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Ken Howery has spent half his life in Silicon Valley, in sunny California. Now look towards the Djurgårdsbrunn canal in the gray that in Sweden is called day.
The American ambassador has chosen Stockholm, even though he has many other opportunities in life.
He is on the list of the richest men in the world of the American magazine Forbes. He founded the payment services company Pay Pal together with, among others, Elon Musk and Peter Thiel; then they sold the company to Ebay.
Peter Thiel is a strong supporter of Donald Trump and contributed to his election campaign. President Trump, in turn, appointed Ken Howery as Stockholm’s ambassador. Just over a year ago, he moved into the American residence Villa Åkerlund, where he now made his own mark.
Photo: Barzan Dello
A work by Banksy is among the new paintings and he has built a lighted bar in the greenhouse. The leopard-print Odin cat comes down and looks at his master as he opens the balcony door.
Trump’s appointment of Howery it was political, even if the ambassador was not politically involved. But he has still followed the election campaign during the nights in Stockholm and, of course, he also heard Donald Trump questioning the election result.
What do you think of the elections? It went right?
– The politicians who fight for the presidency have the right to try all the possibilities that exist, he responds diplomatically.
Do you think the election result is correct?
– I am not involved in the political process. So it doesn’t really matter what you think. We have institutions that can handle this, he responds and points out that the voters have already elected Joe Biden.
Ken Howery has recently made headlines through his birthday party, where Elon Musk contracted COVID-19 (more on that later). But it is not the pandemic, the party, or the presidential elections that have dominated his workday.
Photo: Barzan Dello
When he receives a couple of days after Lucia, the Christmas atmosphere in the well decorated residence has been enhanced by a parliamentary vote on a drastic increase in funding for defense. The ambassador has followed him in detail, with great approval.
For the ambassador, it will be Swedish The defense decision is another link in the chain that links Sweden and the United States militarily closer to each other (a chain that often continues to Finland). In recent years, new declarations of intent have been drawn up and military exercises have been carried out. More are planned.
– It’s important to look at the plot, not just the words, says Ken Howery.
Sweden and the United States are working to make forces and systems work together, what the military calls interoperability. The ambassador points out that Sweden bought the American Patriot robotic system and the American Blackhawk helicopters. The United States Marine Corps has practiced in the winter weather in northern Sweden and last month Ken Howery was in the archipelago and saw US and Swedish special forces training together.
Photo: Barzan Dello
– There are many details that I cannot tell, because they are confidential. But I have seen with my own eyes how closely US and Swedish soldiers work, they really seem allies and morale is strong.
Sweden is a closer partner to NATO than even some of our NATO allies.
It may seem like a paradox that Donald Trump’s United States and Stefan Löfven’s Sweden have strengthened military ties. Many people associate Donald Trump with “America First” and the Swedish Social Democrats with the concept of freedom of alliance.
– Cooperation has deepened in the field of defense over the last four years. I think the image that the United States has withdrawn internationally is wrong. The president has made it clear that he wants to get involved internationally, to the extent reasonable and in our national interests, says Ken Howery.
What difference would it make if Sweden joined NATO?
– Of course, it is a decision for the Swedish people and Sweden to make. But I know that NATO would appreciate Swedish membership. Sweden is a closer partner to NATO than even some of our NATO allies.
Ken Howery says that Sweden and the United States have an increasingly consistent view of security threats in the world.
– Our countries are increasingly in agreement on issues such as Russia and its harmful activities, especially in Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia. The same applies to China and its harmful investments, human rights violations and the 5G problem.
The ambassador has worked hard during his more than a year in Sweden with what he calls pure 5G technology, in plain text such that China cannot use it.
Photo: Barzan Dello
– 5G will provide everything from advanced surgery to defense in the future. That technology will boost the economy. If a country decides to let a country like China run its 5G, I think they may regret it.
How?
– You can steal intellectual property, you can steal government secrets. You can even use 5G as a weapon and threaten to shut down the country’s 5G network if there is a disagreement between countries on human rights.
US chief intelligence officer John Ratcliffe has written that US allies using Huawei technology on the 5G network will not have access to US intelligence. If Sweden were excluded from this, the intelligence service would be seriously affected.
Have you given a similar message to Sweden?
– If a nearby nation has an insecure network, it can compromise secret information, he says and is silent for a time.
Photo: Barzan Dello
– I cannot reveal what positions of our government I have presented and not. But the US has said publicly that this is a consideration and in any case I am very happy that Sweden came to the same conclusion about 5G as the US, Britain and Australia.
Personally, I would have preferred to be in Sweden this year than anywhere else.
Ken Howery has not had an easy entry into the diplomatic world of Stockholm; I hadn’t been here long when the pandemic broke out and most of it was canceled.
Since then, Sweden has become a controversial host country. Our corona strategy has been a recurring theme in the American media.
– Some articles say that Sweden has made a mistake, others that we should copy you. We don’t know what’s right until we get out of the pandemic and see all the consequences, says Ken Howery.
– Personally, I would rather be in Sweden this year than anywhere else. In any case, you have some elements of normal life, even if you have to adjust and put off a lot.
But the latter did not apply to the 45th anniversary party described in a castle near Eskilstuna in early November. Ambassador Howery was criticized by the infection control doctor in Sörmland for the party, which became famous because Ken Howery’s good friend Elon Musk was infected with COVID-19 there.
Photo: Barzan Dello
Do you regret the party?
– I planned a small meeting, below the limit of 50 people who then applied. I took a lot of precautions, went beyond the recommendations and implemented it in the safest way possible. But with the result in hand, he probably should have made another decision, he says now.
Do you want to continue as an ambassador?
– I would like to stay. I love work, I have excellent relationships with the government, political parties, the military, directors, and have made lifelong friends here.
Now it is up to new President Joe Biden to decide who will be allowed to live in Villa Åkerlund for the next four years.
