It is with heavy heart I want to tell you that Mohammed Knut Bernström has died. May Allah give you Jennah my brother! Ameen.
Meddie.
Knut Bernström DN 091019
Mohammed Knut Bernström, Larache, Morocco, has died at the age of 89 years. Knut Bernström devoted 46 years of his life in foreign service with the last post in Rabat 1976-83. He joined an illustrious career with an exceptional ability to penetrate foreign cultures, absorb their essence and communicate it further.
Language is key, he would say, and quoted like the classical Arabic saying: "A nation is its culture. Losing the culture, it loses itself."
Knut Bernström was my first manager at the Foreign Office's former commerce department and later as ambassador in Madrid. I shared his interest in languages, other cultures and human rights issues. We got a good contact was maintained sporadically after his retirement. Knut's intellect was razor sharp and he was a brilliant negotiator.
As head of the Foreign Ministry's trade department, he had high standards of objective perfection and formal rigor. He was a charismatic supervisor, and enjoyed the unqualified respect for his skills from our staff. During the latter part of his life Knut converted to Islam.
He completed over ten years, the monumental, self-imposed task of interpreting the Quran from classical Arabic into Swedish, "Quranic message in Swedish translation of Mohammed, Knut Bernström." This culture of achievement and contribution to religion and religious tolerance demanded just such a unique human being No formal skills can replace discretion and wisdom. Knut Bernström possessed both highly and they relaxed the move of the severity of his character.
He was interested in their staff; certainly without ever dropping behind in the future hierarchical distance of UD fabric. He did not hesitate to intervene in the staff caring order to straighten up injustices. Knut was an integer and fair-minded man with unusually deep.
During his successful career, he never set aside his quest for the foundations of ethics in different cultures. This life-orientation was visible in his religious roots and its prominent cultural effort. We colleagues should remember him.
Anders Sandström
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