SWEDEN APPOINTS SPECIAL ENVOY TO

UNCLAS STOCKHOLM 000126 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR AF PK SW SUBJECT: SWEDEN APPOINTS SPECIAL ENVOY TO AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN ¶1. (U) In preparation for its EU presidency the Swedish government appointed Anna Karin Enestrom as Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan on February 20. Enestrom currently serves as ambassador to Pakistan. Bildt issued a press statement that said the appointment is a step in the government's goal to increase Swedish and EU engagement in Afghanistan, adding "Afghanistan will be a key issue during Sweden's EU presidency" and will be a key item in transatlantic cooperation. Enestrom's role will facilitate the promotion of a more vigorous and coherent EU policy towards the region during Sweden's EU presidency. Bildt said he apprised Special Envoy Holbrooke of Enestrom's appointment when the two met in Munich in early February. ¶2. (U) Biographical Information: Enestrom, who became ambassador to Pakistan in 2007, served with the MFA in Nairobi, Strasbourg and New York. She served as Deputy Chief of Cabinet in the Swedish Permanent Mission to the UN from 2003-2005, when Jan Eliasson was president of the UN General Assembly. Enestrom was the Deputy Head of Mission at the Swedish Permanent Representation to the Council of Europe in ¶1995. She has extensive expertise in peace and security issues and has sat on numerous UN peace building commissions. In 2005 she co-authored a chapter in "The Peacebuilding Commission: linking Security and Development." She was born in 1961. SILVERMAN