A New Consul General

The U.S. and Sweden celebrate as the Consulate General of Sweden in New York re-opens with a fanfare for Leif Pagrotsky's first day in office. 

  • January 26 marked the new Consul General’s first day at the Consulate General of Sweden in New York. Leif Pagrotsky assumed his duties as Consul General after being appointed in December by the Swedish government. He joined the Swedish Minister for Enterprise and Innovation to ring the closing bell at Nasdaq in the afternoon, then publicly opened the consulate a day later, in the afternoon of Jan. 27.

  • Sweden's Minister for Enterprise and Innovation, Mikael Damberg and Consul General Leif Pagrotsky ringing the closing bell at Nasdaq in the afternoon of January 26.

  • The consulate will remain at its former honorary offices at 445 Park Avenue for the time being but will move into premises at its former address, at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza in midtown this summer. 600 Park Avenue, which has been utilized for representation by the Swedish Embassy and the UN Ambassador (who has also had his home in the building), will once again become the official residence of the Consul General after the summer.

  • Televised to the world through the screen on Times Square, New York.

  • For more information on how the new representation developed at the consulate in New York, see Nordstjernan's report from October 2015.

  • Mikael Damberg, Sweden's Minister for Enterprise and Innovation handling the ribbon-cutting scissors on January 27. He was expertly assisted by the new Consul General of Sweden in New York, Leif Pagrotsky, former honorary consul David Dangoor, Ambassador Björn Lyrvall and NYC Deputy Commissioner for International Affairs Hillary Schrenell along with Deputy Assistant Secretary Benjamin G Ziff of the U.S. State Department.

  • Pagrotsky, who was born and raised in Gothenburg, Sweden, has a long ministerial career as Minister for Trade as well as Minister for Education, Research and Culture. Between 2002 and 2012 Pagrotsky was a member of the Riksdag (the Swedish Parliament), and before that he served at the Riksbank, the Organization for European Economic Cooperation in Paris and in various positions in the Ministry of Finance. In June 2013, King Carl XVI Gustaf awarded him the King's Medal "for many years of outstanding political achievement."

  • The outgoing former Honorary Consul General, Mr. David Dangoor, has done amazing work for Sweden during his five-year tenure. Dangoor's commitment to Sweden and its representation in New York was graciously acknowledged by all representatives of the Swedish government.