Departments and their functions
The day-to-day work of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is conducted by a number of departments. These departments process and prepare business prior to Government decisions. Another of their tasks is to represent Sweden in international negotiations and promote Swedish foreign policy and economic interests.
Ministry departments assist the political leadership in compiling and analysing information to be used as a basis for policy positions. This is undertaken by preparing and presenting background material for government decisions, government bills, replies to interpellations and questions in the Riksdag. The departments also represent Sweden in international negotiations, promote Swedish foreign policy and economic interests, and manage contacts with the agencies that come under the Ministry.
Africa Department
The department is responsible for Sweden's foreign, trade, and development cooperation policy relations with countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The department is also responsible for background material and analyses to be used as a basis for Swedish positions on issues concerning EU relations with these countries. In addition, it monitors Swedish interests and manages contacts with the regional organisations in the area.
The department has 21 members of staff.
Head of Department: Anders Hagelberg
Americas Department
The department is responsible for Sweden's foreign, trade, and development cooperation policy relations with countries in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. The department is also responsible for background material and analyses to be used as a basis for Swedish positions on issues concerning EU relations with these countries. In addition, it monitors Swedish interests and manages contacts with the regional organisations in the area.
The department has 15 members of staff.
Head of Department: Maria Lundqvist
Department for Asia and the Pacific Region
The department is responsible for Sweden's relations with countries in Asia and the Pacific Region. The department's geographical field of operation stretches from Afghanistan in the west to Samoa in the Pacific Ocean in the east. Within this area, the department deals with foreign, trade, and development cooperation policy bilaterally as well as through the European Union and the United Nations. The department also engages in active promotion of trade and industry and analyses economic developments in the region.
In addition, the department coordinates Sweden's participation in cooperation between Asia and Europe within the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and follows developments in regional organisations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The department has 25 members of staff.
Head of Department: Klas Molin
Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia
The department is responsible for Sweden's foreign, trade, and development cooperation relations with Russia, other countries in Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, Southern Caucasus and Central Asia. The department is also responsible for background material and analyses to be used as a basis for Swedish positions on issues concerning EU relations with these countries. In addition, it monitors Swedish interests and manages contacts with the regional organisations in the area. Baltic Sea cooperation, the Northern Dimension, the Barents Euro-Arctic Council and the Arctic Council are also included in the department's area of responsibility.
The department is responsible for the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics and East European Economies.
The department has 24 members of staff.
Head of Department: Malena Mård
Middle East and North Africa Department
The department is responsible for Sweden's foreign, trade, and development cooperation policy relations with countries in the Middle East, including Iran and Iraq, as well as North Africa. The department is also responsible for background material and analyses to be used as a basis for Swedish positions on issues concerning EU relations with these countries. In addition, it monitors Swedish interests and manages contacts with the regional organisations in the area.
The department has 19 members of staff.
Head of Department: Robert Rydberg
European Union Department
The department is responsible for bilateral relations with EU Member States, candidate countries and other countries in Western Europe and Western Balkans. The department assists the Prime Minister's Office in its preparations for meetings of the European Council and with liaison on EU issues within the Government Offices. The department is responsible for EU coordination at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Issues concerning European integration, long-term development and reforms of the EU, including negotiations on EU enlargement, the long-term budget and institutions, are also dealt with by the department. Further, Nordic and Nordic-Baltic cooperation and issues concerning the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the EEA Agreement lie within the department's area of responsibility.
The department has 39 members of staff.
Acting Head of Department: Håkan Emsgård
Department for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
The department for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation has been formed following the amalgamation of the Department for Strategic Export Control and the disarmament and non-proliferation group in the department for Global Security.
The department is responsible for global disarmament and non-proliferation issues including export control of military equipment and dual-use items. The department is also responsible for issues relating to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the Ottawa Convention and small arms and light weapons. Its area of activity covers international weapons and technology issues of a security policy nature. The department is also responsible for work within the multilateral export control regimes to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missiles, and for intangible transfers of controlled technology.
The department is responsible for the Swedish Inspectorate of Strategic Products and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The department also acts as principal for the secretariat of the independent international Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission, also known as the Blix Commission.
The department consists of two groups: one for global and UN-related issues and one for export control and other issues.
The department has 15 members of staff.
Head of Department: Henrik Salander
Department for the EU Internal Market and the Promotion of Sweden and Swedish Trade
The department is responsible for issues concerning:
- the implementation and development of the EU internal market (free movement of goods, services, persons and capital)
- general policy matters in Swedish internal market policy and coordination of the Competitiveness Council
- the promotion of Swedish interests abroad, including the promotion of Sweden, trade and investment promotion, cultural promotion and the image of Sweden, and project exports.
The department works along closely with government agencies and organisations, other MFA departments and missions abroad (embassies and consulates). It aims both to help Swedish businesses to operate effectively in international markets, and to contribute to increased Swedish trade and more foreign investment in Sweden and also to generate interest and trust in and goodwill for Sweden.
The role of the department in the Government Offices is to coordinate Swedish action in matters concerning the EU internal market. The aim is to contribute in order to the establishment of an efficient internal market through open trade, the removal of barriers to trade and stronger competition in the interests of companies and consumers.
The activities of the Projects Export Secretariat (PES) are intended to increase project exports from Sweden. The work of the Secretariat relates to transactions financed in full or in part through international financial institutions.
The department is responsible for the following government agencies and organisations with state activities and/or state assignments: the Swedish Export Credits Guarantee Board (EKN), the Invest in Sweden Agency (ISA), the National Board of Trade, the Swedish Board for Accreditation and Conformity Assessment (SWEDAC), the Swedish Institute (SI), state involvement in the Swedish Trade Council, state ownership of the Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK) and the state contribution to the Swedish Standards Council (SSR).
The department is also responsible for the Council for the Promotion of Sweden (NSU), a forum for the exchange of information, coordination and joint action concerning the profile of Sweden between state organisations and partly state-owned organisations working on the promotion of Sweden.
The department has 30 members of staff organised in four groups.
Head of Department: Eva Walder Brundin (from 1 Jan. 2009)
Internal Market: Göran Grén, Head of Group
International Business Promotion: Kerstin Nordlund-Malmegård, Deputy Head of Department and Head of Group
Cultural Promotion and the Image of Sweden: Fredrik Wetterqvist, Head of Group, Executive Secretary, NSU
Project Exports: Bo Jerlström, Head of the Projects Export Secretariat
Department for International Law, Human Rights and Treaty Law
The department is responsible for general advice on international law and the monitoring of international law issues and human rights in international forums. This area of responsibility includes humanitarian law (the laws of war), the law of the sea and treaty law (agreements between states, international organisations, etc.), as well as issues concerning immunity and privileges.
The department also represents Sweden in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and in the UN human rights committees that permit individual complaints.
The department has 30 members of staff.
Head of Department: Elinor Hammarskjöld
Department for Development Policy
The department is responsible for coordination of the Government's work on a coherent policy for global development, analyses and research on global development issues and for some policy areas in the framework of development cooperation, such as democracy and human rights, social development, gender equality, macroeconomics and cooperation with civil society. The department is responsible for the Nordic Africa Institute, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the Swedish Institute in Alexandria and the Swedish Fund for Industrial Cooperation with Developing Countries.
The department has 20 members of staff.
Head of Department: Torgny Holmgren
Department for Management and Methods in Development Cooperation
The department is responsible for coordinating the development assistance budget, agency management and dealing with matters relating to Sida and the Swedish Agency for Development Evaluation (SADEV). It is also in charge of special development assistance instruments such as budget support, credits and guarantees.
The department is also responsible for coordinating contacts with the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC), for the process of drawing up cooperation strategies and for issues related to the methods and efficiency of development assistance.
The department has 16 members of staff.
Head of Department: Håkan Åkesson
Department for Multilateral Development Cooperation
The department is responsible for development and reform issues in the UN, the EU and the financial institutions. Its areas of responsibility include UN funds, programmes and specialised agencies, economic, social and environment-related activities in the UN, the World Bank Group, the IMF and regional development banks. The department is also responsible for development policy in the EU and the Union's development cooperation and coordinates these issues within EU cooperation.
The department has 25 members of staff.
Head of Department: Johanna Brismar Skoog
International Trade Policy Department
The department is the central expert section on trade policy in the Government Offices and is responsible for issues concerning trade policy, international trade and investment, and the EU's common trade policy legislation. The department is also responsible for multilateral trade policy in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
International customs cooperation, customs and rules of origin, trade-related support to developing countries and issues of corporate social responsibility (the Swedish Partnership for Global Responsibility) also lie within the department's area of responsibility.
The department has 30 members of staff.
Head of Department: Teppo Tauriainen
Department for Consular Affairs and Civil Law
The department is responsible for consular assistance, that is to say, assistance to Swedes in distress abroad, and for Foreign Ministry travel recommendations. The department also processes civil law and international civil law issues. Illegal child abduction, marriages abroad and adoptions are issues for which the department is responsible. The department also carries out legalisation of documents.
The department has 44 members of staff.
Head of Department: Fredrik Jörgensen
Press, Information and Communication Department
The Department is responsible for information to the media and general public on the activities of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, on Swedish foreign and security policy, global development and development assistance, trade policy and the promotion of trade, investment and Sweden. It is also responsible for arranging visits of foreign journalists to Sweden and giving service to Swedish and foreign media in connection with official visits and at major international conferences. The Department also acts in an advisory capacity to the management and departments of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on issues related to information and communications.
The Department is also responsible for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs website www.ud.se, on the Government website www.regeringen.se, for the Ministry's intranet and staff magazine, and for development of the websites of missions abroad www.swedenabroad.com.
The Department has 29 members of staff.
Head of Department: Cecilia Julin
Protocol Department
The Protocol Department is responsible for the planning and implementation of incoming and outgoing state visits and for preparations in connection with international conferences and official visits to the Swedish Government. The department's other main task is to maintain contacts with foreign embassies, consulates and international organisations in Sweden and to deal with matters concerning their safety and security. The department also handles agrément for and accreditation of foreign ambassadors and exequatur for foreign consuls.
The department interprets and applies the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic and Consular Relations, issues diplomatic visas and identity cards and assists Swedish authorities in matters concerning immunity and privileges. The department issues Swedish service passports and diplomatic passports.
The department has 25 members of staff.
Head of Protocol: Herman af Trolle
Security Policy Department
The department is responsible for issues relating to Swedish security policy as well as security policy issues relevant for the UN, the EU, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), the Partnership for Peace (PfP), the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Council of Europe.
Furthermore, the department is in charge of Swedish policy regarding conflict prevention, crisis management, peace building, humanitarian issues and international counter-terrorism. The department also makes security policy analyses relating to the development in neighbouring areas as well as in the rest of Europe and globally.
The department is responsible for issues relating to the Folke Bernadotte Academy and the Swedish Institute of International Affairs.
The department has 43 members of staff.
Head of Department: Nils Daag
Administration
Director-General for Administrative Affairs
The Director-General for Administrative Affairs is responsible for the administrative management of the Foreign Service.
Director-General for Administrative Affairs: Inga Eriksson Fogh
Financial Accounting Department
The department is responsible for financial accounting and payments in the Foreign Service, for the accounting system at missions abroad and for ensuring competence and development in the field of financial administration throughout the Foreign Service.
The department has 17 members of staff.
Head of Department: Birgitta Jonsson
Human Resources Department
The department is responsible for skills provision, continuing professional development, recruitment and staffing, salary and employment conditions. Recruitment to international organisations also belongs to the department's area of responsibility.
The department has 77 members of staff.
Head of Human Resources: Harald Sandberg
Planning and Budget
The department is responsible for strategic planning and financial resources, as well as for organizational matters and business development. It is also responsible for budget coordination of the Ministry's expenditure areas and is the contact point for IT and archive matters.
The department has 17 members of staff.
Head of Department: Maj-Britt Grufberg
Property Management and Logistics Department
The Property Management and Logistics Department is responsible for the provision of property abroad, planning and allocation of premises at the Ministry's disposal, purchasing and maintenance of office equipment and furnishings, and courier and postal services.
The department has 35 members of staff.
Acting Head of Department: Jörgen Halldin
Security Secretariat
The secretariat is responsible for security and risk assessments for personnel and operations and deals with contingency plans for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and missions abroad. Matters concerning the release of official documents to individuals and cases relating to the Personal Data Act also come within the secretariat's area of responsibility. The secretariat serves as the National Security Authority (NSA) within the framework of Sweden's international cooperation on information security. In organisational terms, Ministry duty officers are attached to the secretariat.
The secretariat has 13 members of staff.
Head of Secretariat: Harald Fälth
Language Services
Language Services receives commissions from the whole of the Government Offices for translations to and from Swedish and the review of documents written in foreign languages. It also administers foreign language courses for Government Offices employees. The department maintains a term database and publishes Utrikes namnbok, a publication with translations to six languages of the names of agencies, organisations, titles, countries, etc.
The department has 18 members of staff.
Head of Department: Gunilla Liljedahl
Director-General for Legal Affairs
The responsibilities of the Director-General for Legal Affairs include ensuring that Ministry for Foreign Affairs business is conducted correctly and in accordance with the law, and drafting proposals for laws and other statutes within the Ministry's area of responsibility. The Director-General for Legal Affairs has a special responsibility for monitoring important issues dealing with international law and represents Sweden in cases brought before international courts where Sweden is a party, such as the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights and the UN human rights committees that permit individual complaints. The Director-General for Legal Affairs may delegate some of these responsibilities to other officials.
Director-General for Legal Affairs: Carl Henrik Ehrenkrona
Legal Secretariat
The Legal Secretariat is responsible for drafting, advising on and examining proposals for laws and other statutes within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs' areas of responsibility as well as the Ministry's internal regulations and handbooks. In addition, the Secretariat is responsible for cases before EU courts and the EFTA court as well as for infringement cases (European Commission claims concerning Treaty infringement).
The Legal Secretariat is also in charge of cases that have been appealed to the Government and the Government Offices and provides advice on legal issues within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The Secretariat is further responsible for administrative and legal issues and ensures that Foreign Service activities are legal, consistent and uniform.
The Legal Secretariat has 14 members of staff.
Head of Department: Lars Nilsson
Other functions
Inspectorate
The Inspectorate's task is to scrutinise the activities, organisation, use of resources and leadership of missions abroad, as well as the Government Offices management of the missions.
The office has 5 members of staff.
Head: Stellan Ottosson
Office of Swedish Ambassadors Stationed in Stockholm
These ambassadors are Sweden's ambassadors in countries where Sweden has no permanent diplomatic representation. The ambassadors are based at the office in Stockholm but make frequent trips to the countries to which they are accredited. They also maintain close contact with their respective countries in other ways. The task of the office is to assist the Stockholm-based ambassadors in administrative and consular matters and the relevant honorary consulates in consular and migration issues. The office also monitors the Antarctic Treaty.
The office has 13 members of staff, eight of whom are Stockholm-based ambassadors.
Director: Eha Arg
Ministers Office
The Ministers Office consists of the political leadership of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, political advisers, press secretaries, senior officials and administrative assistants. The task of the Ministers Office is to assist the Ministers by acting as a link between the political leadership and the rest of the Ministry's organisation.
The office has 36 members of staff.
Director: Karin Höglund
Directors-General
The Directors-General are responsible to the political leadership for their respective policy areas: political affairs, international development cooperation and trade.
Director-General for Political Affairs: Björn Lyrvall
Director-General for International Development Cooperation: Jan Knutsson
Director-General for Trade Policy: Anders Ahnlid
