Ragnvald Bagge


Ragnvald Richardson Bagge was a Swedish diplomat. Bagge began his diplomatic career at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1928 as an attaché. He held early postings in Washington, D.C., Madrid, and Tokyo, and served as secretary to the minister for foreign affairs and later as secretary to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He progressed through the ranks as legation counsellor in Helsinki, director at the Ministry, and chargé d'affaires and envoy in Bogotá and Panama City.
Bagge then served as embassy counsellor and minister plenipotentiary in Washington, D.C., before taking up envoy and ambassadorial positions in Tehran, Warsaw, Ottawa, and Copenhagen, concluding his career as ambassador in Copenhagen from 1965 to 1969.

Early life

Bagge was born on 12 November 1903 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, the son of the consul general there, Richard Bagge, and his wife Lily. He received a Candidate of Law degree from Stockholm University College in 1926 and then studied abroad for a couple of years.

Career

Bagge joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm as an attaché in 1928. He served in Washington, D.C., from 1929 to 1930 and in Madrid in 1931, and was secretary to the minister for foreign affairs from 1932 to 1933. Bagge was second secretary in Tokyo from 1934 to 1936 and first secretary at the Foreign Ministry in 1937. Between 1938 and 1939, he was notary to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and became its secretary in 1940.
Subsequently, Bagge served as legation counsellor in Helsinki from 1941 to 1943, director in 1944, chargé d'affaires in Bogotá from 1948 to 1949, and envoy in Bogotá and non-resident envoy in Panama City from 1949 to 1950. He was embassy counsellor and minister plenipotentiary in Washington, D.C., in 1950, and envoy in Tehran—also accredited to Baghdad from 1953 to 1959 and to Karachi from 1953 to 1956. He served as ambassador in Tehran from 1957 to 1959, ambassador in Warsaw from 1959 to 1962, ambassador in Ottawa from 1962 to 1965, and finally ambassador in Copenhagen from 1965 to 1969.

Personal life

In 1948, Bagge married Finnish-born Susanna Renata Lagerborg, the daughter of the professor of philosophy at the University of Helsinki and Elna.
Bagge had four children: Alette, Richard, Madeleine, and Veronica.

Death

Bagge died on 24 March 1991 in Saltsjöbaden, Stockholm County, Sweden. The funeral took place on 3 April 1991 in Saltsjöbaden Church. He was interred on 24 May 1991 at Skogsö Cemetery in Saltsjöbaden.

Awards and decorations