Sven-Olof Olson

Lieutenant General Sven-Olof Olson (born 26 November 1926) is a retired Swedish Air Force officer. He was Chief of the Air Force from 1982 to 1988.[3]

Sven-Olof Olson
Nickname(s)	Stril-Olle[1][2]
Born	26 November 1926 Oskarshamn, Sweden
Allegiance	Sweden
Service/branch	Swedish Air Force
Years of service	1948–1988
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	Flygvapnets krigsskola Uppland Air Force Wing Attack Group Southern Military District Chief of the Air Force
Awards	Knight of the Order of the Sword

Career

Olson was born on 26 November 1926 in Oskarshamn, Sweden, the son of Axel Olson, a furniture dealer, and his wife Ellen (née Ingvarsson). He passed studentexamen in Kalmar in 1945 and became an air force officer in 1948. He served at the Västmanland Air Force Wing (F 1) from 1948 to 1957.[4] In 1951 he received the newspaper Stockholms-Tidningen gold medal after having saved a J 30 Mosquito fighter aircraft from a serious situation. This helped to explain previous accidents and prevent new ones.

In 1954 Olson attended the Royal Swedish Air Force Staff College's general course and in 1957 its technical course.[4] He was head of the Department of Combat Management System at the Air Staff's Planning Department from 1957 to 1962. Olson was promoted to major in 1960 and was responsible for operational planning and construction of STRIL 60 from 1958 to 1962 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1963. He was head of the Planning Department at the Defence Staff from 1963 to 1967 when he was promoted to colonel.[4]

Olson attended the Military Academy Karlberg and the Swedish National Defence College and was head of the Planning Department at the Defence Staff in 1963. Olson was a military expert in the 1965 Defense Investigation from 1965 to 1967 and commanding officer of the Flygvapnets krigsskola (F 20) from 1967 to 1971 and commanding officer of Uppland Air Force Wing (F 16) from 1971 to 1973, both in the city of Uppsala.[5] He became major general and Vice Chief of the Defence Staff in 1973 and was commanding officer of the Attack Group (E 1) from 1977 to 1980 when he was promoted to lieutenant general. In 1980-1982 Olson was the military commander of the Southern Military District (Kristianstad) in Sweden. He was assumed the position of Chief of the Air Force on 1 October 1982[6] and left the command on 30 September 1988. After that Olson was president of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences from 1988 to 1991.[5]

Other work

Olson was CEO of AB Afoma, chairman of the board of Nyge CSE Aviation AB and member of the board of Volvo lastvagnar AB, Celsius AB and Maynard AB.[5] He is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences.[7]

Personal life

In 1950 he married the dance teacher Yvonne Jahn (born 1931), the daughter of John Jahn and Birgitta (née Bergman-Olson).[5] He is the father of Tom (born 1951), Ylva (born 1955) and Åsa (born 1966).[4]

Dates of rank

• 1948 – Fänrik
• 19?? – Lieutenant
• 1957 – Captain
• 1960 – Major
• 1963 – Lieutenant Colonel
• 1967 – Colonel
• 1973 – Major General
• 1980 – Lieutenant General

Awards and decorations

Swedish

• Commander 1st Class of the Order of the Sword (6 June 1974)[8]
• Swedish Air Force Volunteers Association Medal of Merit in gold (January 1987)[9]
• Swedish Air Force Volunteers Association Shield of Honour (January 1987)[9]
• Swedish Military Sports Association Medal of Merit in gold (The King's Medal) (Sveriges militära idrottsförbund förtjänstmedalj i guld (Kungamedaljen)) (1989)[10]
• Stockholms-Tidningen's gold medal "for Swedish aviation services" (1950)[4]

Foreign

• Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland (7 April 1987)[11]

Bibliography

• Olson, Sven-Olof, ed. (1969). Flygvapnets krigsskola, [Uppsala]: [25:e officersexamen F 20, 18.6.69] (in Swedish). Uppsala: Flygvapnets krigsskola.

References

1. "Appendix. Förberedelser för luftoperativ samverkan" (PDF). Kungl. Krigsvetenskapsakademiens handlingar och tidskrift (in Swedish). Stockholm: Kungl. Krigsvetenskapsakademien (1): 89. 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
2. Strand, Dieter (20 December 1998). "Här är min egen hemliga IB-lista" [Here is my own secret IB-list]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 January 2016.
3. Kjellander, Rune (1996). Kungl Krigsvetenskapsakademien: Svenska krigsmanna sällskapet (till 1805), Kungl Krigsvetenskapsakademien : biografisk matrikel med porträttgalleri 1796-1995 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Akad. p. 173. ISBN 91-630-4181-2.
4. Davidsson, Åke, ed. (1968). Vem är vem?. 5, Norrland : supplement, register [Who is Who?. 5, Norrland : supplements, directory] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem. p. 856.
5. Uddling, Hans; Paabo, Katrin, eds. (1992). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1993 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1993] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 855. ISBN 91-1-914072-X.
6. "Ny chef för Flygvapnet" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish). Stockholm: Flygstaben (1): 24. 1982. ISSN 0015-4792. SELIBR 8257600.
7. Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1985 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1985] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. 1984. p. 861. ISBN 91-1-843222-0.
8. Kungl. Hovstaterna: Kungl. Maj:ts Ordens arkiv, Matriklar (D 1), vol. 14 (1970–1979), p. 33, digital imageing.
9. Andersson, Torsten (1987). "I medaljregnet" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish). Stockholm: Flygstaben (2): D. ISSN 0015-4792. SELIBR 8257600.
10. "Förre CFV SMI-belönad" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish). Stockholm: Flygstaben (5): 31. 1989. ISSN 0015-4792. SELIBR 8257600.
11. "Finland hedrar FV: CFV förlänad unik orden" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish). Stockholm: Flygstaben (2): 27. 1987. ISSN 0015-4792. SELIBR 8257600.

External links

• Short clip from a film about Sven-Olof Olson