# Sven Backlund > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sven_Backlund > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sven_Backlund.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sven_Backlund > Source revision: 1325853722 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Sven Einar Backlund** (31 May 1917 – 20 September 1997) was a Swedish diplomat. He was the ambassador of Sweden to [Yugoslavia](/source/Yugoslavia), [European Economic Community](/source/European_Economic_Community) and [West Germany](/source/West_Germany). He also served as the [Permanent Representative of Sweden to the Council of Europe](/source/Permanent_Representative_of_Sweden_to_the_Council_of_Europe). ## Early life and education Backlund was born on 31 May 1917 in [Stockholm](/source/Stockholm), Sweden, the son of Sven Backlund, an editor, and his wife Herta (née Bergström).[1] His father was a social democratic figure and worked for the [Gothenburg](/source/Gothenburg)-based news magazine *[Ny Tid](/source/Ny_Tid_(Gothenburg))* as a foreign editor in the 1940s.[2] Backlund obtained his university degree in 1936.[3] He founded the Social Democratic student club at [Stockholm University College](/source/Stockholm_University).[3] He received a master's degree in politics in 1942.[3] ## Career and activities Following his graduation Backlund joined the [Ministry of Foreign Affairs](/source/Ministry_for_Foreign_Affairs_(Sweden)) in 1942.[3] He worked as an [attaché](/source/Attach%C3%A9) at the Swedish embassies in the USA until 1946 and in the United Kingdom between 1946 and 1947.[4] He was the secretary of legation in Norway from 1947 to 1949 and in the US from 1951 to 1955.[4] Backlund was named as the head of the press office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1955 and remained in office until 1961.[5] He served as the councilor of mission in [Belgrade](/source/Belgrade) between 1961 and 1964, becoming ambassador to Yugoslavia in 1963.[4] He was the consul general in Berlin from 1964 to 1968.[4] Backlund mediated secret meetings between [Willy Brandt](/source/Willy_Brandt), then [Mayor of West Berlin](/source/Governing_Mayor_of_Berlin), and [Pyotr Abrasimov](/source/Pyotr_Abrasimov), ambassador of Soviet Union to East Germany, which were held at the [Swedish Embassy](/source/Embassy_of_Sweden,_Berlin) in Berlin in November 1966.[6][7][8] Backlund was appointed [Permanent Representative of Sweden to the ECSC, Euratom, and the EEC](/source/Permanent_Representative_of_Sweden_to_the_European_Union) in 1968 which he held until 1972.[4] During his tenure he was also [Permanent Representative of Sweden to the Council of Europe](/source/Permanent_Representative_of_Sweden_to_the_Council_of_Europe).[4] Backlund was appointed ambassador of Sweden to West Germany in 1972 and remained in office until June 1983.[4][9] Throughout his diplomatic tenure in West Germany Backlund was one of the people who helped East Germans to flee.[9] His term witnessed a crisis between Sweden and West Germany when his secret report to the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs was leaked to the Swedish press in June 1975.[10] In the report Backlund argued that if [Franz Josef Strauss](/source/Franz_Josef_Strauss), head of the [Christian Social Union in Bavaria](/source/Christian_Social_Union_in_Bavaria), would become prime minister, then the relations between two countries would be problematic.[10] ## Later years and legacy Backlund worked as a writer after his retirement from diplomatic post.[4] German politician Willy Brandt described Backlund as a rare ambassador "who knew the Federal Republic of Germany better than many German politicians."[9] ## Personal life Backlund was married to Kristina Molander, the daughter of master tailor E Molander and Ester Näsholm. They had two children: Karin (born 1946) and Sven (born 1947).[1] He died in 1997.[4] ## References 1. [*Vem är vem?*](https://runeberg.org/vemarvem/sthlm62/0106.html) [Who's Who?] (in Swedish). Vol. 3, Götaland, utom Skåne, Halland, Blekinge. 2nd ed. Stockholm: Vem är vem bokförlag. 1965. p. 82. 1. Anders H Pers (29 April 2017). ["Anders H Pers: Därför strök Branting versen"](https://www.vlt.se/2017-04-29/anders-h-pers-darfor-strok-branting-versen) (in Swedish). *[Vestmanlands Läns Tidning](/source/Vestmanlands_L%C3%A4ns_Tidning)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230714104541/https://www.vlt.se/2017-04-29/anders-h-pers-darfor-strok-branting-versen) 14 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 July 2023. 1. ["Namn att minnas – Sven Backlund"](https://www.svensktidskrift.se/namn-att-minnas-sven-backlund/) (in Swedish). *Svensk Tidskrift*. 31 December 1970. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230714122118/https://www.svensktidskrift.se/namn-att-minnas-sven-backlund/) 14 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 July 2023. 1. ["Backlund Sven (1917 – 1997)"](https://sok.riksarkivet.se/?postid=ArkisRef+SE%2FRA%2F101010673&flik=0&s=Balder) (in Swedish). [National Archives of Sweden](/source/National_Archives_of_Sweden). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230714115739/https://sok.riksarkivet.se/?postid=ArkisRef+SE%2FRA%2F101010673&flik=0&s=Balder) 14 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 July 2023. 1. ["Namn att minnas – Sten Sundfeldt"](https://www.svensktidskrift.se/namn-att-minnas-sten-sundfeldt/) (in Swedish). *Svensk Tidskrift*. 31 December 1970. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230718085715/https://www.svensktidskrift.se/namn-att-minnas-sten-sundfeldt/) 18 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 July 2023. 1. ["Berlin, Tyskland Ambassadörens residens"](https://www.sfv.se/vara-fastigheter/sok/utrikes/europa/berlin-tyskland-ambassadorens-residens/) (in Swedish). [National Property Board of Sweden](/source/National_Property_Board_of_Sweden). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230714122117/https://www.sfv.se/vara-fastigheter/sok/utrikes/europa/berlin-tyskland-ambassadorens-residens/) 14 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 July 2023. 1. Alexander Muschik (November 2006). "Headed Towards the West: Swedish Neutrality and the German Question, 1949-1972". *[Contemporary European History](/source/Contemporary_European_History)*. **15** (4): 532. [doi:10.1017/S0960777306003523](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0960777306003523). [JSTOR 20081329](https://www.jstor.org/stable/20081329). [S2CID 159874616](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:159874616) 1. ["Brandt in visit to E Berlin"](https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS18050771/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=e07e7792). *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. 19 June 1968. Retrieved 14 July 2023. 1. James M. Markham (11 June 1983). ["Bonn's Bridge to Soviet is Going Home to Sweden"](https://www.proquest.com/docview/424644733). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. p. 1.2. Retrieved 14 July 2023. 1. ["Leakage of Bonn envoy's views upsets Stockholm"](https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS84245708/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=f53c3422). *The Times*. 12 June 1975. Retrieved 14 July 2023. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sven Backlund](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sven_Backlund) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sven_Backlund?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.