Gösta Engzell

Gösta Engzell (14 February 1897 – 7 March 1997) was a Swedish jurist and diplomat who is known for his activities to rescue Jews during World War II. He was the ambassador of Sweden to Finland between 1954 and 1963 and served in other diplomatic posts.

Early life Engzell was born on 14 February 1897 in Halmstad, Sweden, the son of Carl Nilson, a postmaster, and his wife Amy Engzell. He passed studentexamen in Skövde in 1915 and received a Candidate of Law degree from Stockholm University College in 1919.

Career Engzell began his career with district court service in the from 1920 to 1922. He was appointed assessor at the Göta Court of Appeal in 1926, served as an extra legal clerk (fiskal) in 1929, and became a hovrättsråd in 1933. From 1931 he acted as judge referee, a position he formally assumed in 1936. He also held senior administrative posts, serving as acting Director-General for Administrative Affairs (expeditionschef) in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in 1932 and in the Ministry of Finance in 1936. In 1938, he was appointed director-general (utrikesråd) and Head of the Legal Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Shortly after his appointment Engzell represented Sweden in the Évian Conference held at Évian-les-Bains, France, between 6 and 15 July 1938 to address the problem of German and Austrian Jewish refugees.

Engzell was made an envoy in 1947.

Rescuing Jews during World War II In the late 1930s Engzell and the Swedish government did not have a special interest in Jews who had to flee Nazi Germany and did not make any attempt to facilitate the entry of Jews to Sweden without a Swedish visa or to help them acquire such a visa. Engzell then began to influence the policy of the Swedish government which would help Jews in Nazi-controlled regions.

Personal life In 1927, Engzell married Baroness Anna Ehrenkrona (born 1903), the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Baron Carl-Erik Ehrenkrona and Signe Westman. They had four sons: Göran (born 1928), Ulf (born 1931), Stig (born 1938), and Hans (born 1945).