034715}}

}}

  • {{cite book

|last=Beck-Friis

|first=Johan

|title=Der protestantische Friedhof in Rom: Friedhof der Dichter, Denker und Künstler |trans-title=The Protestant Cemetery in Rome: Cemetery of poets, thinkers and artists

|year=1956

|publisher=Allhem

|location=Malmö

|language=de

|id={{LIBRIS|1034719}}

}}

  • {{cite book

|last=Beck-Friis

|first=Johan

|title=Möjligheten: roman |trans-title=The possibility: novel

|year=1921

|publisher=Åhlen & Åkerlund

|location=Stockholm

|language=sv

|id={{LIBRIS|1469910}}

}}

  • {{cite book

|last=Beck-Friis

|first=Johan

|title=Försvarsfrågans praktiska lösning: Politiskt föredrag i Falköping den 15 Mars 1914 |trans-title=The practical solution to the defense question: Political lecture in Falköping on 15 March 1914

|year=1914

|publisher=Falköpings tidning

|location=Falköping

|language=sv

|id={{LIBRIS|1631219}}

}}

References

{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-dip}}

{{succession box |before=Einar Lindquist |title=Consul General of Sweden to Shanghai |years=1936–1937 |after=None}}

{{s-bef | before = Himself|as=Chargé d'affaires ad interim}}

{{s-ttl | title = Envoy of Sweden to China | years = 1937–1939}}

{{s-aft | after= Erik Kronvall|as=Chargé d'affaires ad interim}}

{{succession box |before=Christian Günther |title=Envoy/Ambassador of Sweden to Norway |years=1940–1950 |after=Hans Wilhelmsson Ahlmann}}

{{s-bef | before = Leif Öhrvall|as=Chargé d'affaires ad interim}}

{{s-ttl | title = Envoy of Sweden to Portugal | years = 1941–1943}}

{{s-aft | after= Gustaf Weidel}}

{{succession box |before=Christian Günther |title=Envoy/Ambassador of Sweden to Italy |years=1950–1956 |after=Eric von Post}}

{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck-Friis, Johan}}

Category:1890 births

Category:1969 deaths

Category:Swedish barons

Category:Consuls-general for Sweden in Shanghai

Category:Ambassadors of Sweden to China

Category:Ambassadors of Sweden to Norway

Category:Ambassadors of Sweden to Portugal

Category:Ambassadors of Sweden to Italy

Category:Diplomats from Stockholm

Category:Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star

Category:Stockholm School of Economics alumni