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Chilean coup d’état and Swedish diplomacy

2019; Russian Academy of Sciences; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.31857/s0044748x0005580-7

0044-748X

Iuliia Fedoritenko,

Political and Social Dynamics in Chile and Latin America

The neutrality of Sweden during the Cold War allowed it to take an active part in international politics, without joining any of the opposing blocs. This was particularly reflected in the so-called good offices and a series of mandates in Sweden, culminating in the Sweden mandate for the representation of interests in Chile (1973-1994). The article presents a brief historical insight into the development of diplomatic relations between Chile and Sweden. Based on the official Swedish diplomatic documents the authors explores the reaction of the Government of the Swedish Kingdom and society to the 1973 Chilean coup d'état and a policy towards the newly elected authorities. The article has placed a special emphasis on the activity of the Swedish Ambassador to Chile (1972-1973), the outstanding diplomat - Harald Edelstam, who, using his powers, was able to save more than 1,500 people persecuted by the government junta of Chile during the military dictatorship. They also identified the causes and circumstances under which Sweden assumed a mandate to represent Cuba’s interests in Chile and became political patron. At the same time, Stockholm did not request to represent the interests of Santiago, but they them-selve took the initiative. Thus, the protective mandate of Sweden to ensure Cuba’s interests in Chile became the longest among all the protective mandates of neutral European countries and had no precedent in the second half of the XXth century.