Arne Björnberg
Berndt Arne Björnberg was a Swedish diplomat and international civil servant. Born in Uppsala County, he earned his doctorate in political science at Uppsala University in 1940 with a dissertation on Norwegian parliamentarism. He began his career in Swedish government service during the Second World War, working in the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Commission for Economic Postwar Planning. Active in international affairs, he represented Sweden at the International Labour Organization and held leading roles in the United Nations Association of Sweden and UNESCO.
From the late 1940s he combined work in journalism and publishing with posts at the United Nations, serving in New York City as head of the European Section of the United Nations Department of Public Information, and later as a UN technical assistance expert in Bolivia, Tunisia, and Colombia. He returned to Sweden as Director General of the Swedish Agency for International Assistance.
Björnberg went on to serve as Swedish ambassador in Guatemala, with dual accreditation to several Central American states, and in Beijing, also accredited to Phnom Penh and Hanoi. In 1973, after Sweden became the first Western European country to recognize North Korea, he was appointed Sweden’s first ambassador in Pyongyang. He retired in 1974.
Early life
Björnberg was born on 4 October 1908, in, in Enköping Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden, the son of the farmer Eric Björnberg and his wife Nanna. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Uppsala University in 1930 and a Licentiate of Philosophy degree in 1938. In 1940, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree at Uppsala University with a dissertation on "The Development of Parliamentarianism in Norway after 1905."Career
Björnberg began his career as first actuary at the National Swedish Foodstuffs Commission in 1941, having joined the commission in 1939. He became acting section chief in 1942, an expert at the Ministry of Finance in 1943, and secretary of the Commission for Economic Postwar Planning from 1944 to 1945. Between 1945 and 1947 he served as special rapporteur at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. During the same period, he represented the Swedish government at the International Labour Organization in 1945 and 1946, chairing the Swedish delegation in Seattle in 1946. That year he also chaired the Seamen’s Committee and the Dock Workers’ Inquiry. In addition, he was active in the Stockholm Social Democratic Association, the United Nations Association of Sweden, and the Executive Committee of the World Federation of United Nations Associations. He also served on the working committee of the Central Committee for Swedish Technical Assistance to Less Developed Areas and was a member of UNESCO’s Advisory Commission for Adult Education from 1955 to 1956.From 1926 to 1934, he worked as Uppsala correspondent for Dagens Nyheter. He later became editor of Tiden, head of the European Section at the United Nations Department of Public Information in New York City, and managing director and publishing manager at . During the same years, he sat on the boards of and Bokförlags AB Tiden, and he was engaged with the Swedish Institute of International Affairs from 1949 and the Swedish-American News Agency. From 1956 to 1959 he served as chief expert for the UN’s technical assistance program in Bolivia, followed by work as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ representative in Tunisia and as a UN expert in Colombia. Between 1962 and 1964 he was Director General of the Swedish Agency for International Assistance. He was then appointed ambassador in Guatemala City, with concurrent accreditation in Managua, San José, San Salvador, and Tegucigalpa. From 1969 to 1974 he served as ambassador in Beijing, with side accreditation in Phnom Penh and Hanoi.
After Sweden became the first Western European country to recognize North Korea in April 1973, Björnberg was accredited as Sweden’s first ambassador to Pyongyang. He presented his credentials to President Kim Il Sung on 24 May 1973, becoming the very first diplomat to do so after Kim assumed the presidency the year before.
Personal life
In 1939, Björnberg married Majt Spärr, the daughter of civil engineer Lars Spärr and Ragna. In 1963, he remarried Märta Beckman, the daughter of Captain Einar Beckman and Ellen.He had three children: Lars, a desk officer ; Anders, a teacher; and Ann-Christin, a social worker.