Per Otto Gustaf Rathsman (14 August 1917 – 15 June 1986) was a Swedish diplomat.
Rathsman was born on 14 August 1917 in Ljung, Linköping Municipality, Sweden, the son of vicar Otto Rathsman and his wife Sara (née Svensson).[1] He passed studentexameninLinköping in 1936 and received a Candidate of Law degree from Uppsala University in 1939 before becoming an attaché at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1940.[1]
Rathsman served in New York City in 1942, Washington, D.C. in 1943, Buenos Aires in 1945 and was First Secretary there in 1950. He was First Legation Secretary in London in 1950, First Secretary in 1953, First Legation Secretary in Ottawa in 1953, and First Secretary in 1957.[1] While serving as First Secretary in Ottawa, Rathsman was en route to Stockholm on 25 July 1956 for a two-month vacation when the eastbound MSStockholm collided with westbound Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria. He suffered only a minor head injury.[2]
The year after, Rathsman became Director at the Swedish Foreign Ministry and in 1959 he became Embassy Counsellor in New Delhi.[1] He became Consul (with the title of Consul-general) in Nairobi in 1962[3] and he was Ambassador in Nairobi, also accredited to Dar es Salaam, Kampala and Lusaka from 1962 to 1966 and Caracas, also accredited to Santo Domingo and Port of Spain[4] from 1966 to 1970. After that he was Ambassador in Bucharest from 1970 to 1973, Baghdad from 1973 to 1975, Consul-general in São Paulo from 1976 to 1980 and Consul-general in San Francisco from 1980 to 1982. Before retiring, Rathsman was mediator in the Neutral Nations Supervisory CommissioninKorea from 1 April 1982 to 31 March 1983 with the rank of major general.[5][6][7]
Rathsman was married twice. He was married the first time 1944–1954 to Ulla Wennerberg (born 1921), daughter of John Wennerberg and Karin (née Cederberg).[8] He married a second time in 1955 with Gunilla Beskow (born 1927), daughter of the engineer Fritz Beskow and Rut (née Mellander).[5] He had three children in his first marriage; Ulf (born 1945), Lena (born 1947) and Katarina (born 1949) and two children in his second marriage; Otto (born 1956) and Peter (born 1957).[1]
Rathsman died on 15 June 1986 and was buried in Skogskyrkogården in Stockholm on 21 July 1986.[9]
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by None |
Consul-general of Sweden to Nairobi 1962–1964 |
Succeeded by Himself as Ambassador |
| Preceded by Himself as Consul-general |
Ambassador of Sweden to Kenya 1964–1966 |
Succeeded by Carl Gustaf Béve |
| Preceded by None |
Ambassador of Sweden to Tanzania 1964–1966 |
Succeeded by Carl Gustaf Béve |
| Preceded by None |
Ambassador of Sweden to Uganda 1964–1966 |
Succeeded by Carl Gustaf Béve |
| Preceded by None |
Ambassador of Sweden to Zambia 1964–1966 |
Succeeded by Carl Gustaf Béve |
| Preceded by | Ambassador of Sweden to Venezuela 1966–1970 |
Succeeded by Per Bertil Kollberg |
| Preceded by | Ambassador of Sweden to the Dominican Republic 1966–1970 |
Succeeded by Per Bertil Kollberg |
| Preceded by None |
Ambassador of Sweden to Trinidad and Tobago 1966–1970 |
Succeeded by Per Bertil Kollberg |
| Preceded by Carl Johan Rappe |
Ambassador of Sweden to Romania 1970–1973 |
Succeeded by Lars Hedström |
| Preceded by | Ambassador of Sweden to Iraq 1973–1975 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Erik Svedelius as Honorary Consul-General |
Consul-general of Sweden to São Paulo 1976–1980 |
Succeeded by Alf Ros |
| Preceded by | Consul-general of Sweden to San Francisco 1980–1982 |
Succeeded by Odd Isaksson as Acting Consul-General |
| Preceded by Göte Blom |
Heads of Swedish Delegation to the NNSC 1 April 1982 – 31 March 1983 |
Succeeded by Gustaf Peyron |
