Anna Lindstedt

Anna Kerstin Erica Lindstedt (born 6 April 1960) is a Swedish diplomat who served as the Ambassador of Sweden to China from 1 September 2016 to February 2019, when she was recalled for her role in the backdoor diplomacy controversy involving Chinese-detained Hong Kong-Swedish writer Gui Minhai's daughter Angela. She was put on trial and acquitted in 2020.

Education and career Lindstedt grew up in Lund, where she studied at the Lund University. Concurrent with her post in China, Lindstedt served as Ambassador of Sweden to Mongolia. She also served as Ambassador of Sweden to Mexico (2006–2011) and Vietnam (2003–2006). Prior to joining the Foreign Service, she worked as a journalist and teacher.

Backdoor diplomacy controversy In February 2019, Gui Minhai's daughter Angela made a blog post documenting a "very strange experience" involving Lindstedt. In it, she alleged that Lindstedt contacted her in mid-January and invited her to a meeting in Stockholm that she had set up with some Chinese businessmen who she thought could help secure her father's release. To Angela, Ambassador Lindstedt's presence and seemingly supportive stance suggested the talks were initiated by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. She nevertheless felt uncomfortable with the meetings. When she later made inquiries of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, it said it was unaware of the events. Prosecutors investigated her "for breaching the country's national security by ‘arbitrary conduct when negotiating with a foreign power.‘“ On 9 December, Lindstedt was charged by Swedish prosecutors for "arbitrariness during negotiations with a foreign power", an unprecedented charge in modern Sweden, with a possible maximum prison sentence of 2 years. Later on, her trial in Stockholm District Court started in June 2020. On 10 July the lower court ruled that the prosecutors could not prove Anna Lindstedt had exceeded her authority and acquitted her of the charges against her.