Torsten Hammarström

Torsten Ludvig Hammarström (10 June 1896 – 9 May 1965) was a Swedish diplomat.

Career

Hammarström was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of county governor Alexis Hammarström and his wife Maria (née Engellau). He received a Candidate of Law degree from Uppsala University in 1920 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1921 before he became an attaché at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1921. Hammarström served in Berlin in 1922, Chicago in 1923, at the Foreign Ministry in 1925 and in Helsinki in 1927. He was second secretary in 1928, second legation secretary in Brussels and The Hague in 1929, first secretary at the Foreign Ministry in 1931 and in Berlin 1935.[1]

Hammarström was head of the Foreign Ministry's agency for inheritance and compensation matters in 1936, the trade department's first agency in 1939 and was legation counsellor in Rome in 1940. He was an expert and representative of trade negotiations with Germany in 1940 and Italy from 1941 to 1944.[1] Hammarström was sent as envoy to Prague just after the war was over, with the task to reopen the Swedish embassy, which had been closed during the Nazi occupation.[2] Hammarström stayed as envoy in Prague to 1947 and was then ambassador in Nanking from 1947 to 1950.[1]

In May 1950, Sweden and China established diplomatic relations. Sweden was the first Western country to found such relations with the newly established People's Republic and for this reason, chairman Mao Zedong decided to personally receive the Swedish ambassador, Torsten Hammarström, when presenting his letter of credentials[3] which was quite unusual, and a sign that China attached great importance to this diplomatic breakthrough.[4] Hammarström was ambassador in Beijing from 1950 to 1951 as well as being accredited as envoy in Bangkok and Manila from 1947 to 1951. Hammarström was envoy in Bern from 1951 to 1957 and ambassador in Bern from 1957 to 1962.[1][5]

Personal life
Torsten Hammarström's family grave at Norra begravningsplatsen in Stockholm.

Hammarström died in 1965 and was buried in Norra begravningsplatsen in Stockholm.[6]

Awards

Hammarström's awards:[1]

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. 510.
  2. "SPEECH BY AMBASSADOR JAGANDER AT THE LAYING OF A STOLPERSTEIN FOR JOSEF RUŽIČKA, JANUARY 26, 2015" (PDF). Embassy of Sweden, Prague. 2015-01-26. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-17.
  3. "H.M. Konungens tal vid Innovation Forum fredagen den 21 maj 2010" [H.M. King's speech at the Innovation Forum on Friday, May 21, 2010]. Kungahuset.se. 2010-05-21. Retrieved 2015-07-17.
  4. "60 years of friendship" (PDF). Dragon News: Member Magazine for the Swedish Chambers of Commerce in Hong Kong and China. Beijing: Swedish Chamber of Commerce (2): 12. 2010.
  5. Burling, Ingeborg, ed. (1962). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1963 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1963] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 412.
  6. "Norra begravningsplatsen, kvarter 10B, gravnummer 2" (in Swedish). Hittagraven.se. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Folke Malmar		 Envoy of Sweden to Czechoslovakia
1945–1947		 Succeeded by
Wilhelm Winther
Preceded by
Sven Allard		 Ambassador of Sweden to China
1947–1951		 Succeeded by
Staffan Söderblom
Preceded by
Widar Bagge		 Envoy of Sweden to Thailand
1947–1951		 Succeeded by
Hugo Wistrand
Preceded by
None		 Envoy of Sweden to the Philippines
1947–1951		 Succeeded by
Wilhelm Wachtmeister
Preceded by
Staffan Söderblom		 Ambassador of Sweden to Switzerland
1951–1962		 Succeeded by
Fritz Stackelberg
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