Chief of Army (Sweden)

The Chief of Army (Swedish: arméchef, lit.'Army Chief', AC) is the most senior appointment in the Swedish Army. The position Chief of Army was introduced in 1937 and the current form in 2014.

Chief of Army
Arméchef (Swedish)
Flag of the Chief of Army
since 18 June 2023
Swedish Army
TypeBranch chief
AbbreviationAC
Reports toChief of Armed Forces Training & Procurement[1]
SeatSwedish Armed Forces Headquarters, Stockholm, Sweden
NominatorThe Minister of Defence
AppointerThe Government
Constituting instrumentFIB 2020:5, Chapter 13 a
Formation1937
First holderOscar Nygren
DeputyDeputy chief

History

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In 1937, the staff agency "Chief of the Army" (Swedish: Chefen för armén, CA) was created to lead the army in peace time. The CA would under the King in Council exercise the highest military leadership of the Land Defense (Swedish: Lantförsvaret). At his side, the CA had an Army Staff to assist the CA in his duties.[2] Before 1937 the Chief of the General Staff was considered to be the Chief of Army, but he was not usually to the rank of chief, but formally only the king's chief of staff in his capacity as Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces. The oldest general was chairman of the special preparatory body called the Generals Commission (Generalskommissionen).[3]

Following a larger reorganization of the Swedish Armed Forces in 1994, the staff agency Chief of the Army ceased to exist as an independent agency. Instead, the post Chief of Army Command (Swedish: Chefen för arméledningen) was created at the then newly instituted Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters. In 1998, the Swedish Armed Forces was again reorganized. Most of the duties of the Chief of Army Command were transferred to the newly instituted post of "Inspector General of the Army" (Swedish: generalinspektören för armén). The post is similar to that of the "Inspector General of the Swedish Navy" (Swedish: Generalinspektören för marinen) and the "Inspector General of the Swedish Air Force" (Swedish: Generalinspektören för flygvapnet).[4] It was later renamed to "Inspector of the Army" (Swedish: Arméinspektören) on 1 January 2003.[5] The position of Inspector of the Army had previously been used in from 1942 to 1949 for the head of the Army Inspectorate (Arméinspektionen).

On 1 January 2014, the "Chief of Army" (Swedish: Arméchefen, AC) position was reinstated in the Swedish Armed Forces. The position has not the same duties as before.[6]

Tasks

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Tasks of the Chief of Army:[7]

  • Lead the units which the Chief of Swedish Armed Forces Training and Development has distributed
  • To the Chief of Swedish Armed Forces Training and Development propose the development of the units' abilities
  • Being the foremost representative of the units
  • Represent the units and the area of ability in international contacts

Heraldry

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The command flag of the Chief of Army is drawn by Brita Grep and embroidered by hand by the Kedja studio, Heraldica. Blazon: "Fessed in yellow and blue; on yellow two blue batons of command with sets of yellow crowns placed two and one in saltire, on blue two yellow swords in saltire."[8]

List of chiefs

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No. Portrait Name Took office Left office Time in office Chief of Defence Ref.
Chief of the Army (Chefen för armén)
Nygren, OscarLieutenant general
Oscar Nygren
(1872–1960)
Acting
1 July 19361 October 19371 year, 92 days[9]
Thörnell, OlofLieutenant general
Olof Thörnell
(1877–1977)
Acting
15 July 193717 July 19372 days[10]
Lyström, AxelLieutenant general
Axel Lyström
(1873–1945)
Acting
19 July 19372 August 193714 days[10]
Lilliehöök, LennartLieutenant general
Lennart Lilliehöök
(1872–1950)
Acting
3 August 193714 August 193711 days[10]
1Sylvan, PerLieutenant general
Per Sylvan
(1875–1945)
1 October 19371 October 19403 years, 0 daysOlof Thörnell[a]-
Osterman, OscarMajor general
Oscar Osterman
(1874–1956)
Acting
10 October 1938
13 October 1938
10 October 1938
14 October 1938
3 days[11]
Gyllenstierna, GöranMajor general
Göran Gyllenstierna
(1876–1968)
Acting
11 October 1938
15 October 1938
12 October 1938
22 October 1938
10 days[11]
Gyllenstierna, GöranMajor general
Göran Gyllenstierna
(1876–1968)
Acting
16 July 193915 August 193930 days[12]
2Holmquist, IvarLieutenant general
Ivar Holmquist
(1879–1954)
1 October 194031 March 19443 years, 182 daysOlof Thörnell[13]
3Douglas, ArchibaldLieutenant general
Archibald Douglas
(1883–1960)
1 April 194430 September 19484 years, 182 daysHelge Jung[14][15]
4Ehrensvärd, Carl AugustLieutenant general
Carl August Ehrensvärd
(1892–1974)
1 October 194830 September 19578 years, 364 daysHelge Jung
Nils Swedlund
[16][17]
5Bonde, ThordLieutenant general
Thord Bonde
(1900–1969)
1 October 195730 September 19635 years, 364 daysNils Swedlund
Torsten Rapp
[17][18]
6Göransson, CurtLieutenant general
Curt Göransson
(1909–1996)
1 October 196330 September 19695 years, 364 daysTorsten Rapp[18][19]
7Almgren, Carl EricLieutenant general
Carl Eric Almgren
(1913–2001)
1 October 19691 October 19767 years, 0 daysTorsten Rapp
Stig Synnergren
[20][21]
8Sköld, NilsLieutenant general
Nils Sköld
(1921–1996)
1 October 197631 March 19847 years, 182 daysStig Synnergren
Lennart Ljung
[22][23]
9Bengtsson, Erik G.Lieutenant general
Erik G. Bengtsson
(born 1928)
1 April 19841 April 19906 years, 0 daysLennart Ljung
Bengt Gustafsson
[24][25]
10Sagrén, ÅkeLieutenant general
Åke Sagrén
(1935–2022)
1 April 199030 June 19944 years, 90 daysBengt Gustafsson[25][26]
Chief of Army Command (Chef för arméledningen)
10Sagrén, ÅkeLieutenant general
Åke Sagrén
(1935–2022)
1 July 199430 March 19961 year, 273 daysOwe Wiktorin[26]
11Melin, MertilLieutenant general
Mertil Melin
(1935–2023)
1 April 199619981–2 yearsOwe Wiktorin[27]
Inspector General of the Army (Generalinspektör för armén)
12Degerlund, PaulMajor general
Paul Degerlund
(born 1948)
199830 June 20001–2 yearsOwe Wiktorin-
13Sandqvist, AlfMajor general
Alf Sandqvist
(born 1945)
1 July 200031 December 20022 years, 183 daysJohan Hederstedt[5]
Inspector of the Army (Arméinspektör)
13Sandqvist, AlfMajor general
Alf Sandqvist
(born 1945)
1 January 200331 May 20052 years, 150 daysJohan Hederstedt
Håkan Syrén
[5]
14Göranson, SverkerMajor general
Sverker Göranson
(born 1954)
31 May 20051 November 20072 years, 154 daysHåkan Syrén-
15Grundevik, BerndtMajor general
Berndt Grundevik
(born 1956)
1 November 200713 September 20124 years, 317 daysHåkan Syrén
Sverker Göranson
[28][29]
16Brännström, AndersMajor general
Anders Brännström
(born 1957)
13 September 201220 December 20131 year, 98 daysSverker Göranson[29]
Chief of Army (Arméchef)
16Brännström, AndersMajor general
Anders Brännström
(born 1957)
20 December 20131 June 20162 years, 164 daysSverker Göranson
Micael Bydén
[30]
17Engelbrektson, KarlMajor general
Karl Engelbrektson
(born 1962)
1 June 201617 June 20237 years, 16 daysMicael Bydén[30][31]
18Lindfors, JonnyMajor general
Jonny Lindfors
(born 1975)
18 June 2023Incumbent1 year, 168 daysMicael Bydén
Michael Claesson
[31]

List of deputy chiefs

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Portrait Name Took office Left office Time in office Chief of Defence Ref.
Deputy Chief of Army (Ställföreträdande arméchef)
Ståhlberg, FredrikBrigadier general
Fredrik Ståhlberg
(born 1966)
September 201731 January 20202–3 yearsMicael Bydén[32][33]
Swaan Wrede, LauraBrigadier general
Laura Swaan Wrede
(born 1964)
31 March 202030 September 20222 years, 183 daysMicael Bydén[34]
Svensson, AndersBrigadier general
Anders Svensson [sv]
(born 1965)
1 October 20221 September 20241 year, 336 daysMicael Bydén[35][36]
Nilsson, PerBrigadier general
Per Nilsson [sv]
(born 1969)
16 September 2024Incumbent78 daysMichael Claesson[36]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ From 8 December 1939.

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Försvarsmaktens interna bestämmelser med arbetsordning för Försvarsmakten (FMArbo) - FIB 2020:5" (PDF). FÖRSVARSMAKTENS INTERNA BESTÄMMELSER (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 16 December 2020. p. 5. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  2. ^ Wallberg 1987
  3. ^ Försvarets traditioner i framtiden med översiktlig historik från 1500-talet (PDF) (in Swedish). Statens försvarshistoriska museer TradN. 2015. p. 12. ISBN 9789197859554. SELIBR 17552963. Archived from the original on 2016-08-17.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ Nordgren 1998
  5. ^ a b c "Försvarsgrensinspektörer till Högkvarteret" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish) (4). Stockholm: Flygstaben: 40. 2002. SELIBR 8257600.
  6. ^ "Nya namn på nya poster" [New names for new positions] (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 20 December 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  7. ^ "Försvarets författningssamling: FFS 2013:4" (PDF). Försvarets Författningssamling (in Swedish). Stockholm: TF-redaktionen, Försvarets materielverk: 18. 2013-12-23. ISSN 0347-7576. SELIBR 3683131.
  8. ^ Braunstein 2004, p. 106
  9. ^ Cronenberg 1990–1991, p. 704
  10. ^ a b c SvD 1937, p. 4A.
  11. ^ a b SvD 1938, p. 4A.
  12. ^ SvD 1939, p. 4A.
  13. ^ Wikland 1971–1973, p. 288
  14. ^ SvD 1944, p. 6A.
  15. ^ "VI DISKUTERAR: Generalens testamente". Expressen (in Swedish). 30 September 1948. p. 2. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Ny chef för armén". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). No. 63. 5 March 1948. p. 1. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  17. ^ a b "Ehrensvärd". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 23 February 1957. p. 4A. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  18. ^ a b Grafström 1963, p. 15
  19. ^ Skoglund 2009, p. 48
  20. ^ Jarmar 2005, p. 91
  21. ^ Tunberger 1976, p. 17
  22. ^ DN 1981, p. 8.
  23. ^ Lidén 1983, p. 7
  24. ^ SvD 1984, p. 17.
  25. ^ a b Olofson 1990, p. Del 1/7
  26. ^ a b "Sammanställning över utnämningar och nya befattningar" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish) (1). Stockholm: Flygstaben: 34. 1994. SELIBR 8257600.
  27. ^ "Vår nye armechef" [Our new Chief of Army] (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish) (4). Stockholm: Flygstaben: 2. 1995. SELIBR 8257600. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  28. ^ "Chefsbyten i Försvarsmakten" (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 1 November 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  29. ^ a b "Från hemvärnsrekryt till arméinspektör" [From Home Guard recruit to Army Inspector] (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 13 September 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  30. ^ a b "Ny arméchef utsedd" [New Chief of Army appointed] (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  31. ^ a b "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: Personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish) (3). Stockholm: Försvarets forum: 9. 2023. SELIBR 4109339.
  32. ^ Owetz 2020, p. 11
  33. ^ "Fredrik Ståhlberg". LinkedIn. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  34. ^ "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: Personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish) (2). Stockholm: Försvarets forum: 8. 2020. SELIBR 4109339.
  35. ^ "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: Personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish) (5). Stockholm: Försvarets forum: 9. 2022. SELIBR 4109339.
  36. ^ a b "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: Personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish) (5). Stockholm: Försvarets forum: 9. 2024. SELIBR 4109339.

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