Wilhelm Wachtmeister

Wilhelm Wachtmeister joined the foreign service in 1946 and served in Vienna, Madrid, Lisbon, and Moscow. From 1958 to 1961 he assisted UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld. He later represented Sweden in Algeria and directed the foreign ministry's political department before moving to Washington in 1974. ¹

His arrival accompanied the restoration of ambassadorial relations after the dispute over Vietnam. Over fifteen years, Wilhelm and Ulla Wachtmeister made the Swedish residence a busy meeting place for political figures, artists, and the wider public. They held an open house soon after arriving, hosted King Carl XVI Gustaf during his 1976 visit, and continued the residence's association with Washington's Opera Ball. Wachtmeister developed a friendship with George H. W. Bush and became dean of the diplomatic corps in 1986. ²

He retired from the embassy in 1989 but remained active in transatlantic business affairs, advising Volvo and an international law firm and chairing the Swedish–American Chamber of Commerce. His memoir Som jag såg det appeared in 1996. ¹