Elis ''Ingemar'' Stjernberg (born 12 April 1933), was a Swedish diplomat. Stjernberg began his career as an attaché at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1962 and held several key diplomatic positions, including second secretary at the Swedish UN mission in

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and first secretary in

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 ...

. In 1982, he was appointed ambassador to

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

and later to

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, arriving in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

during the volatile aftermath of the

1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization ...

. Throughout the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

, he coordinated the evacuation of Swedish citizens and remained involved in negotiations during the

Lebanon hostage crisis The Lebanon hostage crisis was the kidnapping in Lebanon of 104 foreign hostages between 1982 and 1992, when the Lebanese Civil War was at its height. The hostages were mostly US, Americans and Western Europeans, but 21 national origins were repr ...

. In 1990, Stjernberg was appointed envoy to

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, where he became ambassador following the release of

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

. From 1994 to 1998, he held significant roles within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, overseeing relations with

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

member states and coordinating EU-related technical assistance to candidate countries.

Early life

Stjernberg was born on 12 April 1933 in

Bollnäs Bollnäs () is a Swedish locality and the seat of Bollnäs Municipality, in Gävleborg County, Sweden. It has about 14,000 inhabitants.https://bollnas.se/kommun-och-politik/kommunfakta History The first recording of Bollnäs in writing is fro ...

, Sweden, the son of Elis Stjernberg and his wife Hildur (née Tranfelt). He passed '' studentexamen'' at Uppsala högre allmänna läroverk in May 1953. Stjernberg received a Candidate of Law degree from

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 ...

in 1959.

Career

Stjernberg completed his judicial clerkship from 1959 to 1962 before being employed as an attaché at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs 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 ...

in 1962. He served as second secretary at the Swedish UN mission in

in 1963, as first secretary in

in 1965, and as a desk officer (''departementssekreterare'') at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1968. Stjernberg was first secretary at the embassy in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

in 1973, embassy counselor at the EC delegation in

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in 1976, and became deputy director (''kansliråd'') at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1979. He served as head of the Office of the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs (''kabinettssekreterarens kansli'') when, in November 1982, he was appointed ambassador to

. In January 1983, he was also appointed ambassador to

. Stjernberg arrived in

during a turbulent time, a year after the start of the

. At the beginning of February 1984, the Swedish embassy in Beirut was preparing for the evacuation of the Swedes in the city. At that time, there were just over ten people. On 11 February, three Swedes traveled from Beirut to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

via the port city of

Jounieh Jounieh (, or ''Juniya'', ) is a coastal city in Keserwan District, about north of Beirut, Lebanon. Since 2017, it has been the capital of Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate. Jounieh is known for its seaside resorts and bustling nightlife, as well as it ...

, north of Beirut, according to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. This left only about twenty Swedes remaining in Beirut. At the embassy, only the official Mait Kawas was present. She had determined through a round of calls that those who remained wanted to continue doing so and did not currently need assistance from the embassy. Therefore, Stjernberg stayed in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

to monitor the situation from there. On 10 February 1984, 14 Swedes arrived in Cyprus from Beirut with the help of the embassy. During the

in November 1985, it was announced that the Swedish embassy in Beirut would be temporarily closed until the situation stabilized. Stjernberg was officially the ambassador to Lebanon but had been stationed in Stockholm since New Year's Eve 1985. From 1987, he served as consul general in

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

but remained accredited as ambassador to Beirut. During Stjernberg's latest visit to Beirut in April 1987, he attempted to ascertain how many Swedes were in the country. On 5 February 1988, during the

, two Scandinavians working for

UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA, pronounced ) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians who fl ...

, the Swede Jan Stening and the Norwegian William Jørgensen, were kidnapped. Stjernberg was put on standby to travel to Beirut and negotiate with the kidnappers. They were released on 1 March. In April 1989, Stjernberg reported on the situation at the Swedish embassy in Beirut following a visit to the city. The kitchen in the residence had been badly damaged by grenades, and the copying room in the

chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

was filled with bullet holes. In 1990, Stjernberg was appointed envoy in

. On 1 November 1993, after

was released from prison, the Swedish legation in Pretoria was upgraded to an embassy, as one of the last legations in the world. Stjernberg's

diplomatic rank Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, Seating plan, t ...

was thereafter changed to ambassador instead of

envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

. From 1994 to 1996, Stjernberg was ambassador at the First Unit (Pol 1): Bilateral and multilateral relations with

member states at the Political Department (UD/POL) at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and from 1996 to 1998, ambassador at the Central and Eastern Europe Unit (EC) at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He was also chairman of the Council of the Baltic Sea States' committee of officials from 1995 to 1996 and coordinator for Sweden's EU-related technical assistance to EU candidate countries from 1996 to 1998.

Personal life

In 1959, Stjernberg married Margit Öhman (born 1936), the daughter of Bertil Öhman and Ida (née Wennberg).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stjernberg, Ingemar 1933 births Living people Ambassadors of Sweden to Lebanon Ambassadors of Sweden to South Africa Consuls-general for Sweden People from Bollnäs Uppsala University alumni