Most career diplomats spend only a few years in each country before they’re moved to their next posting, rarely getting the chance to get as embedded in the culture as they perhaps would like.

That’s not the case for New Zealand’s ambassador Andrew Jenks, whose relationship with Sweden goes back a long way – two decades in fact.

“I lived here for three years and we had our first child here. And then my poor, suffering wife had to follow me back to New Zealand and then to other parts of the world, and it took us another 20 years to get back to Sweden,” he tells The Local.

“I feel quite privileged. I’ve got a long history with Sweden – apart from the language, which means I can listen to the radio and TV which is a great asset in itself. I have a lot of connections and knowledge of the society which gives me certain special insights.”

Not that it’s necessary in a country where foreign diplomats get a head start simply from the fact that most people they interact with speak English, including senior decision-makers.

“It’s a massive drawcard. It means our countries don’t need to invest in language training for us to be able to operate at a decent level. We often don’t do that anyway, which means that in many places in the world we’re operating with one arm tied behind our back – we’re just not able to get all the information, we miss subtleties,” says Jenks.

“Whereas in Sweden and Stockholm you’re able to take on board so much more information and have better conversations. I think that’s one reason why, despite the weather, Stockholm is seen as an attractive posting. It’s just easier to live here.”

That hasn’t always been the case. Jenks notes that Stockholm – plus Gothenburg and Malmö – has become much more international since he last lived there 20 years ago.

“English is almost like the lingua franca in the shops, but also if you’re just walking down the streets of Stockholm, you hear so many different languages being spoken. (…) It reflects the power of Sweden and Stockholm to attract talent from around the world, which is ultimately a good thing.”

Another change is closer to home: there are more fellow Kiwis in Stockholm today.

The number of people born in New Zealand but living in Sweden has doubled in the past two decades, according to national number crunchers Statistics Sweden.

“Twenty years ago most of the New Zealanders you met were like me, love refugees. Now you meet many more who have come to study or work, particularly in the IT sector,” says Jenks, who is full of praise for the two countries’ diplomatic relations.

“We like to say, and I think they like to say, that we are two of the most like-minded countries you can find and I think that’s actually really true. If you analyse the relationship from a values base, we both share a really strong commitment to rule of law, human rights, security, peace, issues like disarmament,” he explains.

For him, Sweden’s approach to education, society and work, which strives to involve children and encourages a work-life balance, sets it apart from other countries.

“I think my country and some other countries have kind of lost sight of that to some extent,” he says. “We’re trying to get it back now, in my country for example, but I think Sweden’s managed to hang on to that and really make it the centre of the purpose of living, which is, I think, probably how it should be.”

Interview by Paul O’Mahony, article written by Emma Löfgren

Listen to the interview with New Zealand Ambassador Andrew Jenks in the latest episode of Sweden in Focus: 

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