The Ambassador

Curriculum vitae

Lars Vargö

Born October 6, 1947, in Stockholm, Sweden.

Positions

2006-  Ambassador of Sweden, Seoul, Republic of Korea

2001-2005 Ambassador, Head of the International Department, Swedish Parliament

2000-2001 Ambassador, Deputy Head of the International Department, Swedish Parliament

1999-2000 Ambassador, Coordinator for East Asia, Deputy Head of Department for Asia and the Pacific

1998-1999 Ambassador of Sweden, Vilnius, Lithuania.

1993-1998 Minister, Embassy of Sweden, Tokyo, Japan.

1992-1993 Head of Section, Political Department, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Stockholm.

1990-1992 Deputy Secretary, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Swedish Parliament.

1987-1990 First Secretary, Trade policy section, Embassy of Sweden, Washington D.C., USA.

1984-1987 First Secretary, Economic section, Embassy of Sweden, Tokyo, Japan.

1983-1984 Second Secretary, Consular and administrative affairs, Embassy of Sweden, Tripoli, Libya.

1982-1983 Second Secretary, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Stockholm.

1980-1982 Second Secretary, Political section, Embassy of Sweden, Tokyo, Japan.

1978-1980 Third secretary, Translator and interpreter, Embassy of Sweden, Tokyo, Japan.

1976-1977 Lecturer, Department of Oriental Languages, University of Stockholm.

Education

1982  Ph.D. in Japanese studies, University of Stockholm. (Name of thesis: Social and Economic Conditions for the Formation of the Early Japanese State)

1971  M.A. with a major in Sinology, University of Uppsala.

Awards and Scholarships

2007 Korean Red Cross Grand Taegug Award

2003 Ichikawa city (Japan) cultural award.

1997 Swedish Academy Award/Grant.

1972-1976 Scholarship from the Japanese Ministry of Education for studies at Kyoto University. (Oct. 72-Sept.73, Oct. 74- March 76).

Publications (Books)

1982 Social and Economic Conditions for the Formation of the Early Japanese State, University of Stockholm.

1992  Den falska stillheten - Japan då och nu ("The deceitful tranquility - Japan then and now"), Carlssons, Stockholm.

1995  Månen i brunnens botten ("The moon at the bottom of the well"), Carlssons, Stockholm. /Translations of Japanese poetry into Swedish/

1997 Japansk organisationskultur ("The culture of Japanese Organizations"), Carlssons, Stockholm.

1998  Suêden kara mita Nihon no sugao ("The true face of Japan, a Swedish perspective"), Meynard, Tokyo.   

1998  (Ed.) Den Östra Huvudstaden ("The Capital of the East"), Carlssons, Stockholm.

2000 Icke brännbara sopor – moderna japanska noveller (Translations of modern Japanese short stories into Swedish), En Bok för Alla, Stockholm.

2002 (Ed. with commentary) Taneda Santôka kushû (”Poems by Taneda Santôka”), Geirin Shobô, Tokyo.

2003 Japansk haiku, världens kortaste diktform, (”Japanese haiku, the shortest form of poetry in the world”) Carlssons, Stockholm.

2004 En annans ansikte (”The face of
another”, translation together with Leif Janzon of Abe Kôbô’s novel Tanin no kao into Swedish), Lind och Co, Stockholm.

2006 Japan – makt och tanke ("Japan – power and thought"), Carlssons, Stockholm.

2007 Fri, translation of the Japanese novel “Out” by Natsuo Kirino, Bra Böcker.

2008 Ljudlöst stiger gryningen - Tio svenska haikupoeter (“The dawn rises without a sound - Ten Swedish Haiku Poets” – Editor and contributor with 50 poems), Östasieninstitutet, Stockholm.

Numerous articles in Swedish, English and Japanese.