State Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Sweden)

The Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Swedish: kabinettssekreterare) is the highest position below the rank of cabinet minister at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. As of 2014, Annika Söder is State Secretary.

The title can alternatively be translated as Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs or Secretary General of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs

For historical reasons, this position has a different title in Swedish than the other State Secretaries of the Swedish government; the other posts are termed statssekreterare.

Before 1945, in a situation where the political head of the ministry often changed rapidly, the Secretary General represented the continuous lines in Sweden's foreign policy; and was considered a prestigious step in the diplomatic career.

From 1932, Sweden has experienced a great deal of stability on the post of Foreign Minister, and from 1945 and on the post as Cabinet Secretary has increasingly been politized and a subject of replacement in connection with shifts of Foreign Minister. The precise role of the Cabinet Secretary has changed from cabinet to cabinet, particularly due to different prime ministers' particular interest and involvement in the shaping of foreign policy.

Notable Cabinet Secretaries

Christian Günther, 1934–1937
Erik Boheman, 1938–1944
Karl Ivan Westman, 1945–1947
Dag Hammarskjöld, 1949–1951
Leif Belfrage, 1956–1967
Sverker Åström, 1972–1977
Leif Leifland, 1977–1982
Pierre Schori, 1982–1991
Lars-Åke Nilsson, 1991–1994
Jan Eliasson, 1994–2000
Hans Dahlgren, 2000–2006
Frank Belfrage, 2006–2014
Annika Söder, 2014–

External links

"Ministry leadership (Organization of the MoFA)". Government of Sweden. 2007-12-10. Retrieved 2008-01-25.

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