Widar Bagge

Widar Bagge (30 April 1886 – 18 April 1970) was a Swedish diplomat.

Career

Bagge was born in Fuxerna, Lilla Edet Municipality, Sweden, the son of wholesaler John Bagge and his wife Fredrika (née Corin). He received a Candidate of Law degree in Stockholm in 1914 and was a temporary officer at the National Board of Trade in 1918 before becoming an attaché at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1919.[1] Bagge then served as an administrative officer in 1920, second legation secretary in London in 1921 and acting chargé d'affaires in Brussels in 1922. He was first legation secretary in Rome in 1923, in Helsinki in 1924 and in Tokyo in 1928.[1] Bagge was the acting consul general in Shanghai in 1930, director at the Foreign Ministry in 1931, charges d'Affaires in Warsaw in 1934, and legation counsellor in Paris in 1934. Bagge was then envoy in Tokyo and Bangkok from 1937 to 1945.[2]

While in Tokyo, Bagge was attended by foreign minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, who wanted Bagge to convey a peace overture to the United States.[3] Bagge cabled a surrender offer to the Swedish foreign office, for transmittal to the United Kingdom, which relayed it to the United States. Japan was prepared to relinquish all the territory it took in the war and Manchukuo, which it had seized in 1931. Bagge emphasized that the offer must be considered a serious one. The offer, however, came to nothing.[4]

He was envoy in Cairo and Addis Ababa from 1945 to 1951, including in Damascus and Beirut from 1947.[2] In Cairo, he fell in love with Yolande Harmer, a successful Israeli spy. Before she was arrested in July 1948, she had succeeded in changing Bagge's views on Zionism. The assassination of Folke Bernadotte in September 1948, however, made his enthusiasm to cool again.[3]

Personal life

Bagge died on the 18 April 1970 and was buried on the 11 May 1970 at Norra begravningsplatsen in Solna Municipality.[5]

Awards and decorations

Bagge's awards:[2]

References
  1. Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1933 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1933] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. 1932. p. 51.
  2. Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1962). Vem är vem? 1, Stor-Stockholm [Who is who? 1, Greater Stockholm] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem. p. 87.
  3. Burén, Göran (2012). Mordet på Folke Bernadotte [The assassination of Folke Bernadotte] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Leopard. ISBN 978-91-7343-384-6. SELIBR 12348349.
  4. Trohan, Walter (14 August 1965). "Ignored Japanese Peace Bids Plague U.S., WEST With What Might Have Been". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  5. "Norra begravningsplatsen, kvarter 10E, gravnummer 35" (in Swedish). Hittagraven.se. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.

Further reading
  • Edström, Bert (1995). Widar Bagge, Japan and the End of the Second World War. Working paper - University of Stockholm, Center for Pacific Asia Studies, 0284-155X ; 41. Stockholm: Univ., Center for Pacific Asia Studies. SELIBR 2076812.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Johan Hultman		 Envoy of Sweden to Japan
1937–1945		 Succeeded by
Leif Öhrvall (from 1949)
Preceded by
Johan Hultman		 Envoy of Sweden to Thailand
1937–1945		 Succeeded by
Torsten Hammarström (from 1949)
Preceded by
Arvid Hugo Berns
as acting Chargé d’affaires		 Envoy of Sweden to Egypt
1945–1951		 Succeeded by
Gustaf Weidel
Preceded by
None		 Envoy of Sweden to Ethiopia
1945–1951		 Succeeded by
Erik Wisén
Preceded by
None		 Envoy of Sweden to Syria
1947–1951		 Succeeded by
Gustaf Weidel
Preceded by
None		 Envoy of Sweden to Lebanon
1947–1951		 Succeeded by
Gustaf Weidel
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