From computer salesman at Ericsson to the ambassador for Sweden in the Philippines
Harald Fries began his career as a researcher in economics. He then worked as a computer salesman at Ericsson in Stockholm where he met his wife Susan from the Philippines. Today he is Sweden's ambassador to the Philippine capital Manila.
Harald has had the privilege of trying out 3 completely different jobs in his professional career. After completing his studies in the Master of Business Administration at the Stockholm School of Economics, he focused on research in economics.
I realized after a couple of years that research, in a relatively narrow area, was not my thing. I'm too curious about that. I am more of a generalist who constantly wants to learn new things and I have also always had a great interest in traveling and discovering other countries and people. So I redirected my career to business and started as a computer salesman at Ericsson, says Harald.
Meanwhile, at Ericsson, Harald met Susan and love arose. The couple agreed that Sweden was not the final destination of their journey in life, Harald says. One day he saw an advertisement in a newspaper that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs was looking for staff for its program for diplomats. Harald thought this sounded very interesting, applied for the education, and was accepted for a 2-year education on-site at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm.
After completing my education in Stockholm, I was stationed at the embassy in Manila as the first ambassadorial secretary. I worked mostly with consular and administrative tasks at that time. It was a good foundation for my future as a diplomat. I have since had the privilege of working in Stockholm, Geneva, and New York before I once again had the chance to return to the newly opened embassy in Manila and now as an Ambassador, says Harald.
Harald goes on to say that life as a diplomat has suited him, especially with his curiosity for people and new cultures. He further describes the difference between his first stationing in Manila and the current one. The Philippines was much less developed at the beginning of my assignment and the country stood more or less still in development for almost 25 years. The large Swedish export companies were already in place then, but today it looks different.
The Philippines has had a fantastic development in the last 10-15 years and relations with Sweden have developed a lot. Today, there are twice as many large companies on site, but the biggest difference is that there are significantly more Swedish entrepreneurs here who run small and medium-sized companies. An example is Onlinefactory, which operates in the outsourcing of customer support, influencer marketing and content management for Swedish e-commmerce companies, says Harald.
Harald believes that the progressive development will continue for the Philippines and that relations with Sweden will be expanded and further strengthened. It is not only through the business activities that relations between the countries have been strengthened but also through increased tourism from Sweden to the Philippines. So far, tourism is at a very low level in comparison with Thailand, for instance. However, there is a great untapped potential for the future.
The pandemic has at the moment stopped the development completely. It's frustrating in my job as a diplomat where networking is the most central tool for strengthening relationships. Closed borders, no conferences, limited physical meetings, and the likes of course slow down development. But when this turns around at some point in the future, I look positively at the development of the Philippines and for increased relations between the Philippines and Sweden. I am passionate about continuing to develop these relationships - I have stood with one foot each in both of these countries for over 35 years now, Harald concludes.
In conclusion, Harald also says that he has now found a new favorite sport late in life -- floorball. He reveals that last season he jumped in and played a match with the Philippine champions OnlineFactory Orcas. He forever wrote himself into the history books by scoring a goal against the former champions, UMak. One of his sons, Carl-Fredrik, even represented the Philippine National Floorball team in 2019 wherein the Philippines' won its first medal (bronze) ever at the Asian Championships in the province of Laguna.
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