19.2 Criteria for a nominee of a head of consulate

The nominee should:

• be a reputable, well-established and self-supporting person with an unblemished record and a well-developed network of contacts in Sweden as well as in the country he/she will represent;
• be professionally active;
• not already be an honorary consular officer of another sending State;
• not hold an office of profit or trust under the government, county, or municipality, or be an elected member of a Swedish political assembly, in order to avoid a conflict of interests;
• preferably have Swedish citizenship or hold a Swedish residence permit;
• reside and be registered in the area where recognition is granted;
• provide an office in the consular district, with standard equipment such as telephone, telefax, internet and email, regular office hours.

Given the current ratio of women heads of consular missions in Sweden, female nominees are encouraged.

If the head of a consular post is unable to carry out his/her functions or the position of head of consular post is vacant, an acting head of post may act provisionally as head of the consular post. As a general rule in such cases, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs must be notified in advance.