Sweden's diplomatic relations with Iraq go way back. Already in 1903 Sweden started at the King's initiative diplomatic relations with what was then the Ottoman Empire and a Swedish consulate was established. Today there is an embassy in Baghdad, reopened in summer 2009, after being closed since 1990. Sweden opened a Section Office in Erbil on 1 December 2011. The office is a part of the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad. The Office serve as a link between authorities and people in the Iraqi Kurdistan region and the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad.
Gulf War
On 14 January 1991 the embassy was evacuated before the US-led alliance's attack on Iraq on 17 January - after Iraq invaded Kuwait. The then Swedish ambassador was Henry Amnéus. He had instructions from the Swedish Foreign Ministry to evacuate the embassy as soon as the UN Secretary-GeneralJavier Pérez de Cuéllar departed. The Swedish Foreign Ministry telecom and communications expert Stig "Lina" Lindström and ambassador Amnéus closed the embassy and drove on Monday 14 January through northern Iraq and across the border to Turkey. Since then there was no permanent staffing in the Swedish Embassy. Sweden never broke off diplomatic relations, but the embassy was only unmanned. The embassy was then located on Nidhal Street 132/2 in central Baghdad.
Around the former Swedish embassy where was a high wall reinforced with barbed wire. There were several houses in the area. The main house contained the embassy chancellery. There were also a smaller house containing backup power, storage, and also home of the guards. Nearby there were a row of houses which was destroyed during the war. It was the former seat of the trade department. The Swedish embassy was highly acclaimed in the Swedish press at the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003, when it was abandoned by all but one man, the caretaker Ibrahim Ali Suza who had worked there for 35 years and refused to leave the building. The same thing happened when Iraq invaded Kuwait in the early 1990s and all left the embassy except the Iraqi Kurd who stayed and kept watch for looters and with the help of a number of Kalashnikovs and grenades. In April 2004, the embassy was hit by mortars. Parts of an annex of the embassy was damaged but the fire was put out by the caretaker. Ibrahim Ali Suza was in June 2004 rewarded with a trip to Sweden and received the medals For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm as well as the North Star Medal for his contributions to the embassy during three wars. Ibrahim Ali Suza has since continued to guard the embassy and then had the help of a couple of security guards which the Iraqi authorities deployed. He is now retired but show up at the embassy now and then. In September 2004, an Iraq Office was established in Amman, Jordan, as an interim solution because of the security situation in Baghdad as a result of the Iraq War. The embassy chancellery in Baghdad was closed in May 2005. In 2009, the Swedish embassy was again manned with ambassador Niclas Trouvé as ambassador which has during the Iraq War been based in Amman.
New embassy
A new embassy was opened on 1 July 2009. It was inaugurated on 24 February 2010 by Swedish foreign ministerCarl Bildt, Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari and ambassador Niclas Trouvé before a crowd of 150 specially invited guests. The new embassy complex comprises three buildings and an extensive security area around. In addition to the new embassy and residence outside the International Zone, a small Swedish embassy offices opened up inside the IZ during construction. This was to serve as a fulcrum during construction and then used as a branch of the embassy to enable it to operate outside as well as inside the IZ when required. The embassy was moderately damaged in the August 2009 Baghdad bombings. The embassy is located about 500 meters from where one of the attacks took place. No member of the embassy staff were injured. The embassy building was shaken again during the 20 March 2012 Iraq attacks. This time the building wasn't damaged.
Embassy operations
The Swedish embassy carries out the following operations:
Monitoring and reporting on the political, social and economic developments in Iraq.
Reporting on migration and human rights.
Processing of consular and legal matters in Iraq.
In collaboration with SIDA and NGOs support the implementation of the Government's country strategy for development cooperation with Iraq.
Strengthening economic relations with Iran and support Swedish companies operating in Iraq.
