originally proposed de Greiff assume the post of Colombian Ambassador to Sweden, but President Lleras Camargo resisted this, considering him to be too “bohemian” to represent the nation in that post. This bohemian and independent quality put him at odds with the appointed ambassador while de Greiff was serving as secretary, especially for his indiscretions regarding a relationship he had with the Chinese Embassy, which he frequented on various occasions at their invitation. This was a breach of protocol as Bogotá did not maintain diplomatic relations with Beijing at that time. After the ambassador left his post, de Greiff became the Chargés d’affaires ad interim. While in Sweden, de Greiff gained fame and popularity and even maintained a friendship with His Majesty King Gustaf VI Adolf, who in 1964 awarded him the Order of the Polar Star in the grade of Knight. In 1975 in recognition of his diplomatic work de Greiff was awarded the Order of San Carlos in the grade of Grand Officer by the Government of Colombia. Later life and death León de Greiff retired on October 1, 1963, and at that time he started to enjoy his modest pension after 34 years as a civil servant. No longer at the service of the government, de Greiff took an active interest in promoting literature and education in and out of the country. In 1965 de Greiff was awarded the Order of Boyaca with the rank of Commander, one of Colombia's highest honours. In 1974 he was made member correspondiente of the Academia Colombiana de la Lengua, and in 1974 honorary member of the Ministry of Culture’s Instituto Caro Y Cuervo. He also received various tributes including one from the Colombo-Argentinian Cultural Institute in 1955, (Instituto Cultural Colombo-Argentino), one from the National College of Journalists in 1961 (Colegio Nacional de Periodistas) presented by Gabriel García Márquez, an honoris causa doctorate in literature from the University of Valle on July 16, 1975, and in that same year another tribute from the National Association of Financial Institutions (Asociación Nacional de Instituciones Financieras, ANIF), presented to him by its then president Belisario Betancur. De Greiff traveled abroad, keeping with his cultural ambitions, and was part of the over 180 guest writers from 52 nations for the International Writer's Meeting organized by a West German writer's committee headed by Anna Seghers and Arnold Zweig in Berlin and Weimar. He also took part