IN THE PROFESSION
In September 2018, a highly contested and
consequential parliamentary election was
held to determine the 349 members of the
Swedish National Assembly, the Riksdag.
Numerous Swedish nationals located in the
Atlanta area wanted to vote, and they came
to a law office in Buckhead to securely cast
their absentee ballots in early voting for the
candidates. A total of 52 Swedish nationals
lined up in the law firm’s lobby to exercise
their right to vote. The stringent formalities
and requirements for that democratic
process were monitored and overseen by
a member of the Atlanta Bar Association,
Tom Rosseland (Bodker, Ramsey, Andrews,
Winograd & Wildstein, PC), who serves as
Sweden’s Honorary Consul in Georgia and
is also currently Chair of the International
Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association.
To understand the role of Honorary
Counsul, one must understand its
signifigance. Foreign governments engaged
in diplomatic relations with the United
States locate their Embassies in Washington,
DC. Those Embassies will also often have
additional
diplomatic
representation
located across the US, especially in markets
with substantial business and a population
nexus to their home country. The largest
cities with “critical mass” business and
population centers such as New York,
Miami and Chicago will typically have a
full-time Consul General (Career Consul)
who is paid by and works directly for his
or her home country’s foreign service.
However, it is unwieldy for many countries
to have government employees located
in every state or region. Unlike Career
Consuls, Honorary Consuls usually do not
address public policy or political matters,
since those are delegated to the Embassy
and its press and public policy sections, as
well as to the Ambassador.
Honorary Consul are involved with
personal and business matters such as:
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Trade and business promotion and
hosting of trade delegations and their
representatives
Issuance of emergency/temporary
passports (for lost/stolen/expired
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passports)
Passport pick-up (certain countries
require their nationals to physically
pick up their passport at the Consulate)
Registration of children born in the
U.S. to foreign nationals so that they
can get dual citizenship (where allowed
by treaty)
Procurement of the equivalent of a
Social Security Number issued by the
home country for children born in the
U.S.
Assistance with inquiries and
facilitation of work and travel visas
Involvement with DNA testing
and verifications for paternity
determination and surrogate adoptions
Annual “proof of life” verifications
required for foreign nationals to
continue receiving pensions from their
government
Assistance (at the request of the
Embassy or Ministry of Foreign
Affairs) with nationals in detention in
federal or local facilities
Assistance to families trying to bring
back the remains of loved ones who
have died while living in or visiting the
U.S.
Certifications for the reflagging of Atlanta and other parts of Georgia. There
is a busy calendar of social, diplomatic
and business events to which the various
Consuls are invited.
cargo vessels or other such capital
equipment being entered into that
country’s registry How did you become a Honorary
Consulate?
The Atlanta Consular Corps is often
included on VIP lists for various state,
city and international functions hosted in
In Georgia, there are 26 Career Consuls and
46 Honorary Consuls. Several of Georgia’s
Honorary Consuls are also Atlanta Bar
members who provide these services
through their law firm office locations.
Rosseland and fellow Atlanta Bar members
Christopher Smith and John Parkerson,
Jr. (Hall Booth Smith, PC) are featured
below.
Tom
Rosseland
Sweden and Norway
Attorney Tom Rosseland is
unique as Georgia’s only Consul
to serve two nations, the
Kingdom of Sweden and the
Kingdom of Norway.
I became Honorary Consul for Sweden
due to my active role on the Board of the
Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce,
and my subsequent dual appointment as
www.atlantabar.org THE ATLANTA LAWYER
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