Major General Bo Gerhard Otto Varenius (3 November 1918 – 23 July 1996) was a senior Swedish Coastal Artillery officer. Varenius served as Chief of the Naval Staff from 1972 to 1984.
Bo Varenius | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Bo Gerhard Otto Varenius |
| Born | 3 November 1918 Stockholm, Sweden |
| Died | 23 July 1996 (aged 77) Danderyd, Sweden |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  Sweden |
| Service | Coastal Artillery (Swedish Navy) |
| Years of service | 1943–1984 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands |
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Early life
editVarenius was born on 3 November 1918 in Hedvig Eleonora Parish, Stockholm, Sweden,[1] the son of professor Otto Varenius and his wife Gurli Lindbäck.[2] Varenius passed studentexamen from the Latinlinjen in Stockholm in 1938, after which he began studying law at Stockholm University College and supplemented his studentexamen with science subjects. From 1939 to 1942, he did his military service and reserve officer training in the Swedish Coastal Artillery,[3] from which he receives a reserve officer degree in 1942.[4] He felt at home in the archipelago environment and saw it as a challenge to work with the problems with coastal defence. Varenius thus let go of the idea of studying law.[3]
Career
edit
Varenius was commissioned as an officer in 1943[3] with the rank of second lieutenant.[4] He was promoted lieutenant in 1944.[4] During his first years as an officer, he served in troop and staff positions in Karlskrona Coastal Artillery Regiment.[3] He attended the Staff Course and the Naval Mine Course[5] at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1950 to 1952 and he was promoted to captain in 1951 and served in the Naval Staff from 1956 to 1957. Varenius was promoted to major in 1960 and served in the Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration from 1960 to 1961, and then as head of department in the Defence Staff from 1961 to 1963[4] and attended the Swedish National Defence College in 1962.[2] He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1963 and was posted as head of the Coordination Department in the Ministry of Defence from 1963 to 1964.[4]
In 1964, Varenius was promoted to colonel, after which he served as commander of Gotland Coastal Artillery Defence with Gotland Coastal Artillery Corps between 1 October 1964 to 30 September 1966.[6] He then served from 1966 to 1970[4] as head of Section 1 in the Defence Staff, with responsibility for the Quartermaster Department and signal service.[5] Varenius served as chief of staff of the Lower Norrland Military District from 1970 to 1972 when he was promoted to major general and appointed Chief of the Naval Staff.[4] During his twelve years as Chief of the Naval Staff, Varenius participated in the major changes in the naval war organization during the transition from the destroyer era to the missile age, as well as from older coastal artillery batteries and mine units to fixed and mobile coastal artillery units.[3] Varenius retired in 1984.[4] After his retirement, he was the CEO of the humanitarian foundation SCAA.[3]
Personal life
editIn 1945, Varenius married the Sophia sister Lilian Koch (born 1921), the daughter of naval commander Harry Koch and Elisabeth (née Paulin). He was the father of Ann (1946–2008), Nils (born 1949), Helene (born 1950) and Björn (born 1954).[2]
Death
editVarenius died on 14 August 1996 in Danderyd.[1] He was interred on 5 September 1996 at Galärvarvskyrkogården in Stockholm.[7]
Dates of rank
edit- 1943 – Second lieutenant
- 1944 – Lieutenant
- 1951 – Captain
- 1960 – Major
- 1963 – Lieutenant colonel
- 1964 – Colonel
- 1972 – Major general
Awards and decorations
edit
Commander 1st Class of the Order of the Sword (6 June 1970)[8]
Commander of the Order of the Sword (11 November 1967)[9]
Knight of the Order of the Sword (1960)[10]
Honours
edit- Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1971)[11]
- Honorary member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (1972)[12]
References
edit- ^ a b Sveriges dödbok 1901-2009 [Swedish death index 1901-2009] (in Swedish) (Version 5.0 ed.). Solna: Sveriges släktforskarförbund. 2010. ISBN 9789187676598. SELIBR 11931231.
- ^ a b c d Davidsson, Åke, ed. (1968). Vem är vem?. 5, Norrland : supplement, register [Who's Who?. 5, Norrland : supplements, directory] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem. p. 980. SELIBR 53513.
- ^ a b c d e f Eklund, Gunnar (1996). "Minnesteckningar" (PDF). Tidskrift i sjöväsendet (in Swedish) (3). Carlskrona: 163–164. SELIBR 8258455.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Kjellander, Rune (2007). Svenska marinens högre chefer 1700-2005: chefsbiografier och befattningsöversikter samt Kungl Örlogsmannasällskapets ämbetsmän och ledamöter 1771-2005 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Probus. p. 168. ISBN 9789187184833. SELIBR 10452099.
- ^ a b Norberg, Erik (1996). "Minnesteckningar över bortgångna ledamöter". Kungl. Krigsvetenskapsakademiens Handlingar och Tidskrift (in Swedish) (5). Stockholm: Kungl. Krigsvetenskapsakademien: 11. SELIBR 3417415.
- ^ Hammarhjelm, Bengt (1999). Beredskap på Gotland 175 år: 1811-1986 (in Swedish) (2nd, extension, and supplement to 2000 ed.). Visby: Ödin. p. 254. ISBN 91-85716-84-7. SELIBR 7751982.
- ^ "Varenius, Bo Gerhard Otto". www.svenskagravar.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Kungl. Hovstaterna: Kungl. Maj:ts Ordens arkiv, Matriklar (D 1), vol. 14 (1970–1979), p. 29, digital imageing.
- ^ Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1969). Sveriges statskalender. 1969 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. p. 101. SELIBR 3682754.
- ^ Bihang till Sveriges statskalender 1964. Kungl. Svenska riddareordnarna 1964 (in Swedish). Uppsala. 1964. p. 133.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Kjellander, Rune (1996). Kungl Krigsvetenskapsakademien: Svenska krigsmanna sällskapet (till 1805), Kungl Krigsvetenskapsakademien : biografisk matrikel med porträttgalleri 1796-1995 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Akad. p. 176. ISBN 9163041812. SELIBR 7451162.
- ^ Kjellander, Rune (2007). Svenska marinens högre chefer 1700-2005: chefsbiografier och befattningsöversikter samt Kungl Örlogsmannasällskapets ämbetsmän och ledamöter 1771-2005 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Probus. p. 240. ISBN 9789187184833. SELIBR 10452099.