The Ministry for Foreign Affairs (, UD) is a ministry in the

Government of Sweden The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the Cabinet (government), national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's Executive (government), executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister and their ...

responsible for policies related to foreign policy,

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

, international development cooperation and

foreign trade International trade is the exchange of Capital (economics), capital, goods, and Service (economics), services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.) In most countr ...

. The ministry is currently headed by the minister for foreign affairs, Maria Malmer Stenergard of the

Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( , , M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative* * * * * List of political parties in Sweden, political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free ma ...

History

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was added in 1791, when Gustav III established the King's Cabinet for Foreign Correspondence. The organization that was formally named the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1840 was then created in practice. It is possible to speak of a foreign administration to the function as soon as we can discern a Swedish central state administration, and from the end of the 13th century. Under Gustav Vasa, the chancellery developed into the body that handled and expedited government matters. With Gustav II Adolf's reforms in the 1620s, a specialization was carried out within the chancellery so that foreign affairs were distributed among secretaries according to country. The head of the chancellery was the chancellor. In a way, he can be described as foreign minister. More famous holders of this position are Axel Oxenstierna and Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie. The title was changed during Charles XI's time to Chancellery President. During the period of freedom, the chancellery was divided into various expeditions, including a foreign expedition. These can be seen as predecessors to the ministries. The head of each expedition was a state secretary. The Chancellery President was the head of the Chancellery. During the period of freedom, his power was further strengthened. One of the famous holders of the post was Arvid Horn.

Government agencies and other bodies

Source: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is principal for 10 government agencies. The ministry is also responsible for Sweden's diplomatic missions around the world.

Areas of responsibility

Source: * Democracy and human rights * Foreign and security policy * International development cooperation * International law * Trade and promotion of Sweden

Cabinet ministers

Ministers for ''foreign affairs''

''For a full list of ministers for foreign affairs, see

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Sweden) The Minister for Foreign Affairs () is the foreign minister of Sweden and the head of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Sweden), Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Maria Malmer Stenergard of the Moderate P ...

.''

Ministers for ''international development cooperation''

''For a full list of ministers for international development cooperation, see Minister for International Development Cooperation (Sweden).''

Ministers for ''foreign trade''

''For a full list of ministers for foreign trade, see Minister for Foreign Trade (Sweden).''

References

External links

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Foreign relations of Sweden Ministries established in 1791 1791 establishments in Sweden {{Sweden-gov-stub