Sven Allard

Sven Allard (6 July 1896 – 17 August 1975) was a Swedish diplomat. Allard began his diplomatic career as an attaché at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm in 1921, serving in various roles in Warsaw, Riga, and other cities throughout the 1920s and 1930s. He played a significant role in the Swedish-British trade agreement negotiations and later served as first legation secretary in several capitals, including Rome and Paris. In December 1943, he became Sweden's first envoy to Chungking, China, after a long gap in diplomatic relations, and worked on dismantling extraterritorial rights concerning Swedish interests. After his time in China, he served as a trade treaty negotiator and was envoy in Bucharest, Budapest, and Prague. In 1956, he was appointed Sweden's ambassador in Vienna, where he served until 1964 and participated in the International Atomic Energy Agency. Following this, he represented Sweden at the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome and published a reflective book on his Vienna experiences in 1965.

Early life Allard was born on 6 July 1896 on the farm Klofstenalund (Lund) in Tjällmo, Östergötland County, Sweden, the son of Joel Andersson and his wife Maria Allard. He passed studentexamen in Linköping in 1914 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Uppsala University in 1918 and a Candidate of Law degree in 1920.

Career Allard was employed as an attaché at the Ministry for Foreign in Stockholm in 1921 and served in Warsaw in 1922, as well as in Riga, Reval, and Kovno that same year. He worked at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1925, was acting second legation secretary in Brussels and The Hague in 1926, and became second secretary at the Ministry in 1927. He served as vice-consul in London in 1931 (acting in 1930) and as first legation secretary in Warsaw in 1932. It wasn't until June 1944 that Allard could begin his journey to China aboard the ship Sagoland, traveling to Lisbon and then via Portuguese East Africa. His assignment in China included the task of dismantling the special extraterritorial rights concerning Swedish interests. These rights encompassed specific economic and legal privileges, notably in the well-known international concessions in Shanghai, which had already been abolished by most other countries.

Allard served at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as a trade treaty negotiator from 1947 to 1949 and was envoy to Bucharest, Budapest, and Sofia in 1949. On 1 March 1949, he presented his credentials in Bucharest to Professor Constantin Ion Parhon, President of Romania's Supreme Council. He presented his credentials in Sofia on 5 April 1950.

He served as envoy in Prague and Budapest from 1951 to 1954, and in Vienna in 1954. In August 1956, an agreement was reached between the Swedish and Austrian governments to elevate their respective legations to embassies. Consequently, the diplomatic rank changed from envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to ambassador. Allard was appointed as Sweden's ambassador in Vienna and presented his credentials to President Theodor Körner in September of that same year. During his time in Vienna, he was also part of the Swedish delegation to the International Atomic Energy Agency, serving as a deputy and advisor.

He served as ambassador in Vienna until 1964.

Personal life On 10 April 1933, Allard married in London to Baroness Margareta Silfverschiöld (1904–1987), the daughter of Chief Chamberlain (överstekammarjunkare), Baron and Ingeborg von Horn. They had two children: Embassy Counsellor Sven-Otto Allard (born 1934) and Consul General Nils-Urban Allard (1936–2017).

Death The gravestone of Sven Allard and his wife Margareta at Tjällmo Cemetery.

Allard died on 17 August 1975 on the same farm in Tjällmo where he was born. He was interred on 27 August 1975 in Tjällmo Cemetery at .

Awards and decorations

Order of Brilliant Star