The Ambassador of Sweden to Senegal (known formally as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Republic of Senegal) is the official representative of the government of Sweden to the president of Senegal and government of Senegal. The ambassador is based in Stockholm and travels regularly to Senegal.
History.
Sweden recognized the Mali Federation (consisting of Senegal and the Sudanese Republic) as a sovereign and independent state on 20 June 1960, in connection with its declaration of independence. This recognition was announced by Acting Foreign Minister in a congratulatory telegram to Mali's Prime Minister, Modibo Keïta. At the same time, His Majesty the King also sent a congratulatory telegram.
In September 1960, after Senegal withdrew from the Mali Federation and proclaimed full independence, Sweden's Foreign Minister, Östen Undén, sent a telegram to Senegal's head of government, Mamadou Dia, stating that the Swedish government recognized the Republic of Senegal as a sovereign and independent state. He also expressed hope for friendly and cordial relations between the two countries.
A Swedish delegation returned from a study and inspection trip to West Africa in May 1960 and submitted its report to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in January 1961. The report recommended opening a Swedish diplomatic mission in Monrovia, Liberia; Lagos, Nigeria; and a third mission in one of the West African republics belonging to the French Community, primarily in either Dakar, Senegal, or Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast was ultimately chosen, and an embassy was opened there at the end of 1963. Instead, the Swedish ambassador in Rabat, Morocco, was accredited to Dakar.
In February 1964, the ambassador in Rabat, Bo Siegbahn, presented his credentials to Senegal's President, Léopold Sédar Senghor. The Swedish ambassador in Rabat remained accredited in Dakar until 1983, when a Stockholm-based ambassador took over accreditation for Senegal and other West African states.
In 2000, Sweden opened an embassy in Dakar, but it closed ten years later, in 2010. During this period, the ambassador was based in Dakar and was accredited to neighboring countries. After the embassy closed in 2010, the ambassador was once again based in Stockholm.
In June 2024, the Swedish government announced its intention to close its embassies in Bamako, Mali and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and to open a new embassy in Dakar.