Bengt Odevall (24 January 1921 – 18 February 2006), was a Swedish diplomat. Odevall began his career in 1945 as an attaché at Sweden's

Ministry for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral rela ...

after completing his law degree at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

. Over his career, he held multiple prominent posts abroad, including in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and later as consul general in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. He was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 1970. Following his work in Brazil, he served as ambassador in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

from 1975 to 1981,

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

from 1975 to 1979, and his final post was in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

from 1982 to 1987. In addition to his diplomatic roles, he led Swedish delegations in major international negotiations and represented Sweden in trade and arbitration, showcasing his expertise in both diplomacy and international trade.

Early life

Odevall was born on 24 January 1921 in ,

Blekinge County Blekinge County () is a county or '' län'' in the south of Sweden. It borders the Counties of Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden ...

, Sweden, the son of mayor Ragnar Odevall and his wife Elin (née Ohlsson). He passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968, ...

'' in

Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

in 1940, completed the reserve officer exam in 1942, and earned a Candidate of Law degree from

in 1945. That same year, he was appointed as a lieutenant in the

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( or just ) is the air force Military branch, branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalatin ...

reserve.

Career

Odevall became an attaché at the

in 1945, with postings in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, and at the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

. He was appointed director at the Ministry in 1963 and deputy director in 1965. From 1965 to 1967, he served as director for the

Kooperativa Förbundet KF (, "Co-operative Union") is a federation of consumer co-operatives in Sweden and a retail group, with groceries as its core business. History KF was founded in 1899 by 41 local consumer co-operatives in order to support them with informatio ...

, followed by roles as consul general in

from 1968 to 1970 and ambassador to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

in 1970, and

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

in 1972. In December 1970, when Odevall was the ambassador to Brazil, some Brazilian newspapers and radio stations confused Sweden with Switzerland and reported that Odevall had been kidnapped. This was actually incorrect: it was the Swiss ambassador, , who had been kidnapped on the orders of army captain

Carlos Lamarca Carlos Lamarca (; October 27, 1937 – September 17, 1971) was a Brazilian Army Captain who deserted to join the armed struggle against the Brazilian military dictatorship. He was part of the Popular Revolutionary Vanguard (''Vanguarda Popul ...

. After five years in Brazil, Odevall became ambassador in Tokyo in 1975 and concurrently to

from 1975 to 1979. His last posting as ambassador was in

from 1982 to 1987. In addition to his diplomatic assignments, he was secretary, chairman and representative in several committees, councils and negotiations. Odevall served as head secretary of the Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1962 to 1965, chaired the International Coffee Council in 1963 and again from 1964 to 1965, and led the United Nations Sugar Conference in 1965. He represented Sweden in trade negotiations with Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria from 1963 to 1965. Odevall was chairman of the Arbitration of Brazil-United States Dispute on Processed Coffee in 1969. In 1981, he was a spokesperson for Sweden, Finland, and Norway at the

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its p ...

(GATT) multilateral textile negotiations. He also served on the board of Svenska

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

AB from 1987 to 1993.

Personal life

In 1944, Odevall married Ulla Stålhammar (born 1921), the daughter of book printer Anton Stålhammar and Elisabeth (née Österberg). They had four children: (born 1946), Christian (born 1948), Stefan (born 1953), and Henrik (born 1958).

Death

Odevall died on 18 February 2006 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 ...

. The funeral service was held at in

Södertälje Municipality Södertälje Municipality () is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Södertälje. It borders to Lake Mälaren in the north and the Baltic Sea in the south, and within the Stockholm County ...

Awards and decorations

* Commander of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

(6 June 1974) * ESP Isabella Catholic Order CROSS

Knight of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odevall, Bengt 1921 births 2006 deaths Consuls-general for Sweden Ambassadors of Sweden to Brazil Ambassadors of Sweden to Japan Ambassadors of Sweden to South Korea Ambassadors of Sweden to Switzerland People from Ronneby Municipality Uppsala University alumni Commanders of the Order of the Polar Star