Editing Carl Bildt (section)

==Activities==
===Work in private sector===

{{BLP one source|section|date=September 2015}}

After leaving his position as leader of the Moderate Party in 1999, other than engaging in international issues, Bildt took positions in the private sector and positions with international [[think tanks]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bruegel.org/author/carl-bildt/|title=Carl Bildt {{!}} Bruegel|date=3 September 2018 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-23}}</ref> His positions in think tanks included serving as the first non-US member on the Board of Trustees of the [[RAND Corporation]] in [[Santa Monica, California]], and on the Advisory Board of the [[Centre for European Reform]] in London. He was a member of the board of the European Policy Centre in [[Brussels]], the [[International Institute for Strategic Studies]] in London, and the International Advisory Board of the Council on Foreign Affairs in New York.

Bildt served as non-executive director of the Baltimore-based US assets management company [[Legg Mason, Inc.]] He served as chairman of the board of [[Teleopti]] and chairman of the public affairs consultancy [[Kreab]] AB, and board member of the IT consultancy HiQ AB. He was chairman of Nordic Venture Network, which brought Nordic high-tech VC firms together in an informal network.

In 2000, Bildt joined the [[Lundin Petroleum|Lundin Group]]'s board of directors, a company with oil interests in [[Ethiopia]] and [[Sudan]] – the seven years with the Lundin Group that followed made Bildt a wealthy man.<ref>[https://www.thelocal.se/20111222/38102 ''Lundin may have led Bildt to the heart of darkness''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819093517/https://www.thelocal.se/20111222/38102 |date=19 August 2017 }}. The Local, 22 December 2011</ref>

From March to November 2000, Bildt was part of an independent panel – together with [[Jean Peyrelevade]] and [[Lothar Späth]] – to advise the [[European Space Agency]]'s Director General [[Antonio Rodotà]] on the organization's future.<ref>[https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Corporate_news/Report_of_the_Wise_Men_disclosed_in_Paris_today_Towards_a_Space_Agency_for_the_European_Union Report of the “Wise Men” disclosed in Paris today: Towards a Space Agency for the European Union] [[European Space Agency]], press release of November 09, 2000.</ref>

In 2002, Bildt joined the board of directors of [[Vostok Nafta]], a financial company primarily with holdings in [[Gazprom]].

He left his positions on all these boards upon becoming Foreign Minister in October 2006

===Bosnian war mediator criticisms===

Though decorated for his services in the Bosnian conflict and its immediate aftermath by Great Britain, France, and Germany, his mediation of the conflict and aftermath was castigated as well as celebrated.

Bildt opposed any military intervention and criticized the former British prime minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] in 1993 for calling [[NATO]] to intervene against the Bosnian Serb forces, which led to the ''[[Sunday Times]]'' describing Bildt and other EU leaders as "robotic political pygmies" and their acceptance of the ongoing genocide as "shameful".<ref name="AP">{{cite news|first=Per|last=Ahlmark|author-link=Per Ahlmark|url=https://www.dn.se/ledare/kolumner/du-vet-ju-hur-carl-ar/|title=Du vet ju hur Carl är|work=[[Dagens Nyheter]]|date=24 October 2006|language=sv|access-date=28 March 2009}}</ref>

Following Bildt's appointment as the EU special envoy to Yugoslavia, Tom Warrick from the [[Coalition for International Justice]] described Bildt as "dangerously misinformed about his own job description" and largely ignorant about the region.<ref name="D-SD">{{cite news|first=Dilsa|last=Demirbag-Sten|url=http://expressen.se/index.jsp?a=719362|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614215230/http://expressen.se/index.jsp?a=719362|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 June 2011|title=Oförebildtlig|newspaper=[[Expressen]]|date=16 October 2006|language=sv}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hri.org/news/balkans/bosnet/1996/96-01-07_1.bos.html|title=BosNet Digest V5 No. 11|date=7 January 1996|publisher=Hri.org|access-date=12 June 2012}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' criticized Bildt for a nonchalant attitude towards the [[Srebrenica genocide]] when over 8,000 [[Bosniak]]s were killed,<ref name="D-SD"/> and described him as being burdened with a reputation for accepting Bosnian Serb claims of good behavior at face value and overlooking evidence of atrocities against civilians.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/17/opinion/mr-bildt-s-responsibility-in-bosnia.html?ref=carlbildt|title=Mr. Bildt's Responsibility in Bosnia|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=17 December 1995}}</ref>

===Middle East===

Bildt has been questioned for his role as a member of the International Advisory Council of the [[Committee for the Liberation of Iraq]], a group with ties to the [[George W. Bush administration|Bush administration]] pushing for an [[Iraq War|invasion of Iraq in 2003]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/kultur/story/0,2789,918495,00.html|title=Vad Carl Bildt gjort för kriget|newspaper=[[Aftonbladet]]|first=Mikael|last=Nyberg|date=27 October 2006|language=sv|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070124095825/http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/kultur/story/0,2789,918495,00.html|archive-date=24 January 2007|df=dmy-all}}.</ref>

On 8 April 2008, during his visit in [[Israel]] and the [[Palestinian Authority]], Bildt gave an interview to Swedish state radio, where he responded to a question on whether it would be possible to strike a peace deal without the involvement of the Palestinian group [[Hamas]], which remained under international boycott. He responded that the Palestinian [[Fatah]]-backed government could deal with Israel, in the same way that it was possible for the Israeli government to make peace with Fatah over the objections of the former Israeli prime minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], who, similarly to Hamas opposed a two-state deal. Israeli officials issued very strongly worded condemnations of this, describing it as "horrible and stupid" and an example of "chutzpah" and "complete ignorance of the Middle East", on the grounds that they saw it as comparing Hamas and Netanyahu as equals.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1207649975283&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |first=Gil |last=Hoffman |title=Swedish FM likens Netanyahu to Hamas |date=10 April 2008 |access-date=28 March 2009 |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] }}{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 2012, Bildt said he saw no problem with exporting [[List of major arms industry corporations by country|Swedish weapons]] to [[Saudi Arabia]]. According to Bildt, "Would the situation in the world be better if they had bought French manufactured ones instead?" Bildt called friendly Saudi Arabia as a "family business" and said that he sees Saudi Prince [[Turki bin Faisal Al Saud]] "quite regularly".<ref>{{cite news |title=Saudi Arabia a 'family business': Bildt |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20120404/40080 |work=The Local |date=4 April 2012 |access-date=21 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122051747/https://www.thelocal.se/20120404/40080 |archive-date=22 November 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2015, Bildt criticized Sweden's foreign minister [[Margot Wallström]] for damaging Saudi-Swedish relations. Wallström tweeted criticism of Saudi Arabia's flogging of Saudi blogger and activist [[Raif Badawi]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Clash between Sweden and Saudi Arabia escalates as ambassador is withdrawn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/11/clash-sweden-saudi-arabia-escalates-ambassador-withdrawn-human-rights |work=The Guardian |date=11 March 2015}}</ref>

===Annexation of Crimea===

[[File:Carl Bildt in IIR 2.jpg|thumb|Bildt visiting the Ukrainian capital, [[Kyiv]], 11 April 2014.]]

[[File:EU28-2013-Eastern Partnership.svg|thumb|Map of the EU 28 in 2013: [[Eastern Partnership]].]]

Bildt, together with Polish Foreign Minister [[Radosław Sikorski]], was one of the main architects of the 2013 [[Eastern Partnership|Eastern policy of the EU]].<ref name=pew>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21590585-success-eastern-partnership-depends-ukraine-playing-east-against-west|title=Playing East against West: The success of the Eastern Partnership depends on Ukraine|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=23 November 2013}}</ref>

During [[Euromaidan]], Carl Bildt has been criticized in Swedish media for ignoring and downplaying the issues with the Ukrainian [[Svoboda (political party)|Svoboda]] party.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kälvemark|first=Torsten|title=Svoboda luktar fascism|url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/kultur/article18491483.ab|access-date=9 March 2014|newspaper=[[Aftonbladet]]|date=6 March 2014}}</ref><ref name=Croneman>{{cite news|last=Croneman|first=Johan|title=Johan Croneman: SVT har inte haft en självständig utrikes-analytiker på flera decennier|url=https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/johan-croneman-svt-har-inte-haft-en-sjalvstandig-utrikes-analytiker-pa-flera-decennier/|access-date=9 March 2014|newspaper=[[Dagens Nyheter]]|date=4 March 2014|language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Svensson|first=Niklas|title=Bildt: "Det kunde varit lite mindre underläge"|url=http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/bildt-det-kunde-varit-lite-mindre-underlage/|access-date=9 March 2014|newspaper=Expressen|date=9 March 2014 |language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Kärrman|first=Jens|title=Bildt pressades om Svoboda|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/bildt-pressades-om-svoboda/|access-date=14 March 2014|newspaper=[[Dagens Nyheter]]|date=14 March 2014|language=sv}}</ref> Johan Croneman at ''[[Dagens Nyheter]]'' has also condemned Bildt for pushing Prime Minister [[Fredrik Reinfeldt]] to rephrase himself after having expressed understanding of the Russians' concerns about the situation.<ref name=Croneman/>

In a public message on [[Twitter]], Bildt compared [[Viktor Yanukovych]] to [[Vidkun Quisling]], writing that he was "sitting on foreign soil begging a foreign army to give his country to him". This has been described as "undiplomatic" by Christer Jönsson, professor in Political Science at the [[Lund University]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Bildts Quisling-tweet förvånar|url=http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/bildts-quisling-tweet-forvanar_3327116.svd|access-date=9 March 2014|newspaper=[[Svenska Dagbladet]]|date=4 March 2014 |language=sv}}</ref> Norwegian politician [[Anniken Huitfeldt]] also criticized Bildt's statement, saying that it showed "ignorance of history" and that it "does not contribute to solving the conflict".<ref>{{cite news|last=Goldberg|first=Leonard|title=Bildt får skarp kritik för Quisling-tweet|url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article18485396.ab|access-date=9 March 2014|newspaper=[[Aftonbladet]]|date=5 March 2014 |language=sv}}</ref> Torsten Kälvemark from ''[[Aftonbladet]]'' has criticized Bildt's statement as well. "Our Foreign Minister is ignorant, because it was actually [[Norway]]'s legal head of state, [[Haakon VII of Norway|Haakon VII]], that during the war sat on foreign soil and hoped that he would with help from the British get back his country", he remarked.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kälvemark|first=Torsten|title=Så sprids fördomar om krisen på Krim|url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/kultur/article18649269.ab|access-date=3 April 2014|newspaper=[[Aftonbladet]]|date=2 April 2014 |language=sv}}</ref> The culture editorial of the ''[[Aftonbladet]]'' newspaper where Torsten Kälvemark works has repeatedly been criticized since for being a tool of Russian propaganda in Sweden.<ref>{{cite news|title=Aftonbladet Kultur kritiseras för att sprida Putins världsbild|url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=478&artikel=6604477|access-date=26 June 2017|newspaper=[[Sveriges Radio]]|date=7 January 2017|language=sv|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020153401/http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=478&artikel=6604477|archive-date=20 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Aftonbladets Ukraina-journalistik väcker frågor|url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=478&artikel=5995983s|access-date=26 June 2017|newspaper=[[Sveriges Radio]]|date=7 January 2017|language=sv}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

[[Stefan Hedlund]], professor at [[Uppsala University]], stated that "Carl Bildt's threatening rhetoric should in this context be regarded as extremely destructive", in an article about the [[Russo-Ukrainian war]]. Hedlund also suggested that Bildt should take a "time-out", and that progress can only be made through dialogue with Russia.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hedlund|first=Stefan|title=Enda vägen framåt är dialog med Ryssland|url=http://www.svd.se/opinion/brannpunkt/enda-vagen-framat-ar-dialog-med-ryssland_3354194.svd|access-date=22 September 2015|newspaper=[[Svenska Dagbladet]]|date=12 March 2014|language=sv}}</ref>

In a radio interview with channel [[Sveriges Radio|SR P1]] on 15 March, Bildt stated that he considers the [[2014 Crimean referendum|Crimean referendum]] illegal, and "invalid, no matter which way people vote". He continued his refusal to answer questions about [[Svoboda (political party)|Svoboda]], saying that he "won't describe what that party is". His overall comment on the new regime in [[Kyiv]] was that it was a "reasonable and democratic government" and that he does not want to "play along with Russian propaganda".<ref>{{cite web|title=Bildt: Crimea referendum illegal|url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=5810626|access-date=15 March 2014|publisher=[[Sveriges Radio]]|date=15 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324053031/http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=5810626|archive-date=24 March 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In early 2015, a study made at the [[Swedish Defence Research Agency]] stated that Bildt had been a target of [[information warfare]] and that he was "regularly smeared in Russian state-controlled media". The reason was described to be Bildt's involvement in the [[Eastern Partnership]] program and that the project was perceived as a threat by the Russian government.<ref name=DN-FOI>{{cite news|last1=Sundberg|first1=Marit|title=FOI: Så försökte Ryssland smutskasta Bildt|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/varlden/foi-sa-forsokte-ryssland-smutskasta-bildt/|access-date=12 March 2015|publisher=[[Dagens Nyheter]]|date=12 March 2015|language=sv}}</ref><ref name=Franke15>{{cite book|last1=Franke|first1=Ulrik|title=War by non-military means: Understanding Russian information warfare|date=2015|publisher=Försvarsdepartementet/Ministry of Defence|location=Sweden|url=http://foi.se/Global/Press%20och%20nyheter/War%20by%20non-military%20means.pdf|access-date=12 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319001452/http://foi.se/Global/Press%20och%20nyheter/War%20by%20non-military%20means.pdf|archive-date=19 March 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In September 2015, Bildt visited [[Kyiv]], where he argued that the EU should provide more financial support to Ukraine.<ref name=reuters-20150914>{{cite news|url=http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/09/14/europeans-not-grasping-the-importance-of-ukraine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915061554/http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/09/14/europeans-not-grasping-the-importance-of-ukraine/|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 September 2015|title=Europeans 'not grasping' the importance of Ukraine|author=John Lloyd|work=Reuters|date=14 September 2015|access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref>