Vilhelm Assarsson

Per Vilhelm Gustaf Assarsson (22 April 1889 – 11 October 1974) was a Swedish diplomat. Assarsson was born in Lund, Sweden, in 1889, the son of a law professor. He graduated with a law degree in 1911 and began his career as a court clerk and district judge. In 1916, he joined the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, serving as attaché in Copenhagen and Berlin. Over the years, he held key diplomatic positions, including acting legation secretary in Berlin, head of Sweden's first political bureau, and legation counsellor in Washington, D.C. He became a resident envoy to Peru in 1935, accredited to several Latin American countries, and later served in Moscow, where he was involved in trade negotiations with the Soviet Union. In 1943, Assarsson was declared persona non grata by the Soviet Union and returned to Sweden. He was later appointed deputy state secretary for foreign affairs and played a significant role in the restoration of the Arvfurstens palats, the ministry's headquarters. He retired in 1955 after a long diplomatic career. Assarsson remained active in business and cultural circles, joining the boards of several companies and supporting causes like flood relief efforts in Spain. A passionate collector of art and antiques, he also set a Swedish record for Grand Crosses. In 1963, he published his memoir, In the Shadow of Stalin, recounting his experiences as Sweden's envoy in Moscow.