The Government has appointed Ambassador Andreas von Beckerath as Director-General and head of Sweden's foreign intelligence service, UND (Utrikes underrättelsetjänsten, Sweden's new Foreign Intelligence Service). Annika Brändström will become Deputy Director-General when the new agency begins operations on 1 January 2027. Both will take up their posts on 1 January 2027, at the same time as UND commences its activities. Their appointments run until 31 December 2032.
Andreas von Beckerath currently serves as Sweden's EU Ambassador in Belgrade and has previously served as ambassador in Warsaw and Kyiv, the Government states in a press release. He has also headed the Ministry for Foreign Affairs' unit for Eastern Europe and Central Asia and served at several Swedish diplomatic missions abroad.
"They both have extensive experience in foreign and security policy and are extremely well suited to building up the new organisation and developing its operations in a way that strengthens Swedish intelligence capability in both the short and long term," says Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard in the press release.
Annika Brändström currently serves as special investigator tasked with preparing the establishment of UND. She has previously served as deputy national security adviser and held several positions within the Government Offices with responsibility for, among other things, crisis management, security and preparedness.
As Deputy Director-General, Brändström will have particular focus on technical innovation, strategic capability development and cooperation with other stakeholders in the field. Von Beckerath, as Director-General, will hold overall responsibility for the agency's operations.
NDS has followed the work on the new agency since the Government appointed Carl Bildt to lead an intelligence inquiry in October 2023. In October 2025, the Government proceeded with the proposal for a new civilian foreign intelligence service and tasked Annika Brändström with preparing its establishment. In May 2026, NDS reported on the referral to the Council on Legislation regarding UND's regulatory framework, and on 20 August the Committee on Foreign Affairs endorsed the legislative amendments required for the agency to commence operations on 1 January 2027.