European Union set to name Swedish diplomat Niclas Kvarnström as new Asia Pacific chief
- Kvarnström confirms he will take over the position before the end of the year
- The former Swedish ambassador to Singapore replaces Gunnar Wiegand in the role
The European Union will appoint Swedish diplomat Niclas Kvarnström as its new Asia Pacific chief, replacing the retired Gunnar Wiegand.
Kvarnström is currently the head of the Asia Pacific department of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and news of his appointment has been roundly welcomed by diplomats and officials.
Having joined the Swedish foreign ministry’s China desk in 2001, he went on to spend stints in Beijing and the United Nations, as well as desk jobs covering Central Asia. A Chinese speaker, he was Sweden’s ambassador to Singapore between 2018 and 2021.
As part of the Swedish government’s rotating presidency of the EU this year, he helped host an Indo Pacific Forum that was attended by senior ministers from India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea and others. One diplomat familiar with his outlook noted that Kvarnström was an avowed transatlanticist.
He will take over from Wiegand, who retired this month having spent more than 30 years as an EU diplomat and official, the last seven of which were as managing director for Asia and the Pacific in the bloc’s External Action Service (EEAS), its diplomatic corps.