Carl Johan Erik Cornell (2 October 1930 – 6 November 2024), was a Swedish diplomat. Cornell began his career as an attaché at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1958. He held various international postings, including

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

, and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, before becoming Sweden's ''chargé d'affaires'' in

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

in 1975, making him the first Western diplomat stationed in North Korea. His later career included ambassadorships in West Africa and Turkey, as well as a role coordinating African trade and development. After retiring, he was active in the

Swedish Order of Freemasons The Swedish Order of Freemasons () is a Swedish fraternal order of freemasonry, founded in 1735 as the oldest still active Swedish fraternal order. It is the native Swedish manifestation of Swedish Rite Freemasonry, recognised by the United Grand ...

and wrote several historical and philosophical books.

Early life

Cornell was born on 2 October 1930, 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 ...

, Sweden, the son of Professor and his wife, Anna-Stina Julin. 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, ...

'' at Nya Elementar in May 1950. He completed his reserve officer training in 1953, became a lieutenant in the

Svea Life Guards The Svea Life Guards (), also I 1, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that was active in various forms 1521–2000. The unit was based in the Stockholm Garrison in Stockholm and belonged to the King's Life and Household Troops (''Kungl. Maj: ...

reserve in 1957, and was promoted to captain in the same reserve in 1969. In 1984, he studied at the Swedish National Defence College. Cornell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1956 and a Master of Political Science from

Stockholm University College Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

in 1959.

Career

Cornell became an attaché at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1958. He was the only applicant that year to be accepted. In December of the same year, when the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

was awarded, he served as an adjutant alongside attachés and Arnold Wilén for the Soviet Nobel laureates in physics:

Pavel Cherenkov Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov ( ; July 28, 1904 – January 6, 1990) was a Soviet physicist who shared the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physics with Ilya Frank and Igor Tamm "for the discovery and interpretation of the Cherenkov effect". Biography C ...

Ilya Frank Ilya Mikhailovich Frank (; 23 October 1908 – 22 June 1990) was a Soviet physicist who received the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physics, jointly with Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov and Igor Y. Tamm, also of the Soviet Union. He received the award for h ...

, and

Igor Tamm Igor Yevgenyevich Tamm (; 8 July 1895 – 12 April 1971) was a Soviet Union, Soviet physicist who received the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physics, jointly with Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov and Ilya Mikhailovich Frank, for their 1934 discovery and demon ...

. His diplomatic career took him to

in 1959,

in 1960, and

in 1964. He was appointed secretary in 1962, first secretary in 1963, and desk officer (''departementssekreterare'') at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1966. His postings continued in

in 1968, and in 1971 he became Sweden's permanent representative to the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

(FAO) in

. In 1975, Cornell was appointed ''chargé d'affaires'' and head of Sweden's newly established embassy in

, the capital of North Korea. He became the first diplomat from a Western country to be stationed there. One of his key challenges was handling North Korea's substantial debt to Sweden for

Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...

cars and industrial equipment purchased from Swedish companies—a situation that quickly turned the pioneering diplomatic mission into a de facto debt collection agency. Cornell went on to serve as minister in Geneva in 1977 and as ambassador to multiple West African nations—

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

Banjul Banjul (, (US) and ), officially the City of Banjul, is the capital city of The Gambia. It is the centre of the eponymous administrative division which is home to an estimated 400,000 residents, making it The Gambia's largest and most densely ...

Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. As the Niamey Urban Community (, CUN), it is a Regions of Niger, first-level division of Niger, surrounded by the Tillabéri Region, in the western part of the country. Niamey lies on the Nige ...

, and

Nouakchott Nouakchott ( ) is the capital and largest city of Mauritania. Located in the southwestern part of the country, it is one of the largest cities in the Sahara. The city also serves as the administrative and economic center of Mauritania. Once a ...

—while based in Stockholm in 1983. In 1988, he became coordinator for African trade and development at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He was appointed ambassador to

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

from 1989 to 1995 and later served in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

in 1996. After retiring, Cornell dedicated himself not only to the

, where he was responsible for international affairs for nearly a decade, but also to writing. He authored several historical and philosophical books, published in the 2000s. In 2002, he was elected a member of the Idun Society.

Awards and decorations

FIN Order of the White Rose Knight 1st Class BAR

Knight 1st Class of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...

(October 1968) * Stockholm County Defence Committee's Silver Medal

Personal life

Cornell was married from 1959 to 1972 to Ingrid Söderberg (1935–2014). She was the daughter of licensed physician Edward Söderberg and Helga (née Lindskog). Together, they had a son, Fredrik (born 1966). In 1974, he married Gudrun Ahlberg (born 1936), the daughter of Chief Surveyor Erik Ahlberg and Irma (née Bodén). They had a son,

Svante Cornell Svante E. Cornell (born 1975) is a Swedish scholar specializing on politics and security issues in Eurasia, especially the South Caucasus, Turkey, and Central Asia. He is a director and co-founder of the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and ...

Death

Cornell moved to the dementia care home Estrids Gård in

Knivsta Knivsta is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Knivsta Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 20,133 inhabitants. It is known for being one of the safest areas in Sweden, consistently ranking among the top 5 safest municipalities ...

on 31 August 2023, where he passed away on 6 November 2024, at the age of 94. His funeral service was held on 3 December 2024, at Gustaf Adolf Church in

Bibliography

* * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornell, Erik 1930 births 2024 deaths Ambassadors of Sweden to North Korea Ambassadors of Sweden to Mali Ambassadors of Sweden to the Gambia Ambassadors of Sweden to Guinea Ambassadors of Sweden to Senegal Ambassadors of Sweden to Sierra Leone Ambassadors of Sweden to Liberia Ambassadors of Sweden to Niger Ambassadors of Sweden to Mauritania Ambassadors of Sweden to Turkey Diplomats from Stockholm Stockholm University alumni