State Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Sweden)
# State Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Sweden)

The State Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Swedish: Kabinettssekreterare) is the highest position below the rank of cabinet minister at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. As of 2023, Jan Knutsson is State Secretary.

The title can alternatively be translated as Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs or Secretary General of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

For historical reasons, this position has a different title in Swedish than the other State Secretaries of the Swedish government; the other posts are termed statssekreterare.

Before 1945, in a situation where the political head of the ministry often changed rapidly, the Secretary General represented the continuous lines in Sweden's foreign policy; and was considered a prestigious step in the diplomatic career.

From 1932, Sweden has experienced a great deal of stability on the post of Foreign Minister, and from 1945 and on the post as Cabinet Secretary has increasingly been politized and a subject of replacement in connection with shifts of Foreign Minister. The precise role of the Cabinet Secretary has changed from cabinet to cabinet, particularly due to different prime ministers' particular interest and involvement in the shaping of foreign policy.

## List

* 1791–1792: Aron Isak Silfversparre
* 1792–1801: Schering Rosenhane
* 1801–1805: Gustaf Lagerbielke
* 1805–1809: Gustaf af Wetterstedt
* 1809–1811: Carl Aron Ehrengranat
* 1811–1814: Aron Hjort
* 1814–1817: Erik Julius Lagerheim
* 1817–1825: David von Schulzenheim
* 1825–1831: Elias Lagerheim
* 1831–1840: Albrecht Elof Ihre
* 1840–1855: Ludvig Manderström
* 1855–1859: Albert Ehrensvärd
* 1859–1864: Carl Fredrik Palmstierna
* 1864–1866: Carl Johan Albert Sandströmer
* 1866–1869: Frans Theodor Lindstrand
* 1869–1870: Lave Gustaf Beck-Friis
* 1870–1873: Hans Henrik von Essen
* 1873–1876: Carl Lewenhaupt
* 1876–1886: Alfred Lagerheim
* 1886–1889: Carl Bildt
* 1889–1895: August Gyldenstolpe
* 1895–1900: Arvid Taube
* 1900–1903: Thor von Ditten
* 1903–1905: Eric Trolle
* 1905–1906: Carl Haraldsson Strömfelt
* 1906–1908: Albert Ehrensvärd
* 1908–1913: Fredrik Ramel
* 1913–1918: Oskar Ewerlöf
* 1918–1922: Wollmar Boström
* 1922–1928: Erik Sjöborg
* 1928–1931: Einar Hennings
* 1931–1934: Carl Hamilton
* 1934–1937: Christian Günther
* 1938–1944: Erik Boheman
* 1944–1945: Vacant
* 1945–1945: Stig Sahlin
* 1945–1947: Karl Ivan Westman
* 1947–1949: Hans Beck-Friis
* 1949–1951: Dag Hammarskjöld
* 1951–1956: Arne S. Lundberg
* 1956–1967: Leif Belfrage
* 1967–1972: Ole Jödahl
* 1972–1977: Sverker Åström
* 1977–1982: Leif Leifland
* 1982–1991: Pierre Schori
* 1991–1994: Lars-Åke Nilsson
* 1994–2000: Jan Eliasson
* 2000–2006: Hans Dahlgren
* 2006–2014: Frank Belfrage
* 2014–2019: Annika Söder
* 2019–2022: Robert Rydberg
* 2022– : Jan Knutsson
