Claes Westring

Claes Adolf Hjalmar Westring (30 January 1893 – 12 November 1975) was a Swedish diplomat and jurist with a long career in the Swedish Foreign Ministry, serving across Europe, Latin America, and Scandinavia. After graduating in law from Uppsala University in 1916, he worked in the judiciary before joining the Foreign Ministry in 1918. He held early postings in Antwerp, Warsaw, Berlin, and Copenhagen, and later senior legal and administrative roles in Stockholm, including heading key departments and working in international legal commissions. He also served as chargé d'affaires ad interim in Kaunas, Lithuania (1936–1940).

During World War II, Westring was Consul General in Oslo (1941–1945). In this role, he operated under German occupation and was involved in sensitive diplomatic negotiations with occupation authorities, including issues concerning Swedish protection and citizenship claims for vulnerable individuals. He also contributed to humanitarian and rescue efforts linked to broader Swedish and Allied initiatives, and worked to counter attempts by the Quisling regime to gain control over the Norwegian Nobel Institute.

After the war, he served as envoy in Warsaw (1945–1949), Mexico City (1949–1952), and Lima (1952–1959), with concurrent accreditation to several Central American states and Bolivia.

Early life Westring was born on 30 January 1893 in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of the president of the Court of Appeal (1857–1926) and his wife, Countess Adélaide Stackelberg. He was the brother of Lieutenant General Gustaf Adolf Westring (1900–1963) and the physician (1897–1979).

He graduated from in Stockholm in 1911. He received a Candidate of Law degree from Uppsala University in 1916. In 1918, he joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as an attaché, becoming second secretary in 1919. He then served as vice consul in Antwerp (1919–1920), second legation secretary in Warsaw (1920–1922), and administrative officer (byråsekreterare) at the Foreign Ministry in 1922. Westring was appointed Consul General in Oslo that same year, a position he held until 1945. Westring used his contacts and energetic diplomatic activity to secure the release of several interned Norwegians, including prominent cultural figures such as the painters Henrik Sørensen and Reidar Aulie.

Westring played a significant supporting role in the operations initiated by the War Refugee Board, the American agency established in 1944 to aid victims of Nazi persecution. According to contemporary reports by Iver C. Olsen, the Board's representative in Stockholm, Westring was "of great assistance" in the rescue work carried out in Norway. These efforts formed part of a broader network of evacuation and relief operations across Scandinavia and the Baltic region, through which thousands of refugees were brought to safety in Sweden.

Westring also became an important intermediary between the Norwegian Nobel Institute, the Nobel Foundation in Sweden, and the occupying authorities. In 1944, when the collaborationist government of Vidkun Quisling attempted to take control of the Norwegian Nobel Committee and its institute, Westring played a key diplomatic role in resisting this effort. He argued that the Nobel Institute and its assets were legally the property of the Swedish-based Nobel Foundation, and therefore outside the jurisdiction of the Norwegian authorities under occupation. Westring maintained a firm stance in negotiations with representatives of the Quisling regime, delaying and ultimately preventing their attempts to interfere with the Institute's operations. He also coordinated closely with officials in Stockholm and supported measures to safeguard sensitive documents and property. The conflict was eventually defused in part because German occupation authorities considered the issue of minor importance and chose not to support Quisling's intervention. Westring himself concluded that this effectively ended the attempts to seize control of the Nobel Institution.

Later career Westring then served as envoy in Warsaw (1945–1949), in Mexico City (1949–1952),

Personal life On 3 December 1927, at the , Westring married Maud Evelyn Dieden (1905–1973), daughter of director Theodor Dieden and his first wife, née Fürstenau. They had two children: Claes-Bertil (1932–2004) and Maud (born 1935).

On 25 April 1951 in Guatemala, Westring married Countess Elisabeth Spens, daughter of Countess Hertha Spens (née Södermark) and former cavalry captain Count Harald Spens of Stockholm. Elisabeth was the widow of lawyer Vadime Dzeroginski.

After serving as ambassador in Lima, Peru, until 1959, Westring settled there. Four years later, on 15 March 1963, his brother Lieutenant General Gustaf Adolf Westring died in a plane crash when the aircraft he was traveling in struck Mount Chachacomani, killing all 36 passengers and three crew members. Westring and colleague Lars Gunnar Nilsson, who also died in the accident, were working for AB Atlas Copco at the time. Westring later brought his brother's remains back to Sweden on 26 March.

Death Westring died on 12 November 1975 in Lima, Peru.

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Foreign