Login
Login

Leif Leifland

{{Short description|Swedish diplomat}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Leif Leifland

| image = Leif Leifland blir adlad.jpg

| image_size =

| image_upright =

| caption = Leifland as ambassador in London in 1982.

| order =

| office = Ambassador of Sweden to the United Kingdom

| term_start = 1982

| term_end = 1991

| predecessor = Per Lind

| successor = Lennart Eckerberg

| office2 = State Secretary for Foreign Affairs

| term_start2 = 1 June 1977

| term_end2 = 1982

| monarch2 =

| primeminister2 = Thorbjörn Fälldin
Ola Ullsten

| predecessor2 = Sverker Åström

| successor2 = Pierre Schori

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|12|30|df=y}}

| birth_place = Stockholm, Sweden

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2015|04|03|1925|12|30|df=y}}

| death_place = Stockholm, Sweden

| death_cause =

| resting_place = Norra begravningsplatsen

| spouse = {{marriage|Karin Abard|1954|1999|end=died}}

| partner =

| relations =

| children = 3

| relatives =

| education =

| alma_mater = Lund University

| occupation =

| profession =

}}

Leif Leifland (30 December 1925 – 3 April 2015) was a Swedish diplomat who served as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 1977 to 1982 and as Ambassador of Sweden to the United Kingdom from 1982 to 1991. Leifland joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1951 and began his diplomatic career in 1952 as an attaché in Casablanca. He went on to serve in various roles, including attaché in Athens, Bonn, and as Second Secretary in Stockholm, and worked as Assistant Secretary of the Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1958 to 1970.

He was appointed Minister at the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C. in 1970, where he navigated a challenging period of strained relations between Sweden and the U.S. due to the Vietnam War and Prime Minister Olof Palme's criticism of U.S. bombing campaigns. Returning to Sweden in 1974, he became head of the Political Department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, later serving as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs. He managed several crises, including the Soviet submarine incident in 1981. In 1982, he was appointed Ambassador to London, where he served until his retirement in 1991. After retiring, he chaired the Swedish Institute of International Affairs and the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education.

Early life

Leifland was born on 30 December 1925 in Stockholm, Sweden, the son Sigfrid Leifland, an accountant, and his wife Elna (née Jonasson).{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/vemardet/2001/0671.html |editor-last=Jönsson |editor-first=Lena |title=Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 2001 |trans-title=Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 2001 |year=2000 |publisher=Norstedt |location=Stockholm |language=sv |isbn=9172850426 |id={{SELIBR|8261515}} |page=671}} He spent his childhood in Jönköping, where his father was an accountant.{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/arkiv/1987-11-15/63/SVD |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |title=Leif Leifland, vår man i London: En diplomat som klätrar bakåt i historien |trans-title=Leif Leifland, our man in London: A diplomat who climbs backwards in history |first=Ola |last=Gummesson |page=63 |date=1987-11-15 |access-date=28 November 2024 |language=sv |url-access=subscription}} Leifland received a Candidate of Law degree from Lund University in 1950.

Career

Leifland joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1951 and began his diplomatic career as an attaché in Casablanca in 1952.{{cite web |url=https://sok.riksarkivet.se/nad?postid=Arkis%20866b58ae-36f3-4389-9ec1-8e82a7b300fd |publisher=National Archives of Sweden |title=Leifland Leif (1925 – ) |access-date=29 November 2024 |language=sv}} He subsequently served as an attaché in Athens (1953–1955), Bonn (1955–1958), and as Second Secretary in Stockholm in 1958. From 1958 to 1960, he worked as secretary for the inquiry on Swedish citizenship as a prerequisite for public service and as Assistant Secretary of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He later served as the committee's principal secretary from 1966 to 1970. During 1958–1960, he also served as Assistant Secretary at the Nordic Council and as First Embassy Secretary in Washington, D.C., from 1961 to 1964.{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/vemarvem/sthlm62/0787.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}} |page=763}} In 1965, he became a desk officer (departementssekreterare) at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and was appointed Minister at the Swedish Embassy in Washington in 1970.

Leifland's role as Minister in Washington became particularly challenging during his tenure. Sweden's position on the Vietnam War and Prime Minister Olof Palme's sharp criticism of the so-called Christmas bombings in 1972 triggered an 18-month freeze in diplomatic relations between the United States and Sweden.{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/arkiv/1991-01-02/9/SVD |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |title="Palme onödigt hård" |trans-title="Palme unnecessarily hard" |first=Ola |last=Gummesson |page=13 |date=1987-11-15 |access-date=28 November 2024 |language=sv |url-access=subscription}} The newly appointed Swedish ambassador, Social Democrat {{ill|Yngve Möller|sv}}, was declared unwelcome in the U.S. capital. For the next year and a half, Leifland led the embassy amidst an extremely strained Swedish-American diplomatic climate. He later documented this period in his book Frostens år ("The Years of Frost"), published in 1997.{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/arkiv/2015-04-15/23/SVD |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |title=Leif Leifland |first1=Kerstin |last1=Asp-Johnsson |first2=Frank |last2=Belfrage |author-link2=Frank Belfrage |first3=Göran |last3=Berg |first4=Mats |last4=Bergquist |first5=Carl |last5=Bildt |author-link5=Carl Bildt |first6=Jan |last6=Eliasson |author-link6=Jan Eliasson |first7=Sven |last7=Hirdman |author-link7=Sven Hirdman |first8=Erik |last8=Pierre |first9=Ingemar |last9=Stjernberg |author-link9=Ingemar Stjernberg |page=23 |date=2015-04-15 |access-date=28 November 2024 |language=sv |url-access=subscription}} Between 1973 and 1974, he served as chargé d'affaires ad interim in Washington.

Upon returning to Sweden in 1974, he was appointed by Olof Palme as Director (utrikesråd) and head of the Political Department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/arkiv/1991-01-03/8/SVD |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |title='Vi önskade inte förolämpa Sovjet' |trans-title='We did not wish to offend the Soviet Union' |first=Ola |last=Gummesson |page=8 |date=1991-01-03 |access-date=28 November 2024 |language=sv |url-access=subscription}} He served as Secretary of the Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs from 1975 to 1977 and as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in 1977. As State Secretary, he worked under three foreign ministers: Karin Söder, Hans Blix, and Ola Ullsten, managing crises such as the Soviet submarine S-363, which ran aground in the Blekinge archipelago in October 1981. Leifland considered himself an apolitical State Secretary, although he never made a secret of voting for the Liberal People's Party. After the 1982 Swedish general election, in which the Social Democrats regained power, he ended his service. The Social Democrats appointed their own candidate, Pierre Schori.

Leifland became Ambassador to London in 1982 and remained in the position until his retirement in 1991. After retiring, he served as chairman of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs from 1991 to 1999. He was also chairman of the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (Stiftelsen för internationalisering av högre utbildning och forskning, STINT).

Personal life

In 1954, Leifland married to Karin Abard (1930–1999), the daughter of director Gustaf Abard and Ingrid Nordin. They had three children: {{ill|Karl Leifland|lt=Karl|sv|Karl Leifland}} (born 1955), Christina (born 1957), and Eva (born 1960).

Death

Leifland died on 3 April 2015 in Hedvig Eleonora Parish, Stockholm. The funeral service was held on 23 April 2015 at Hedvig Eleonora Church in Stockholm.{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/arkiv/2015-04-12/32/SVD |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |title=Döda |trans-title=Deaths |page=32 |date=2015-04-12 |access-date=28 November 2024 |language=sv |url-access=subscription}} He was interred on 21 March 2016 at Norra begravningsplatsen in Solna.{{cite web |url=https://www.svenskagravar.se/gravsatt/ab8e12ed-187f-417e-b45a-6fbd263427d4 |website=www.svenskagravar.se |title=Leifland, Leif |access-date=28 November 2024 |language=sv}}

Awards and decorations

Honours

Bibliography

  • {{cite book

|last=Leifland

|first=Leif

|title=Frostens år: om USA:s diplomatiska utfrysning av Sverige |trans-title=The year of the frost: about the USA's diplomatic ostracism of Sweden

|series=Sverige under kalla kriget, 99-2240566-0 ; 2

|year=1997

|publisher=Nerenius & Santérus

|location=Stockholm

|language=sv

|isbn=9164801098

|id={{LIBRIS|7460819}}

}}

  • {{cite book

|last=Leifland

|first=Leif

|title=General Böhmes val: Sverige och det nazistiska Tyskland våren 1945 |trans-title=General Böhme's choice: Sweden and Nazi Germany in the spring of 1945

|year=1992

|publisher=Norstedt

|location=Stockholm

|language=sv

|isbn=9119192428

|id={{LIBRIS|7156035}}

}}

  • {{cite book

|last=Leifland

|first=Leif

|title=Svartlistningen av Axel Wenner-Gren: en bok om ett justitiemord |trans-title=The blacklisting of Axel Wenner-Gren: a book about a miscarriage of justice

|year=1989

|publisher=Askelin & Hägglund

|location=Stockholm

|language=sv

|isbn=9176841588

|id={{LIBRIS|7657852}}

}}

  • {{cite book

|last=Leifland

|first=Leif

|title=Det ekonomiska och handelspolitiska läget i Storbritannien: anförande vid Sveriges Allmänna Exportförenings årsmöte den 18 oktober 1984 |trans-title=The economic and trade policy situation in United Britain: speech at the Swedish General Export Association's annual meeting on 18 October 1984

|year=1984

|publisher=Sveriges allmänna exportförening

|location=Stockholm

|language=sv

|id={{LIBRIS|2378504}}

}}

References

{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-dip}}

{{succession box |before=Sverker Åström |title=State Secretary for Foreign Affairs |years=1977–1982 |after=Pierre Schori}}

{{succession box |before=Per Lind |title=Ambassador of Sweden to the United Kingdom |years=1982–1991 |after=Lennart Eckerberg}}

{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leifland, Leif}}

Category:1925 births

Category:2015 deaths

Category:Ambassadors of Sweden to the United Kingdom

Category:Diplomats from Stockholm

Category:Lund University alumni

Category:Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences

Category:Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences

Category:Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen