Knut Richard Thyberg

Knut Richard Thyberg (6 November 1896 – 1 April 1980) was a Swedish diplomat. Thyberg held numerous diplomatic posts throughout his career, serving in cities such as Paris, London, New York City, Riga, and Prague during the 1920s and 1930s. He held senior roles in Copenhagen, Cairo, Belgrade, and Ankara before becoming director of the Political Department at Sweden's Foreign Ministry during World War II. From 1944 to 1948, he acted as Sweden’s envoy in Athens, where he helped represent multiple foreign interests and, with German cooperation, secured the release of around 50 Jews from captivity. He later served as Swedish envoy to Brazil and Portugal and was appointed Sweden’s first ambassador to Liberia in 1959, reflecting the country’s growing economic interests in Africa. Thyberg’s work in Liberia underscored the alignment of Swedish diplomacy with industrial expansion, particularly in support of the LAMCO mining syndicate. He retired from the foreign service in 1961.

Early life Thyberg was born on 6 November 1896 in Sunne, Sweden, the son of Edwin Thyberg, a merchant, and his wife Thyra (née Helin). He passed studentexamen in Karlstad in 1914 and became a reserve officer two years later in 1916. In 1918 he received a Candidate of Law degree in Stockholm and started working as an attaché at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm the year after.

Thyberg served as first legation secretary in Copenhagen in 1933 and was chargé d'affaires ad interim in Cairo in 1936. He then served as legation counsellor in 1938 and was chargé d'affaires ad interim in Belgrade from 1938 to 1939 and in Ankara from 1940 to 1941. Thyberg was director of the Political Department at the Foreign Ministry in Stockholm from 1941 to 1944 and was minister plenipotentiary, chargé d'affaires and the Swedish government's agent for monitoring the Greece Commission's aid activities in Athens from 1944 to 1948.

Thyberg served as envoy in Rio de Janeiro from 1949 to 1955, envoy and ambassador in Lisbon from 1955 to 1959.

Thyberg remained in the Swedish diplomatic service for two years before retiring in 1961.

Personal life On 3 October 1925, Thyberg married Margaret Dows (1906–1992), the daughter of Tracy Dows and Alice Olin Dows of Rhinebeck, New York, USA and sister of artist Olin Dows. The marriage took place at Foxhollow Farm in Rhinebeck, the country place of her parent. They had three children; ambassador (1926–2018), Birgitta (born 1928) and Peter Jan (born 1933).

Awards and decorations