Consular upgrade in New York

Promoting the innovative, creative and competitive Sweden of today, the Swedish government will upgrade their presence in NYC. 

  • 'Everyone has to endure' says Mikael Damberg, Swedish Economic Development and Innovation Minister. Photo: Martina Huber/Government Offices of Sweden
  • The Swedish government today decided to upgrade the Swedish presence in New York by opening a paid Consulate General. The Consulate General will open in December, replacing the Honorary Consulate available today.

  • Margot Wallström, Foreign Minister. Photo: Torsten Hallberg/Wikimedia Commons
  • The focus at the Consulate General in New York will be to promote the image of the innovative, creative and competitive Sweden of today. Trade and investment promotion at the Consulate General is anticipated to be largely focused on conveying knowledge and providing a network and a platform for the promotion of Swedish companies.

  • “In light of Sweden's new export strategy we see need for a consulate general in New York, one of the world's most important cities for the promotion of the brand Sweden. The business community demands a public Swedish presence on the ground to promote contacts, trade and investment with the United States,” says Economic Development and Innovation Minister Mikael Damberg.

  • The consulate will also work on promoting culture and contribute to increased cooperation between Sweden and the United States in the cultural sphere as well as strengthen opportunities for Swedish cultural practitioners to work in New York. The Consulate General will also conduct consular business.

  • “With a consulate general in one of the world's most important cities, we can create greater understanding of and confidence in Sweden and Swedish solutions. New York is a prioritized city for Sweden with a large number of Swedes and Swedish companies,” says Foreign Minister, Margot Wallström.

  • The government has not yet made a decision on who will be the appointed paid Consul General, but the Consulate offices will for some time continue to use the premises the current Honorary Consulate occupies. The new Consulate General will move to new offices during the next year. This new mission will be manned by two people from the Foreign Ministry and a number of local employees.

  • The news of the upgraded office did not come as a surprise to the New York community, which learned of this at an official visit by the Prime Minister almost a year ago: Luncheon features Prime Minister of Sweden The decision to close the New York and Los Angeles consulates came in 2009, Swedish Consulates to close
    Who the new Consul General will be remains to be seen. For now, suffice it to say (LINK:) The new (at the time!) Consul General of Sweden in New York—Who will it be and how will things work in the future? Mr. David Dangoor has done an excellent, honorable and honorary service to the Swedish community and his country since 2010.

  • Allt för Sverige finalist Guy Clark visits the New York Honorary Consulate of Sweden for Nordstjernan in this movie: Becoming a Swedish citizen...