Lars Peter ''Thomas'' Bertelman (born 10 March 1945) is a Swedish

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. Bertelman's career in the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs began in 1971 and included a variety of roles. Early on, he served in

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

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 ...

, before holding positions as counselor in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and later as consul general in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. By 1995, he had risen to the role of ambassador 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 ...

, where he served until 2000. He continued his ambassadorial career in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

(2000–2003),

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 ...

(2005–2008), and

(2008–2012), where he presented his credentials to President Dmitry Medvedev in 2009. In 2012, he transitioned to the private sector as a strategic advisor for

TeliaSonera Telia Company AB is a Swedish Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company and mobile network operator present in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Telia also owns TV4 Media which includes TV4 in S ...

in matters relating to Central Asia.

Early life

Bertelman was born on 10 March 1945 in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

, Sweden, the son of director Klas Bertelman and chief physician Kerstin (née Waller). He attended

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in the United States from 1965 to 1966, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

in 1971.

Career

Bertelman joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1971. He served as secretary for the Secretariat for Futures Studies from 1975 to 1977, then as first secretary at the embassy in

from 1977 to 1979, and in

from 1979 to 1981. From 1981 to 1984, he worked as a desk officer (''departementssekreterare'') at the foreign ministry. He was Counselor at the embassy in

from 1984 to 1987, followed by a role as deputy director (''kansliråd'') at the foreign ministry in 1987. He served as consul general in

from 1988 to 1989 and as administrative director (''kanslichef'') at the Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1992. In 1992, he was appointed director (''departementsråd'') at the Foreign Ministry, and in 1995, he became ambassador in

. Bertelman served as ambassador in Madrid until 2000. He then held ambassadorial posts in

from 2000 to 2003, in

from 2005 to 2008, and in

from 2008 to 2012. He presented his credentials to Russian President

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...

on 16 January 2009. In October 2012,

assigned Bertelman to act as a strategic advisor in matters concerning the company's operations in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

Personal life

In 1984, Bertelman married social worker Elisabeth Romaeus (born 1947), the daughter of the dentist Ture Romaeus and home economics teacher Inga (née Friang). Bertelman is currently fluent in Swedish, English,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, French,

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertelman, Tomas 1945 births Living people Consuls-general for Sweden Ambassadors of Sweden to Russia Ambassadors of Sweden to Spain Ambassadors of Sweden to Latvia Ambassadors of Sweden to Poland Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Diplomats from Lund Dartmouth College alumni Lund University alumni