Chief of the Defence Staff (Sweden)

The Chief of the Defence Staff (Swedish: Chefen för försvarsstaben, CFst, or Försvarsstabschef) was from 1937 to 1993 the second most senior member of the Swedish Armed Forces (after the Supreme Commander) and headed the Defence Staff. The position was held by a senior member of one of the three main branches of the Swedish Armed Forces.

Chief of the Defence Staff Chefen för försvarsstaben
Longest serving Richard Åkerman 1 April 1951–30 September 1957
Ministry of Defence
Type	Chief of the Defence Staff
Status	Abolished
Abbreviation	CFst
Reports to	Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces
Seat	Östermalmsgatan 87, Stockholm
Term length	At Her Majesty's pleasure
Precursor	Chief of the General Staff
Formation	1 July 1937
First holder	Major General Olof Thörnell
Final holder	Vice Admiral Peter Nordbeck
Abolished	1993
Unofficial names	Försvarsstabschef
Deputy	Vice Chief of the Defence Staff

Chiefs of the Defence Staff

No.	Portrait	Chief of the Defence Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Prime Minister	Ref
1		Major general Olof Thörnell (1877–1977)	1 July 1937[lower-alpha 1]	December 1939[lower-alpha 2]	1–2 years	Army	Per Albin Hansson	[1]
2		Major general Axel Bredberg (1884–1960)	1 July 1942	15 November 1945[lower-alpha 3]	1 year, 204 days	Army	Per Albin Hansson	[7][5][6]
-		Major general Carl August Ehrensvärd (1892–1974) Acting	22 January 1944	15 November 1945	1 year, 297 days	Army	Per Albin Hansson	[5][6]
3		Major general Carl August Ehrensvärd (1892–1974)	15 November 1945	30 April 1947	3 years, 98 days	Army	Per Albin Hansson Tage Erlander	[7][6]
4		Major general Nils Swedlund (1898–1965)	1 April 1947[lower-alpha 4]	1 April 1951	4 years, 0 days	Army	Tage Erlander	[8]
5		Major general Richard Åkerman (1898–1981)	1 April 1951	30 September 1957	6 years, 182 days	Army	Tage Erlander	[9]
-		Major general Curt Göransson (1909–1996) Acting	1 April 1957	30 September 1957	182 days	Army	Tage Erlander	[10][11]
6		Major general Curt Göransson (1909–1996)	1 October 1957	30 September 1961	3 years, 364 days	Army	Tage Erlander	[11]
7		Major general Carl Eric Almgren (1913–2001)	1 October 1961	30 March 1967	5 years, 180 days	Army	Tage Erlander	[10][12]
8		Lieutenant general Stig Synnergren (1915–2004)	1 April 1967	30 September 1970	3 years, 182 days	Army	Tage Erlander Olof Palme	[12][13]
9		Lieutenant general Bo Westin (1913–2009)	1 October 1970	30 September 1972	1 year, 365 days	Navy (Coastal Artillery)	Olof Palme	[13][14]
10		Lieutenant general Gunnar Eklund (1920–2010)	1 October 1972	30 September 1976	3 years, 365 days	Navy (Coastal Artillery)	Olof Palme	[14][15]
10		Lieutenant general Lennart Ljung (1921–1990)	1 October 1976	30 September 1978	1 year, 364 days	Army	Thorbjörn Fälldin	[15][16]
11		Vice admiral Bengt Schuback (1928–2015)	1 October 1978	30 September 1982	3 years, 364 days	Navy	Ola Ullsten Thorbjörn Fälldin	[16][17]
12		Vice admiral Bror Stefenson (1929–2018)	1 October 1982	31 March 1987	4 years, 181 days	Navy	Olof Palme Ingvar Carlsson	[17][18]
13		Lieutenant general Torsten Engberg (1934–2018)	1 April 1987	30 June 1991	4 years, 90 days	Navy (Coastal Artillery)	Ingvar Carlsson	[18][19]
14		Lieutenant general Owe Wiktorin (born 1940)	1 July 1991	30 September 1992	0–1 years	Air Force	Carl Bildt	[19][20]
15		Vice admiral Peter Nordbeck (born 1938)	1 October 1992	1993	0–1 years	Navy	Carl Bildt	[20]

Vice Chiefs of the Defence Staff

No.	Portrait	Vice/Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff	Title	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Prime Minister	Ref
1		Major general Axel Rappe (1884–1945)	Deputy Chief (Ställföreträdande chef)	15 December 1939	31 March 1941	1 year, 106 days	Army	Per Albin Hansson	[lower-alpha 5]
2		Colonel Samuel Åkerhielm (1887–1976)	Deputy Chief	3 March 1941	1941	0 years	Army	Per Albin Hansson	[lower-alpha 6]
3		Colonel Carl August Ehrensvärd (1892–1974)	Vice Chief (Souschef)	1942	1944	1–2 years	Army	Per Albin Hansson	[23]
4		Colonel Nils Swedlund (1898–1965)	Vice Chief (Souschef)	1 January 1944	31 March 1946	2 years, 89 days	Army	Per Albin Hansson	[8]
5		Colonel Thord Bonde (1900–1969)	Vice Chief	1946	1950	3–4 years	Army	Per Albin Hansson Tage Erlander	[lower-alpha 7]
6		Commander Moje Östberg (1897–1984)	Vice Chief	1950	1951	0–1 years	Navy	Tage Erlander	[27]
7		Colonel Sam Myhrman (1912–1965)	Vice Chief	1956	1960	3–4 years	Army	Tage Erlander	[28]
8		Colonel Åke Mangård (1917–1998)	Vice Chief	1960	1961	0–1 years	Air Force	Tage Erlander	[29]
9		Commander Dag Arvas (1913–2004)	Vice Chief	1961	1964	2–3 years	Navy	Tage Erlander	[30]
10		Commander Bengt Lundvall (1915–2010)	Vice Chief	1964	1966	1–2 years	Navy	Tage Erlander	[31]
11		Major general Bo Westin (1913–2009)	Vice Chief	1966	1968	1–2 years	Navy (Coastal Artillery)	Tage Erlander	[32]
12		Major general Dick Stenberg (1921–2004)	Vice Chief	1 October 1968	1 April 1970	1 year, 182 days	Air Force	Tage Erlander Olof Palme	[33]
13		Major general[lower-alpha 8] Nils-Fredrik Palmstierna (1919–1990)	Vice Chief	1 April 1970	1973	2–3 years	Air Force	Olof Palme	[34][13]
14		Major general Sven-Olof Olson (born 1926)	Vice Chief	1973	1977	3–4 years	Air Force	Olof Palme Thorbjörn Fälldin	[35]
15		Rear admiral Bengt Schuback (1928–2015)	Vice Chief	1 July 1977	30 September 1978	1 year, 91 days	Navy	Thorbjörn Fälldin	[36][16]
16		Major general Bengt Lehander (1925–1994)	Vice Chief	1 October 1978	30 September 1982	3 years, 364 days	Air Force	Ola Ullsten Thorbjörn Fälldin	[36][17]
17		Major general Lars-Bertil Persson (born 1934)	Deputy Chief[37]	1 October 1982	1986	3–4 years	Air Force	Olof Palme	[17][37]
18		Major general Owe Wiktorin (born 1940)	Deputy Chief[38]	1986	30 June 1991	4–5 years	Air Force	Olof Palme Ingvar Carlsson	[38][19]

Footnotes

1. On 1 July 1936, the then Inspector General of the Infantry, Major General Olof Thörnell, was promoted to Lieutenant General and at the same time appointed Chief of the Defense Staff. Thörnell now began the organization work. On 1 July 1937, the new staff gathered and the Chief of Defense Staff took command.[1]
2. On 8 December 1939, Thörnell was appointed Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces[2] without at the same time appointing a new Chief of the Defence Staff.[3] After Thörnell's appointment as Supreme Commander for the mobilized elements of the armed forces in December 1939, Axel Rappe was appointed Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff. This meant that Rappe in reality served as Chief of the Defence Staff.[4]
3. Bredberg was granted a leave of absence on 21 January 1944.[5] He did not return to the post but officially left the post on 15 November 1945 when he was appointed military commander of the V Military District.[6]
4. Appointed on 25 February.[8]
5. During the winter of 1939, when Axel Rappe was commanding officer of the Svea Artillery Regiment in Stockholm, he was made available for service to the Chief of the Defence Staff. After Olof Thörnell's appointment as Supreme Commander for the mobilized elements of the armed forces in December 1939, Rappe was appointed Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff. This meant that Rappe in reality served as Chief of the Defence Staff.[4]
6. Furtenbach (1964) states that Åkerhielm relieved Rappe of command on 3 March 1941[21] while Cronenberg (1995-1997) states that Rappe served until 31 March 1941.[4] Harnesk (1948) states that Åkerhielm served as Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff no longer than 1941.[22] Furthermore, Furtenbach (1964) states that Åkerhielm was major general while Harnesk (1948) states that Åkerhielm was promoted to major general in 1942, a year after serving as Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff.
7. According to Lagerström (1968)[24] and other sources,[25] Bonde was appointed Vice Chief of the Defence Staff in 1946 and his next appointment was as second-in-command of the Svea Life Guards (I 1) in 1950. However, between these postings, Bonde held the position as Chief of Staff of United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) from May 1948 to July 1948.[26]
8. Palmstierna was Colonel when taking office on 1 April and was promoted to Major General on 1 October the same year.[13]

References

Notes

1. Furtenbach 1964, pp. 9, 11
2. "Överbefälhavare i historien" (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
3. Jarmar 2005, p. 71
4. Cronenberg 1995–1997, p. 694
5. "Tre nya generaler utnämnda". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 21 January 1944. p. 8. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
6. "Chefen för försvarsstaben". Söderhamns Tidning (in Swedish). 17 November 1945. p. 8. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
7. Furtenbach 1964, p. 27
8. Zetterberg 2014, p. 542
9. Furtenbach 1964, p. 42
10. Furtenbach 1964, p. 44
11. Furtenbach 1964, p. 49
12. Skoglund 2009, p. 123
13. GHT 1970, p. 5.
14. SvD 1972, p. 1.
15. GP 1975, p. 26.
16. DN 1978, p. 1.
17. DN 1981, p. 8.
18. Falkkloo 1986, p. 18
19. SvD 1991, p. 16.
20. GP 1992, p. 16.
21. Furtenbach 1964, p. 33
22. Harnesk 1948, p. 614
23. "Tre nya generalmajorer, ny chef för försvarsstaben". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish) (20). 22 January 1944. p. A7. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
24. Lagerström 1968, p. 124
25. "Thord Bonde 50 år". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 16 March 1950. p. 12A. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
26. UNTSO News Magazine 2008, p. 23
27. "Nye marinattachén i Washington". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 29 April 1951. p. 10A. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
28. Burling 1962, p. 759
29. Vem är det 1984, p. 758.
30. Uddling & Paabo 1992, p. 69
31. Vem är det 1984, p. 730.
32. Vem är det 1984, p. 1174.
33. Scheiderbauer 2007–2011, p. 225
34. Vem är det 1984, p. 877.
35. Vem är det 1984, p. 861.
36. Wennerholm 2015, p. 152
37. Spiegelberg 1984, p. 104
38. Bollman 1994, p. 7

Print

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• Furtenbach, Börje, ed. (1964). Aktuellt och Historiskt: Meddelanden från lmilitärhistoriska avdelningen vid kungl. militärhögskolan 1964 (PDF). Militärhistorisk tidskrift, 0283-8400 0283-8400 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Militärhistoriska avdelningen, Försvarsmakten. SELIBR s2pfv09xq2nfkc10.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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• Jarmar, Håkan (2005). Wedin, Lars; Åselius, Gunnar (eds.). "Torsten Rapp som ÖB: En studie av maktens fördelning inom det militära försvaret under 1960-talet". Militärhistorisk tidskrift. 2005 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Militärhistoriska avdelningen, Försvarshögskolan. ISSN 0283-8400. SELIBR 10098614.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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• Scheiderbauer, Sven (2007–2011). "Dick Stenberg". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). 33. National Archives of Sweden. Retrieved 11 April 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Skoglund, Claës (2009). Det bästa försvarsbeslut som aldrig kom till stånd: ett kontrafaktiskt uppslag (PDF). Publikation / Försvaret och det kalla kriget (FOKK), 1652-5388 ; 17 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Svenskt militärhistoriskt bibliotek. ISBN 9789185789573. SELIBR 11704940.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (1984). Sveriges statskalender. 1984 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Liber. ISBN 91-38-90400-4. SELIBR 3682782.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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• Wennerholm, Bertil, ed. (2015). Så kom JAS-projektet till: vittnesseminarium kring beslutsprocessen om JAS 39 1979-1983 : 11 november 2013. Forskningsprojektet Försvaret och det kalla kriget (FOKK), 1652-5388 ; 45 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Forskningsprojektet Försvaret och det kalla kriget (FoKK. ISBN 9789198049886. SELIBR 18205009.
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