Ingmar Karlsson

Ingmar Karlsson, born January 16, 1942, is a Swedish diplomat and author of numerous books on minorities, religions, the Middle East, China, and Germany.

Karlsson, who has an M.B.A from the Gothenburg School of Economics and a B.A. (political science, French, and the history of ideas) from the University of Gothenburg, worked at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (UD) in 1967 and has served in Bogotá, Vienna, Damascus, and Beijing, among other places.

From 1988, he was Deputy Ambassador at the Embassy in Bonn. From 1992, he was a special advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs with a position as ambassador. He then served as Ambassador to Prague (accredited also in Bratislava) from 1996–2001 and Consul General in Istanbul from 2001–2008. He has written many books, some of which have been used as textbooks at universities and colleges.

In 2002, Mr. Karlsson received an honorary doctorate in theology from Lund University. In 2007, Karlsson received another honorary doctorate in philosophy from Linnaeus University. In the same year, he was awarded the Sydsvenskan European Prize for 2007 and, in 2010, The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities medal. In 2012, Karlsson received the publisher Natur & Kultur’s Johan Hansson Prize for his book titled Bruden är vacker men har redan en man: sionismen – en ideologi vid vägs ände? Karlsson has often taken part in debates concerning Turkey. Since 2009, Karlsson has been a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University.