Karin Olofsdotter took office on Sept. 1 of last year as the new ambassador of Sweden to the United States. She is no stranger to America, but takes pride in being the first woman to hold such a role in Washington.
During her career, she has run the Department for Promotion of Sweden, Trade and CSR in Sweden’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, served as her country’s ambassador in Budapest, Hungary, and held positions in the Swedish embassies in the U.S. and Russia, as well as in the Mission of Sweden to NATO. At 51, Olofsdotter is one of those bold officials who have raised their family across borders and traveled the world to promote her country’s cultural and political agenda, all while having fun and defying stereotypes.
[ READ: Sweden seen as one of the world’s best countries.]
As Sweden and the United States are celebrating 200 years of diplomatic relations, we sat down with the ambassador to talk about her goals in Washington and Sweden’s role in the world. She is convinced that Swedish food is severely underrated.
Q: You’ve been here a few months. How has your experience in the U.S. been so far?
A: It has been great. I really love it here. I’ve lived here once every decade for the last four decades. I came here as an exchange student in Atlantic City when I was 17. In the 1990s I studied at (the) University of California, Los Angeles and then I was here as deputy ambassador 10 years ago and now I am back as ambassador. I always had a soft spot for your country and it’s a country so influential in the world. If you are interested in politics like I am this is a fantastic place to be and has always been so. I am extremely happy to be back.
Q: You’ve been here at different stages in our history. How do you think people have changed throughout time in America?
A: It’s hard for me to say how people have changed because the environments I lived in have been so different from each other. When I was an exchange student outside of Atlantic City that was different from where I came from (I am also from a relatively small place in Sweden). Los Angeles is a place that’s totally different , too – it’s a world city. And then I came here in 2008 in the run-up to the (U.S. presidential) election McCain-Obama and that was the first time I had experienced presidential elections so close up. It was fascinating and interesting and it was also the first time that the Tea Party with Sarah Palin got representation and voice at the national level. That was something that changed a bit the political landscape.
And now I am back. I still see the same people so I think it’s true that it’s kind of a bubble because I meet the same Republicans and Democrats that I met six years ago when I left. Which is not strange because that’s how capitals are like. So it’s hard for me to really judge what has changed because it’s different environments.
Q: How are American politics different from the last time you were here?
A: They are both similar and different because when I came the last time Obama had just won and he had both the Senate and the House. Now when I came President Trump had won and he has both the Senate and the House. So it’s kind of similar; there is enormous pressure and speed in the legislative process through Congress to get things done because I guess every president who gets both the House and the Senate realizes that maybe they have it only for the first two years. Usually after the midterm elections the winning party from the presidential elections goes down statistically. So there is an enormous pressure to actually deliver on the big election promises the first two years. With Obama it was health care and now it’s the tax reform.
And now everyone talks about the polarization both in the country and the political life. And of course in 10 years ‘ time a lot has happened with social media. We are all in our own filter bubbles. And that has increased. It’s harder to have maybe a discussion where different parts can meet because we are so stuck in our own realities.
Q: What are the challenges that your country is facing right now from a diplomatic standpoint in 2018?
A: Climate issues is one of them and it’s urgent. The climate agenda is extremely important. We perceive that we don’t have time to wait, nor can we take the risk to wait. We must be internationally united and try to tackle climate change. This is also technology driven. Many companies are trying to help.
(The) second one is ending the war in Syria and of course [important challenges are in] the Middle East and Palestine and in the Korean Peninsula. We’ve also seen some high attention in our own region around the Baltic Sea and that’s also of very high importance for us. Then there’s trade, where we see increased protectionism around the world and for a country like mine where our economy is based on open trade– 50 percent of our gross domestic product comes from exports and all our companies are globally interlinked — an open free trading world is paramount to our existence.
Q: Any particularly difficult situations that you had to overcome in your career in terms of adapting to a specific culture?
A: I’ve done so many things in my career. I’ve been to Boris Yeltsin’s funeral, I’ve been to state visits in Japan and met the emperor. I haven’t seen anything as a challenge but rather as a fantastic opportunity to experience through my job. When I traveled around in Russia in the mid-1990s it was quite curious that here came a young female diplomat. I remember one place I was out in Siberia and it was on March, 8, on International Women’s Day. And I went to a municipality and a man there offered me a glass to drink. He poured himself a glass of vodka and [he thought] he should give me a female drink. He took out a bottle of Baileys that was probably very old so it was not chocolate anymore – it was white spirit with chocolate lumps. I had to put on a good face [although] I would have much rather had his vodka.
Q: For us, Sweden is known for ranking high in its work for women’s rights, immigration, culture, quality of life, environmental protection. What do you think Sweden is not known for but should be?
A: We have great restaurants and Sweden has won Bocuse d’Or, the French cooking competition [and world chef championship in Lyon, France] many times. Also, we are not all blonde.
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Meet Sweden’s Ambassador To Washington originally appeared on usnews.com
