Ragnvald Bagge

Ragnvald Richardson (R:son) Bagge (12 November 1903 – 24 March 1991) was a Swedish diplomat. Bagge began his diplomatic career at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1928 as an attaché. He held early postings in Washington, D.C., Madrid, and Tokyo, and served as secretary to the minister for foreign affairs and later as secretary to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He progressed through the ranks as legation counsellor in Helsinki, director at the Ministry, and chargé d'affaires and envoy in Bogotá and Panama City.

Bagge then served as embassy counsellor and minister plenipotentiary in Washington, D.C., before taking up envoy and ambassadorial positions in Tehran (also accredited to Baghdad and Karachi), Warsaw, Ottawa, and Copenhagen, concluding his career as ambassador in Copenhagen from 1965 to 1969.

Early life Bagge was born on 12 November 1903 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, the son of the consul general there, Richard Bagge, and his wife Lily (née Schwartz). He received a Candidate of Law degree from Stockholm University College in 1926 and then studied abroad for a couple of years. He was embassy counsellor and minister plenipotentiary in Washington, D.C., in 1950, and envoy in Tehran—also accredited to Baghdad from 1953 to 1959 and to Karachi from 1953 to 1956. He served as ambassador in Tehran from 1957 to 1959, ambassador in Warsaw from 1959 to 1962, ambassador in Ottawa from 1962 to 1965, and finally ambassador in Copenhagen from 1965 to 1969.

Bagge had four children: Alette, Richard, Madeleine, and Veronica. He was interred on 24 May 1991 at Skogsö Cemetery in Saltsjöbaden.

Awards and decorations

Officer of the Austrian Order of Merit