- Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces
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The Supreme Commander (Swedish: Överbefälhavaren, ÖB) the highest military officer in Sweden and is by Nato terminology the Chief of Defence of the Swedish Armed Forces. The Supreme Commander is except His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, normally the only active officer to hold the highest rank of the services (being a four-star General or Admiral).
In earlier times, the King commanded the forces himself (not seldom on location during war campaigns). This remained the case formally until the constitutional reform of 1975. In 1936 however, the office of Supreme Commander was designed to be created as necessary at war-time, and on December 1, 1939, during World War II, the first Supreme Commander, General Olof Thörnell, was appointed. In 1942 it was decided to keep this office even after the end of the war. The Supreme Commander would in wartime formally report to the King until the enactment of the new Instrument of Government in 1975, and after that to the Government/Minister for Defense.
Every time a new Supreme Commander is to be appointed, there is some debate between the different services. Some feel that some kind of rotational system would be appropriate. In actuality, most Supreme Commanders have come from the Army, and only one, Håkan Syrén, from the Navy. Because he is a General of the Amphibious Corps, there has to this day not been a single Admiral to hold the office.
Contents
List of Supreme Commanders of the Swedish Armed Forces
# Rank and name Branch Term began Term ended 1 General Olof Thörnell Army 8 December 1939 31 March 1944 2 General Helge Jung Army 1 April 1944 31 March 1951 3 General Nils Swedlund Army 1 April 1951 30 September 1961 4 General Torsten Rapp Air Force 1 October 1961 30 September 1970 5 General Stig Synnergren Army 1 October 1970 30 September 1978 6 General Lennart Ljung Army 1 October 1978 30 September 1986 7 General Bengt Gustafsson Army 1 October 1986 30 June 1994 8 General Owe Wiktorin Air Force 1 July 1994 30 June 2000 9 General Johan Hederstedt Army 1 July 2000 31 December 2003 10 General Håkan Syrén Navy 1 January 2004 24 March 2009 11 General Sverker Göranson Army 25 March 2009 Incumbent Timeline
References
External links
Categories:- Military of Sweden
- Swedish military personnel
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