Anna Kerstin Erica Lindstedt (born 6 April 1960 ) was the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Ambassador to Beijing from 2016 to early 2019.

Education and career

Lindstedt grew up in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

, where she studied at the

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

. Concurrent with her post in China, Lindstedt served as Ambassador of Sweden to

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

. She also served as Ambassador of Sweden to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

(2006–2011) and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

(2003–2006). Prior to joining the Foreign Service, she worked as a journalist and teacher.

Backdoor diplomacy controversy

In February 2019,

Gui Minhai Gui Minhai (, formerly ; born 5 May 1964), also known as Michael Gui, is a Hong Kong-Swedish book publisher and writer. He is an author of many books related to Chinese politics and Chinese political figures; Gui authored around 200 books du ...

's daughter Angela made a blog post documenting a "very strange experience" involving Lindstedt. In it, she alleged that Lindstedt contacted her in mid-January and invited her to a meeting in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

that she had set up with some Chinese businessmen who she thought could help secure her father's release. Angela recounted in her blog that the meetings were held at a private lounge in a Stockholm hotel, where she was sequestered for days, and was even escorted to and from the bathroom. The men, who claimed to have "connections within the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

", apparently used a mixture of inducements, manipulation and threats on her. She was told that her father's release would be contingent on her stopping her campaign and avoiding media engagement. They offered her a Chinese visa as well as a job in the Chinese embassy. To Angela, Ambassador Lindstedt's presence and seemingly supportive stance suggested the talks were initiated by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. She nevertheless felt uncomfortable with the meetings. When she later made inquiries of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, it said it was unaware of the events. The Chinese Embassy in Stockholm denied any involvement; the Swedish Ministry said it was not aware of the events until after the meetings had taken place. It confirmed to the press that the ambassador had been recalled, and that an internal investigation into the incident was under way. Prosecutors investigated her “for breaching the country's national security by ‘arbitrary conduct when negotiating with a foreign power.‘“ On 9 December, Lindstedt was charged by Swedish prosecutors for "arbitrariness during negotiations with a foreign power", an unprecedented charge in modern Sweden, with a possible maximum prison sentence of 2 years. Later on, her trial in

Stockholm District Court Stockholm District Court () is a Swedish district court in Stockholm. Stockholm District Court is Sweden's largest public court and is located in Stockholm Court House on Kungsholmen in Stockholm. History The Stockholm District Court was estab ...

started in June 2020. On 10 July the lower court ruled that the prosecutors could not prove Anna Lindstedt had exceeded her authority and acquitted her of the charges against her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindstedt, Anna 1960 births Living people Diplomats from Lund Lund University alumni Ambassadors of Sweden to Mexico Ambassadors of Sweden to Vietnam Ambassadors of Sweden to China Ambassadors of Sweden to Mongolia Swedish women journalists Swedish schoolteachers Swedish women ambassadors 20th-century Swedish women