ScandAsia had the pleasure to welcome H.E. Anna Hammargren, the new Swedish Ambassador to Thailand, on 23. October 2023. A tall, distinguished woman with long hair and engaging eyes.
Anna Hammargren was born in Solna, a prime settlement and municipality located just north of Stockholm, but spent all her childhood in nearby Sollentuna, also north of the capital.
In Sollentuna, Anna went to school and after finishing High School, Anna took a break from studying and decided – like many young Swedish women do – to spread her wings and go abroad. Her choice fell on Dallas/Fort-Worth in Texas where she had relatives, and there she took up a job as au pair.
She smiles when she tells how surprised she was to see most guys her own age, wearing checkered shirts and cowboy boots. That was far from the dress-code or fashion in Sweden. She worked as au pair for one year and then went travelling around in the US.
Anna has always had a big interest in politics and society and majored in political science-including also macro-economics, languages and history. She pursued these interests when she began studying at the University of Stockholm. Additionally, she took some programs in Montpellier/France and in Toronto/Canada.
But she was not driven by the idea to eventually become a diplomat.
“Oh, absolutely not,” she exclaims.
“It was a friend of mine who suggested that I should apply for the diplomatic program at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs”.
However, after applying to UD, she was immediately accepted and started her path to become a diplomat in 1990. At that time, the studies of the program were interspersed with practice and in 1991 she graduated.
She was happy living in Stockholm and was not in a hurry to apply for a posting abroad. The job at the Ministry in Stockholm was interesting, but in 1994 she took on her first posting at the Embassy in Windhoek, Namibia. Back then, it was possible to apply for your first post abroad after having completed the diplomatic program, today you are assigned to a specific position from the start.
The year 1994 was the year when Nelson Mandela became the first democratically elected president of South Africa. This had a huge impact, not only in South Africa and on Namibia, but also nearby countries and it was internationally perceived as a major positive development.
Anna Hammargren arrived to Namibia alone, no husband and no children, but it did not take too long, before she met her husband to be, a Swede from her neighbor community in Sweden, working for SIDA, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.
In 1998, the couple got married in Sweden, already proud parents of a son and second child was on the way. Today they have three children, two sons and one daughter, of which one of them is at present living in Florence/Italy. All three of us, Anna, myself and ScandAsia photographer Daniel Herron, got into a discussion about what a beautiful city Florence is with its amazing architecture and food of course.
When Anna’s husband got a posting as SIDA’s regional adviser on human rights in Kenya, Anna accompanied him, taking some years of career-break and enjoying fully the children.
Asking Anna what other profession she would have considered, if not taking the diplomatic course, she answered “Teaching!” In fact, she did work as a teacher for a year, as she had qualifications in both history and social studies. Another possible choice, she adds, would have been engineer and studies at KTH, The Royal Technical College in Stockholm.
When the Kenya posting was over, Paris became Anna’s next destination. The family was less happy with that than Anna, but after some years they had all settled in very well. Anna served in different positions at the Embassy, advancing to be Deputy Head of Mission the last years. Her husband also found a job, at the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development).
“It was real fun to be No.2 at the Embassy in Paris, I enjoyed every minute. France is a fantastic and interesting country for a Swedish diplomat. We also found a very good family-solution so that my husband could continue his career.”
In 2006 they all returned to Sweden. It had become increasingly important for Anna and her husband to see to that the children could spend some years and make some friends in Sweden – even if they should one day choose to live somewhere else.
In 2011 the longing for abroad became too strong and the family moved again, this time to Morocco where Anna was appointed Ambassador for the first time.
“To be an Ambassador is fantastic in so many ways. You learn so much, and you have the best platform to promote your country’s interests. It is really a privilege to work as an ambassador,” Anna says.
“At the Embassy here in Bangkok we promote, for example sustainability, which I really engage in. Sweden is, as most people know, very advanced in sustainability and I am very proud of Swedish politics here – and also of our Swedish companies. They are in the global lead when it comes to innovation and developing sustainable solutions in different sectors,” the Ambassador adds.
What has been the most challenging issue/task in your career until now?
“Well. A lot of things of course, but during my latest post in Stockholm, I served as Director General for Strategic and Crisis Management at the Ministry. There I was overall in charge of the Swedish evacuation from Afghanistan in 2021. That was a very big responsibility and challenge,” she says.
We also wanted to know, what the ambassador likes to do on a day off from work?
“When I was in Sweden, I enjoyed being out in the nature, breath fresh air, hiking, horseback riding and in winter, skiing. That’s freedom to me and give me energy and strength,” Anna answered.
“Here in Bangkok, on a non-working day, I will be out exploring this exciting, bustling city. I will go jogging in the Lumpini Park, taste the street food, that you find in every corner and which I really like.”
As Anna has not been here for very long, she plans now to travel to visit all Honorary Consulates as well as pay a visit to Cambodia and Laos, as she is also responsible for those countries.
“I will step by step learn and understand more of those countries and of the region as a whole.”
Since she arrived, she has already visited Mae Sot, a city in western Thailand, close to the border with Myanmar and also Phitsanulok, in the lower part of northern Thailand.
“I have also been to the old, fascinating city of Ayutthaya. I am looking forward to exploring many other parts of Thailand. Before I moved here, I had been to Thailand as a tourist and in my job.”
At the moment Anna is by herself here in Bangkok, but she is looking forward to her husband’s arrival in the beginning of next year, when he has concluded his job as Executive Director for the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation.
“My husband is a very good Chef and I hope we can try to learn some Thai cooking in the beautiful kitchen here. The apartment, my current residence, is fantastic and the view, 360 degrees, overlooking the Bangkok skyline, is breathtaking,” she adds.
I can only wish Anna a joyful and interesting time as our new Ambassador to Thailand. It has been a while since we had a female Ambassador, so it is a nice change.
