Åke Sjölin

Åke Magnus Valdemar Sjölin (26 August 1910 – 19 October 1999) was a Swedish diplomat.

Career

Sjölin was born in Lindesberg, Sweden, the son of mayor Magnus Sjölin and his wife Svea (née Rehnvall). He passed studentexamen in Lund in 1928 and received a Candidate of Law degree from Stockholm University College in 1933. Sjölin completed his clerkship in Linde's and Medelstad's Judicial District from 1934 to 1936 before becoming an attaché at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1937.^[1] He served in Chicago in 1938, in Washington, D.C. in 1939 and then in Buenos Aires in 1942. Sjöliv served as second legation secretary in Buenos Aires in 1943 and first secretary at the Foreign Ministry in 1945. Sjölin was director there in 1950 and embassy counsellor in Oslo from 1952 to 1957.^[1]

He then ambassador in Beirut, Damascus and Amman from 1957 to 1958 and in Beirut and Amman from 1958 to 1960. Sjölin was ambassador in Addis Ababa and Khartoum from 1960 to 1964 and also in Mogadishu and Tananarive from 1961 to 1964.^[2] Sjölin then moved to Asia where we was ambassador in Bangkok, Rangoon, Kuala Lumpur and Saigon from 1964 to 1967 and also in Vientiane from 1965 to 1967 and in Singapore from 1966 to 1967.^[2] Sjölin became the last Swedish ambassador in South Vietnam in 1967 and Sweden did not seek agrément for a replacement of Sjölin because the Swedish outlook towards the regime in Saigon.^[3] Sjölin was appointed consul general in Berlin in 1967 and stayed in that position until 1972. He was then ambassador in Rabat, Nouakchott, Dakar and Banjul from 1972 to 1976.^[2]

Personal life

In 1946, Sjölin married Maud Selander (born 1921), the daughter of managing director Hjalmar Selander and Märta (née Russel). He is the father of the professor of medical psychology at the Karolinska Institutet, Åsa Nilsonne (born 1949) and Magnus (born 1952).^[1] After retiring, Sjölin moved back home to Sweden and to the town of Grillby.^[2] Sjölin died on 19 October 1999 in Husby-Sjutolft in Enköping Municipality where he was living. He was buried in Husby-Sjutolft's cemetery.^[4]

Awards and decorations

Sjölin's awards:^[1]

• Knight of the Order of the Polar Star
• Grand Cordon of the Order of Independence
• Grand Cordon of the National Order of the Cedar
• Commander of the Order of Merit
• Commander of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
• Commander of the Order of St. Olav
• Commander of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
• Officer of the Order of the Southern Cross
• Ethiopian Red Cross Medal

References

1. Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1962). Vem är vem? 1, Stor-Stockholm [Who is who? 1, Greater Stockholm] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem. p. 1184.
2. Uddling, Hans; Paabo, Katrin, eds. (1992). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1993 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1993] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 998. ISBN 91-1-914072-X.
3. "Sverige drar in sin Saigon-ackreditering" [Sweden withdraws its Saigon accreditation]. Vestkusten (in Swedish) (17). San Francisco & Oakland, Cal. 27 April 1967. p. 1. LIBRIS 4085814. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
4. "Sjölin, Åke Magnus Valdemar" (in Swedish). Svenskagravar.se. Retrieved 21 July 2016.