History of diplomatic relations
The Kingdom of Sweden re-recognised Estonia on 27 August 1991, among the first countries to do so, and was the first foreign country to appoint an ambassador to Estonia after the restoration of independence. Swedish Ambassador Lars Arne Grundberg began his work in Tallinn on 29 August 1991. The current Ambassador of Sweden, Charlotte Wrangberg, presented her credentials to the President of the Republic on 1 October 2024. Since 12 September 2022, Estonia’s Ambassador to Sweden has been Toomas Lukk.
An Estonia-Sweden Parliamentary Group has been established in the 15th Riigikogu.
Bilateral relations
Bilateral relations between Estonia and Sweden are very close, constructive and strong. Estonia and Sweden share similar or identical positions on the most important foreign policy issues.
Estonia-Sweden Cooperation Report
The report was completed in summer 2022 and presented at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in September 2022. It was prepared by independent experts Pär Nuder from Sweden and Raul Eamets from Estonia. The report identifies four priority areas where the authors see the greatest potential for further cooperation: digitalisation, climate, energy policy and sustainable forestry. The report does not address security and defence policy.
The report also recommends establishing an Estonia-Sweden cooperation centre, citing the Finnish-Swedish cultural centre Hanaholmen/Hanasaari as an example.
Estonia-Sweden Cooperation Fund
In December 2018, the Swedish Government established the Sweden-Estonia Cooperation Fund as a gift from the Government of Sweden to mark the centenary of the independence of the Baltic states. The gift took the form of a fund of 10 million Swedish kronor, aimed at deepening cooperation between Sweden and Estonia.
At Sweden’s proposal, the main areas of cooperation of the fund are:
- societal issues,
- economy, including start-ups,
- culture.
The key target group of the fund is young people. The fund is also tasked with promoting the Estonian language and culture in Sweden and vice versa. Sweden established similar bilateral funds with the other Baltic states. The Estonian members of the fund’s board are Hendrik Voll, Jaan Manitski and Kadri Land. The Swedish members are former Minister of Finance Pär Nuder, Professor Li Bennich-Björkman of Uppsala University, Oriflame CEO Magnus Brännström, and Elisabeth Nilsson, former Governor of Östergötland County and member of the Board of Luleå University of Technology.
European Union
Sweden held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2023. The priorities of the Swedish Presidency were security and support for Ukraine, the green transition, the competitiveness and economic growth of the European Union, and democratic values and the rule of law.
To Estonia
- May 2023 – state visit by King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia
- February 2023 – Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson
- November 2022 – Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström
- September 2022 – Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde
- February 2020 – Speaker of the Riksdag Andreas Norlén
- November 2019 – Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde
- May 2019 – Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist
- March 2019 – Minister for EU Affairs Hans Dahlgren
- August 2018 – Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel
- October 2016 – Minister for EU Affairs and Trade Ann Linde
- May 2016 – Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist at the Lennart Meri Conference
- January 2015 – Speaker of the Riksdag Urban Ahlin
- October 2014 – Prime Minister Stefan Löfven
- October 2014 – Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström
- October 2014 – Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel
In April 1992, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden visited Estonia. This was the first royal visit to Estonia after the restoration of independence. In May 2002, King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia visited Estonia privately. In October 2007, Queen Silvia attended the celebrations marking the 375th anniversary of the University of Tartu. In October 2014, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel visited Estonia, with the aim of strengthening cultural, economic and environmental cooperation between the two countries. Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel visited Estonia again in August 2018.
To Sweden
- November 2024 – Prime Minister Kristen Michal met Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the margins of the NB8 Prime Ministers’ Meeting in Harpsund
- September 2024 – visit by the Speaker of the Riigikogu to Gotland (meeting of Baltic and Nordic Speakers, marking the 80th anniversary of the Great Escape) :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
- June 2024 – Prime Minister Kaja Kallas visited Sweden, including a meeting with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, an investor meeting and participation in the technology sector summer seminar Sommarminglet :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
- March 2024 – Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur visited Sweden with a business delegation :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
- April 2023 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna
- April 2023 – working visit by President Alar Karis to Lund and Malmö
- May 2022 – Prime Minister Kaja Kallas
- January 2022 – working visit by President Alar Karis
- September 2021 – working visit by President Kersti Kaljulaid
- June 2021 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Eva-Maria Liimets
- January 2020 – Prime Minister Jüri Ratas
- November 2019 – working visit by President Kersti Kaljulaid
- June 2019 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu
- May 2019 – Minister of Education and Research Mailis Reps
- June 2018 – President Kersti Kaljulaid
- May 2018 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Mikser
- April 2018 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Mikser
- February 2018 – Prime Minister Jüri Ratas
- February 2017 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Mikser
- January 2017 – President Kersti Kaljulaid
- October 2016 – Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas
- October 2015 – Minister of Defence Hannes Hanso
- June 2015 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Keit Pentus-Rosimannus
- May 2015 – Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas
- November 2014 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Keit Pentus-Rosimannus
- May 2014 – Minister of Defence Sven Mikser
- May 2014 – Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas
International agreements between Estonia and Sweden are available in the Riigi Teataja.
More detailed data on trade with Sweden is available in the Statistics Estonia application.
Overview of Estonia-Sweden cultural cooperation
Cultural ties between Estonia and Sweden have been close over the years. Cultural events mostly take place on the initiative of cultural figures themselves, supported by the geographical and cultural proximity of the two countries and the well-established network of the Estonian community in Sweden.
Swedish musicians, writers and artists are almost always represented at various festivals in Estonia, and the same is true in the other direction. Estonia also cooperates with Sweden in regional cultural formats, including the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture, the European Union National Institutes for Culture, EUNIC, the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture.
Estonia’s bilateral defence cooperation with Sweden has grown significantly in recent years. Regular meetings are held between defence ministers, chiefs of defence and senior officials. The close political dialogue is based on Estonia’s and Sweden’s similar views on the security situation and Sweden’s accession to NATO.
Both countries highly value cooperation not only at the bilateral level, but also in the field of regional security policy. Sweden is represented at the Baltic Defence College in Tartu and at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn.
Participation in each other’s exercises has increased, along with training activities and visits at various levels in the defence sector. Together, these contribute to closer cooperation and greater security in the Baltic Sea region.
As Baltic Sea countries, Estonia and Sweden also actively cooperate in environmental protection and rescue services. The two countries have concluded a general security agreement on the protection of classified information, an agreement on cooperation in the prevention of, preparedness for and response to emergencies, and an agreement on cooperation in maritime and aeronautical search and rescue, known as the SAR agreement.
While only a few hundred Estonians lived in Sweden before the Second World War, approximately 20,000–30,000 Estonians fled there during 1943–1944. With the emergence of a new generation in the 1950s and 1960s, this number grew further. All 7,000 Coastal Swedes who had lived on Estonia’s islands and western coast for centuries also fled to Sweden.
There are no precise figures on the total number of Estonians living in Sweden, as Sweden does not collect statistics based on ethnicity. However, many descendants of those who fled to Sweden at the end of the Second World War continue to identify as Estonians. It is therefore estimated that several tens of thousands of people of Estonian origin live in Sweden, most of them concentrated in larger cities and their surrounding areas.
In autumn 1994, fifty years had passed since thousands of Estonians escaped across the Baltic Sea to Sweden. To commemorate this event, Estonian Swedes and Estonians in Sweden decided to erect a memorial known as the Freedom Gate, both as a gift and expression of gratitude to the Swedish people and as a lasting reminder for future generations. The monument was inaugurated and formally presented to the people of Sweden on 7 October 1994. King Carl XVI Gustaf attended the opening ceremony in Stockholm.
In recent years, the reburial in Estonia of prominent Estonians who passed away in Sweden has become an important issue, owing to factors such as the absence of descendants and the neglect of graves. The remains of Jüri Uluots, August Warma and August Rei have been reinterred in Estonia. In June 2016, the remains of Marie Under and Artur Adson were brought from Sweden and laid to rest in Estonia, followed by those of Eduard and Erika Tubin in June 2018.
Since the post-war period, the Estonian community has actively contributed to preserving Estonian identity and promoting Estonia through numerous associations, societies and organisations, while also integrating into Swedish society. These include the Association of Estonians in Sweden, the Estonian Cultural Association in Sweden, the Estonian Learned Society in Sweden and, until its dissolution in 2006, the Estonian Committee, among others.
At its peak, approximately 400–500 Estonian organisations operated in Sweden; today, around one hundred remain active. As part of Estonia’s centenary celebrations, numerous anniversary events were organised throughout Sweden with the support of local associations.
Several Estonian-language publications continue to be published in Sweden, including the newspaper Eesti Päevaleht and the magazine Rahvuslik Kontakt. Stockholm is home to an Estonian kindergarten, an Estonian school with around 200 pupils in grades 1–9, and an Estonian hobby school. Estonian Houses operate in several locations and remain among the most important institutions for preserving and promoting Estonian culture and identity in Sweden.
A wide range of activities takes place in various societies and clubs, from practising the Estonian language and preserving traditional handicrafts to attending academic lectures and cultural events.
The Estonia-Sweden Future Cooperation Report focuses on climate, digitalisation and energy policy.
The authors of the first Estonia-Sweden Future Cooperation Report are economist Raul Eamets and Pär Nuder, member of the board of the Estonia-Sweden Cooperation Fund and former Minister of Finance of Sweden. The presentation of the report, held in English, can be viewed on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ YouTube channel.