Sir Donald Peterson – Honorary Swedish Consul Emeritus
The historic University Club in downtown Denver was the setting for a September 18, 2024 elegant reception and Smörgåsbord soiree in honor of the retirement of Sir Donald Peterson as the Honorary Consul for Sweden, covering Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming.
The joyous event was attended by diplomats from the Consular Corps of Colorado, as well as admirers of the consular services provided on a voluntary basis by Donald over the past 40 years. Donald is the longest-standing Honorary Consul for Sweden in the United States.
In recognition of his continuous years of dedicated voluntary service on behalf of the Swedish people and promotion of Swedish-American business and cultural interests, Donald was knighted by Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf, with an award of the Royal Order of the Polar Star Medal, First and Second Class and Commander levels.
The reception guests enjoyed a bountiful Smörgåsbord, prepared by Chef Brendan at the University Club, which included gravlax with mustard sauce, Swedish meatballs with lingonberries, pickled herring in cream sauce, Hasselback potatoes, a tomato and goat cheese salad and assorted deserts! Musical entertainment was provided by the Killian Jazz Trio.
Donald’s legacy as Honorary Consul for Sweden in the U.S. spreads over three generations and began with his grandfather, Enoch Peterson, who immigrated to Colorado from Sweden in 1914. Enoch printed and published the Swedish Western News, a weekly newspaper serving the interests of local Swedes. The newspaper helped establish Swedish Hospital in Englewood, which originated with treatment for tuberculosis provided by a Swedish physician, Dr. Charles A. Bundsen. The hospital was supported by seven local Swedish churches, each of which ran columns in Enoch’s newspaper, which was essentially the Facebook of the time, with notices of church news of births, deaths, marriages and related social events.
When the last issue of the Swedish Western News was published in 1979, it ended a 50-year streak of the longest-published ethnic newspaper in Colorado. Shortly afterwards, the City of Denver condemned four square blocks in downtown, to make way for the Colorado Convention Center, which included the building where the Swedish Western News printing plant was located. Because no one wanted the huge, outmoded newspaper printing presses and they were too large to easily move offsite, the City planners decided to bury the presses under the Convention Center, making quite an interesting time capsule for discovery by future generations!
Enoch was also a notary public and notarized job acceptance letters from the employment ads in his newspaper and thus, brought many Swedish immigrants to Colorado. Based on his years of dedication to Swedish people in Colorado, Enoch was knighted in the Order of Vasa by the King of Sweden in 1961.
Donald’s father, Glenn, took over handling Consulate matters upon Enoch’s retirement, based on an appointment as Honorary Consul by the King of Sweden. Donald’s appointment as Honorary Consul, which came in 1984 from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was primarily for the promotion of international trade and business relations between Sweden and Colorado. Accordingly, Donald formed the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce of Colorado, which he has maintained annually as an active, not-for-profit corporation with the Colorado Secretary of State.
During Donald’s tenure, he promoted extensive diplomatic and business relations between Sweden and Colorado, including arrangements for numerous visits to Colorado by such Swedish dignitaries and diplomats as King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and members of the royal family, the Swedish Prime Minister, Ambassadors and Consul Generals. Donald also arranged trade mission tours to Sweden by Colorado Governors, members of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade and entrepreneurs, to empower all to thrive in Colorado’s economy.
Donald’s promotion of international events and representation of Sweden included the visit by Pope John Paul II for World Youth Day in 1994, the opening of Denver International Airport in 1995, the Democratic National Convention in Denver in 2008, the opening of IKEA in Centennial in 2011 and the opening of the Swedish Viking Exhibition at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in 2017.
Donald is succeeded as the Honorary Swedish Consul for the Rocky Mountain District by Marie Forsberg Mare, who is a dual U.S.-Swedish citizen, residing in Colorado with her husband and son. Marie is the immediate past president of the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce of Colorado and was vetted by the U.S. Department of State with its recent investiture of the official authority for Marie to represent Sweden in the U.S.
Donald is also a long-standing columnist for The Villager and has contributed over 240 articles “About the Law”, published in the Senior Choices section. Donald’s law practice continues under his specialty of estate planning regarding probate and the preparation of wills, trusts, power of attorney documents, as well as the pursuit of Guardianships and Conservatorships. Donald’s law practice and the Honorary Consulate of Sweden offices will remain at 5675 DTC Blvd., Suite 250, Greenwood Village, CO 80111.