Swedish security adviser loses notebook at Ankara Nato summit
Sweden’s top security adviser left a notebook at the Nato summit in Turkey, raising fresh concerns about Stockholm’s security culture just months after a similar scandal forced his predecessor out.
Niclas Kvarnström, Sweden’s government security adviser, left a notebook in Nato meeting rooms during last week’s summit in Ankara. The Government Offices confirmed the incident but have refused to disclose exactly what the notes contained. As of Wednesday lunchtime, the notebook had not been recovered.
Kvarnström downplayed the lapse, noting the incident occurred in premises where Nato handles security. "It is true that in connection with the Nato summit in Ankara, I left a notebook in the NATO meeting rooms, it contained my notes. This took place in premises where Nato is responsible for security," he wrote in a statement. "Nato has procedures for handling left-behind material."
The adviser stated that the Government Offices' civil servants' organisation concluded no damage assessment is required under security regulations. Authorities declined to say whether any classified information was inside. Kvarnström, however, maintained the notes were unclassified.
For European defence and diplomacy, the location and timing of the loss carry specific commercial weight. Jörgen Holmlund, a security expert and intelligence analysis teacher at the Swedish National Defence University, noted that seemingly open information can become highly sensitive when aggregated. "What you have in your notebook may be perceived as open information, such as certain meeting notes. But aggregated with important things that concern Sweden's position in Nato, positions, the sale of Global Eye, it becomes a number of business cards, meetings, which picture by picture can be sensitive," Holmlund told newswire TT.
Turkey remains a particularly delicate environment for Swedish officials. Stockholm's prolonged and difficult process to join the Nato alliance heavily involved Turkish political and defence interests. Leaving behind material in Ankara, even in a secure Nato zone, risks exposing diplomatic or commercial leverage.
Holmlund argued that an official investigation is necessary despite the government's reluctance. "You should always make a damage assessment and an audit of how we have acted and what conclusions we can draw," he said. He called the incident embarrassing, adding: "My first thought was 'oh no, not again'. Because I don't think this should be allowed to happen."
That sense of déjà vu stems from the resignation of Kvarnström’s predecessor, Henrik Landerholm, in January 2025. Landerholm stepped down after leaving documents containing classified information at a conference centre. He was acquitted of negligence with classified information in a district court, but the case is scheduled for the Court of Appeal in September.
