Nils-Eric Gustaf Ekblad (12 November 1904 – 25 August 1978) was a Swedish

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

Early life

Ekblad was born on 12 November 1904 in

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

, Sweden, the son of Erik Ekblad, a headmaster, and his wife Gustava (née Jönsson). When he was fifteen years old in 1920 he passed '' studentexamen'' and enrolled at the Lund University. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1922, became a reserve officer in 1924 and earned a Candidate of Law in 1928 before being recruited by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as an attaché the same year.

Career

He served in Chicago in 1929, was acting second secretary of legation in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, Tallinn and

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

1931, attaché in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

in 1934, and vice consul in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

in 1935. Ekblad was then vice consul and trade attaché in Copenhagen in 1937, first vice consul in 1938 and became first secretary of legation in 1939. In 1939 he received the rank of captain and became head of the department at the Swedish National Board of Information (''Statens Informationsstyrelse'') . He became director in 1941, was counsellor and chargé d'affaires in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

from 1943 to 1948, in Addis Ababa from 1948 to 1950 before he was back and served at the Foreign Ministry from 1950 to 1952. Ekblad became consul in Hamburg in 1952 and was consul general there from 1954 to 1960 before he was ambassador in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

from 1960 to 1963, in Dublin from 1963 to 1967, and in Tehran from 1967 to 1970 with dual accreditation to Kabul. Under the pseudonym of 'Spectator', he and Gunnar Unger published the brochure ''Svenskarna och propagandan: har Gallup rätt?'' ("The Swedes and the propaganda: is Gallup right?") (1943). Eblad was the chairman of the National Information Board's Advertising Council 1940–1943, its Film Council 1942–1943, deputy chairman of the Stockholm Advertising Association 1942–1943 and board member of the Swedish Advertising Association from 1942 to 1943.

Personal life

In 1931 he married the dentist Märta Granström (1905–1976), daughter of the wholesaler Carl Granström and Cecilia Frykblom. He was the father of Marie-Louise (born 1933) and Ulla-Mae (born 1937).

Death

Ekblad died on 25 August 1978 and was buried at the Northern Cemetery in Lund. By the time of his death Ekblad resided in Algarve, Portugal.

Awards and decorations

Ekblads awards: * Order_of_the_Polar_Star_-_Ribbon_bar,_pre_1975

Commander of Order of the Polar Star. 1st class (1967) * SWE_Order_of_Vasa_-_Knight_2nd_Class_BAR

Knight 1st Class of Order of Vasa (1941) * VEN_Order_of_the_Liberator_-_Grand_Officer_BAR

Grand Officer of the Order of the Liberator * Order_of_the_Dannebrog_K

Commander of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

LVA_Order_of_the_Three_Stars_-_Commander_BAR

Commander of the Order of the Three Stars * EST_Order_of_the_White_Star_-_3rd_Class_BAR

Third Class of the

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star ( et, Valgetähe teenetemärk; french: Ordre de l'Etoile Blanche) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic ...

FIN_Order_of_the_White_Rose_Knight_1st_Class_BAR

Knight 1st Class of the Order of the White Rose of Finland * LTU_Order_of_the_Lithuanian_Grand_Duke_Gediminas_-_Officer's_Cross_BAR

Officer of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas * Order_of_Orange-Nassau_ribbon_-_Officer

Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau *

Knight of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

GER_Bundesverdienstkreuz_6_GrVK_Stern_Band

Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany * DNK_Kong_Christian_den_Tiendes_frihedsmedaille_ribbon_bar

King Christian X's Liberty Medal * Commemorative Medal on the occasion of the second Lingiad (''Minnesmedalj med anledning av andra Lingiaden'') (1949) * Southern Journalist Association's badge of merit in gold (''Södra journalistförbundets förtjänsttecken i guld'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ekblad, Nils-Eric 1904 births 1978 deaths Consuls-general of Sweden Ambassadors of Sweden to Australia Ambassadors of Sweden to Ireland Ambassadors of Sweden to Iran Ambassadors of Sweden to Afghanistan People from Lund Lund University alumni Commanders of the Order of the Polar Star Knights First Class of the Order of Vasa Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Officer's Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany