Editing Carl Bildt (section)

==Minister for Foreign Affairs==

[[File:Bildt Rice 2006 10 24.jpg|thumb|Bildt with U.S. Secretary of State [[Condoleezza Rice]] in Washington, D.C., on 24&nbsp;October 2006.]]

[[File:Secretary Clinton Shakes Hands With Swedish Foreign Minister Bildt (5675745267).jpg|thumb|Bildt with U.S. Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]] in Washington, D.C., on 29&nbsp;April 2011.]]

On 6 October 2006, Bildt was appointed as [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Sweden)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] in the newly formed [[cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt]]. This was seen by many as a surprising move.  Not only had Bildt already served both as prime minister and as leader of the Moderate Party, but he and Reinfeldt had previous antipathy.<ref name=DN>{{cite news|first=Christina |last=Kellberg |title=Berättelsen om Fredrik Reinfeldt |work=[[Dagens Nyheter]] |date=18 September 2006 |access-date=4 July 2009 |url=http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=2390&a=573767 |language=sv |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001002553/http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=2390&a=573767 |archive-date=1 October 2007 |df=dmy }}</ref> He retained this post following the [[2010 Swedish general election|2010 general election]].

During his time in office, Bildt was widely credited with steering efforts to set up the EU's [[Eastern Partnership]] in 2008.<ref>Marja Novak (September 1, 2008), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-georgia-ossetia-eu-partnership-idUSL137059420080901 New EU Eastern Partnership seen leaving out Russia] ''[[Reuters]]''.</ref><ref name="ft.com">Richard Milne (June 4, 2014), [https://www.ft.com/content/dfe6f270-e268-11e3-89fd-00144feabdc0 Realist Carl Bildt helps Sweden punch above its weight] ''[[Financial Times]]''.</ref> When Sweden held the rotating [[presidency of the Council of the European Union]] in 2009, he chaired the sessions of the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council.<ref name="nytimes.com">[[Alison Smale]] and Stephen Castle (July 6, 2009), [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/world/europe/07iht-profile.html A Diplomat's Reputation for Blunt Speaking] ''[[International Herald Tribune]]''.</ref> For several years, he was widely seen as a candidate to become the first [[High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy]] under the new rules established by the [[Treaty of Lisbon]];<ref>Simon Taylor (September 27, 2006), [https://www.politico.eu/article/foreign-ministries-eye-up-solanas-job/ Foreign ministries eye up Solana’s job] ''[[European Voice]]''.</ref><ref name="nytimes.com"/> instead, the role went to [[Catherine Ashton]].

Bildt later supported the [[2011 military intervention in Libya]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.swedishwire.com/politics/9022-sweden-backs-up-nato-request-on-libya |title=Sweden backs up NATO request on Libya |publisher=Swedishwire |access-date=2 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110321105016/http://www.swedishwire.com/politics/9022-sweden-backs-up-nato-request-on-libya |archive-date=21 March 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> On 29 March, the government approved the deployment of [[JAS 39 Gripen]] multirole jet fighters to [[Libya]] to enforce the no-fly zone.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thelocal.se/32886/20110329/|agency=The Local|date=29 March 2011|title=Government yes to Gripen deployment}}</ref>

Following the [[2014 European Parliament election|2014 European election]]s, the ''[[Financial Times]]'' and other news media considered Bildt as a potential candidate to succeed Ashton as High Representative;<ref name="ft.com"/><ref>[https://www.ft.com/content/97311838-2dd3-11e4-b330-00144feabdc0 Europe’s next foreign policy chief] ''[[Financial Times]]'', August 27, 2014.</ref> this time, the position went to [[Federica Mogherini]].

Bildt lost his post after the [[2014 Swedish general election|2014 general election]], and moved on to become a board member of the [[International Crisis Group]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Byström|first1=Max|title=Bildt får nytt uppdrag|url=http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/bildt-far-toppjobb_4091129.svd|access-date=17 December 2014|date=11 November 2014|language=sv}}</ref>

=== Turkey ===

{{Main|Accession of Turkey to the European Union|Turkey–European Union relations}}

Bildt was as foreign minister in 2007 an active supporter for Turkey to join the EU. He called [[Istanbul]] a "true center of European history" and called [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Kemal Atatürk]] "undoubtedly the most significant European revolutionary of the last century" in 2004. Bildt's campaign for Turkey's EU membership was controversial in central Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/11/news/sweden.php|title=Top Swedish official backs Turkey for EU|date=11 Dec 2006|website=[[International Herald Tribune]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015125225/http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/11/news/sweden.php|archive-date=15 October 2007|access-date=17 Nov 2019}}</ref>

EU membership of Turkey was hindered by its government not recognizing Cyprus, an EU member along with reservations from the [[President of France]], [[Nicolas Sarkozy]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/23/world/europe/23iht-ankara.4.6789285.html|title=European nations urge Turkey to stay on EU course|date=2007-07-23|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-11-19|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In November 2014 Bildt was criticised for having written an opinion piece in ''[[Dagens industri]]'' newspaper where [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] was described as being "on the right track" despite the persecution of Kurds and political opponents and jailed journalists in Turkey.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/4dWrEe|title=Stå rakryggad mot Erdogan i dag, Bildt|website=Aftonbladet|date=7 November 2013 |language=sv|access-date=2019-11-19}}</ref>

===South Ossetian conflict===

After the [[2008 South Ossetia war]], Bildt wrote on his blog that the Russian rationale for its intervention, concern for the welfare of its expatriates in the [[Near abroad|Near Abroad]], had similarities with the rationale for the annexation of [[Sudetenland]].<ref name=sudet>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8281990.stm|title=Georgia 'started unjustified war'|work=[[BBC News]]|date=30 September 2009}}</ref> Bildt called [[South Ossetia]]n independence "a joke", and said it would be supported only by a "miserable" lot of countries.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/155c31fa-745f-11dd-bc91-0000779fd18c.html?nclick_check=1|title=Kremlin told that move could backfire|newspaper=[[Financial Times]]|date=27 August 2008}}</ref>