Mats Helgesson

Major General Mats Eric Helgesson (born 7 May 1964) is a retired Swedish Air Force officer. He served as commanding officer of the Blekinge Air Force Wing and as Chief of Air Force.

Mats Helgesson
Mats Helgesson in November, 2018
Birth name	Mats Eric Helgesson
Born	7 May 1964 Gothenburg, Sweden
Allegiance	Sweden
Service/branch	Swedish Air Force
Years of service	1988–2019
Rank	Major general
Commands held	Blekinge Air Force Wing Chief of Air Force

Career

Helgesson was born on 7 May 1964 in Lundby Parish, Gothenburg, Sweden.[1] He did his military service in Norrland Dragoon Regiment (K 4) in Arvidsjaur where he also became a reserve officer. Helgesson was commissioned as an officer at the Hälsinge Air Force Wing (F 15) in 1988 with the rank of fänrik.[2] He was promoted to captain there in 1992[3] and in 1995 to major.[4] After Hälsinge Air Force Wing was disbanded, Helgesson served at Skaraborg Air Force Wing (F 7),[4] where he later served as squadron commander for four years.[5]

Helgesson then served as commanding officer of Blekinge Air Force Wing (F 17) from 2009 to 2012 when he was appointed as head of J 0 at the Swedish Joint Force Command's (Insatsstaben) Development Department at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters.[6] He was then appointed head of Test and Evaluation (T&E) at the Defence Materiel Administration in 2013.[5] Helgesson was appointed Chief of Air Force and was promoted to major general on 17 September 2015 and took office on 1 October 2015.[7] On 1 October 2019, Helgesson retired and became a reserve officer. He was succeeded as Chief of Air Force by Carl-Johan Edström.[8]

Personal life

Helgesson has two children.[9]

Awards and decorations

• For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm
• Swedish Armed Forces Conscript Medal
• Swedish Air Force Volunteers Association Medal of Merit
• Swedish Air Force Volunteers Association Merit Badge

Honours

• Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (2018)[10]

Dates of rank

• 1988 – Fänrik
• 19?? – Lieutenant
• 1992 – Captain
• 1995 – Major
• 20?? – Lieutenant Colonel
• 2009 – Colonel
• 20?? – Brigadier General
• 2015 – Major General

References

1. Sveriges befolkning 1980 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Sveriges släktforskarförb. 2004. ISBN 9187676370. SELIBR 9632925.
2. Svenska försvarets rulla 1989 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Försvarets läromedelscentral. 1989. p. 796. SELIBR 4109293.
3. Försvarsmaktens rulla. 1995 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Högkvarteret, Försvarsmakten. 1995. p. 533. SELIBR 4343056.
4. Försvarsmaktens rulla. 1999 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Högkvarteret, Försvarsmakten. 1999. p. 141. SELIBR 4343055.
5. Helgesson, Mats (2015). "Mats Helgesson ny Flygvapenchef" (PDF). Flygvapenfrivilliga: Flygvapenfrivilligas medlemstidning (in Swedish). Stockholm: Flygvapenfrivilliga (3): 6. SELIBR 11205733.
6. Löving, Kent (17 February 2012). "Chefsbyte på F 17" (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
7. "Mats Helgesson ny flygvapenchef" (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
8. Levin, Louise (4 September 2019). "Ny flygvapenchef utsedd" (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
9. "Kallinge – Mats Helgesson ny chef för F17" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
10. "Nya ledamöter i akademien" (in Swedish). Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences. 2018-05-21. Retrieved 5 September 2019.