Birger Johansson

Per Birger Johansson (3 November 1887 – 5 December 1975) was a Swedish diplomat who served in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for over 40 years. After joining the ministry in 1911, he worked in several European cities, including Helsinki, Hamburg, Petrograd, Moscow, Tallinn, and Riga. He advanced from attaché and consul to senior leadership positions, becoming director-general and head of the Personnel and Administrative Department in 1931. In 1935, he was appointed envoy to Riga, Tallinn, and Kaunas, representing Sweden in the Baltic states until the Soviet occupation in 1940 forced the closure of the legations. During World War II, he headed the Foreign Ministry's B Department, which handled the interests of belligerent states after diplomatic relations were broken off. His final post was as envoy to Belgrade from 1948 until his retirement in 1953.

Early life Johansson was born on 3 November 1887 in Åby-Klippan, Kristianstad County, the son of the freeholder and county council member Per Johansson. He passed studentexamen in Helsingborg in 1907 and went on to earn a degree in administrative studies (kansliexamen) at Lund University in 1910.

In 1923 he became consul and head of the Inheritance and Compensation Office (Arvs- och ersättningsbyrån) within the Legal Department of the Foreign Ministry. His career continued to advance with postings as consul in Tallinn in 1925, legation counsellor in Moscow in 1927, and head of department at the Foreign Ministry in 1929. In 1931 he was appointed director-general (utrikesråd) and head of the Personnel and Administrative Department. Four years later, in 1935, he became envoy to Riga, Tallinn, and Kaunas. The following year, after the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states began on 15 June 1940, Johansson and his wife were evacuated to Stockholm on 23 August aboard the Sveabolaget vessel SS Konung Oscar, along with nearly the entire Swedish community in Riga. Shortly afterwards, on 24 August, Sweden closed its diplomatic missions in Riga, Tallinn, and Kaunas, completing the withdrawal within the set deadline.

Johansson then served as head of the Foreign Ministry's B Department from 1941 to 1948, a wartime unit created to protect the interests of various belligerent states in enemy territories after diplomatic relations had been severed.

Personal life In 1917, Johansson married Signe Thornquist (1888–1972), daughter of J. A. Thornquist of Halmstad and his wife. The couple had one son, (1922–1984).

Death Johansson died on 5 December 1975. He was registered (kyrkobokförd) in Hägersten, Stockholm Municipality at the time of death.

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Foreign

50px Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (between 1945 and 1947)