Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Bengt Arne Vilhelm Lönnbom (born 22 July 1933) was a

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...

officer. Lönnbom served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1984 to 1987 and as military commander of the

Lower Norrland Military District Lower Norrland Military District ( sv, Nedre Norrlands militärområde, Milo NN), originally II Military District ( sv, II. militärområdet) was a Sweden, Swedish Military district (Sweden), military district, a command of the Swedish Armed Force ...

from 1987 to 1993.

Early life

Lönnbom was born on 22 July 1933 in

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

's City Parish (''Lunds stadsförsamling'') in

Malmöhus County Malmöhus County ( sv, Malmöhus län) was a county of Sweden 1719–1996. On 1 January 1997 it was merged with Kristianstad County to form Skåne County. It had been named after Malmöhus, a castle in Malmö, which was also where the governor ori ...

, Sweden.

Career

Military career

Lönnbom graduated from the

Swedish Air Force Flying School Swedish Air Force Flying School ( sv, Krigsflygskolan), also F 5 Ljungbyhed, or simply F 5, is a former Swedish Air Force training wing with the main base located in Ljungbyhed in southern Sweden. History The moor at Ljungby was adopted for milit ...

in 1956 and was commissioned as an officer the same year at

Scania Wing Scania Wing ( sv, Skånska flygflottiljen), also F 10 Ängelholm, or simply F 10, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located in southernmost Sweden. History The tenth wing initially started as a detachment located at Svea Win ...

with the rank of second Lieutenant, where he served from 1956 to 1967, including as division commander. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1958 and to captain in 1964. Lönnbom served as head of office in the Department of Studies in the Defence Staff from 1967 to 1968 and he was promoted to major in 1969. He then served in the Planning Department in the Air Staff from 1971 to 1972 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1972. Lönnbom served in the Planning and Budget Department at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

from 1972 to 1975 and was head of office in the Planning Department in the Air Staff from 1975 to 1977. In 1977, Lönnbom was promoted to colonel, whereupon from 1977 to 1979 he was deputy commander of

Bråvalla Wing Bråvalla Wing ( sv, Bråvalla flygflottilj), also F 13 Norrköping, or simply F 13, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located near Norrköping in south-eastern Sweden. History The Air Wing was established in 1943 as the fourt ...

Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...

. After promotion to senior colonel in 1979, he was head of the Aviation Section in the staff of the

Upper Norrland Military District Upper Norrland Military District ( sv, Övre Norrlands militärområde, Milo ÖN), originally VI Military District ( sv, VI. militärområdet) was a Swedish military district, a command of the Swedish Armed Forces that had operational control ov ...

from 1979 to 1981. From 1981 to 1982, Lönnbom served as head of the Chief of the Air Force's project group for JAS and from 1982 to 1984 as head of the Systems Department in the Main Department for Aircraft Equipment in the

Defence Materiel Administration The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration ( sv, Försvarets materielverk, FMV) is a Swedish government agency that reports to the Ministry of Defence. The agency is responsible for the supply of materiel to the Swedish defence organisation. It ...

. Lönnbom was promoted to major general in 1984, after which he served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1984 to 1987 and as the last military commander of

from 1987 to 1993.

Business career

Lönnbom has been chairman of the board of Polydisplay AB and chairman of the Swedish part of

AFCEA Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association International (AFCEA), established in 1946, is a nonprofit membership association serving the military, government, industry, and academia as a forum for advancing professional knowledge and re ...

. In 1991 he became CEO of Carubel AB. He became chairman of the board in 2001.

Dates of rank

*1956 –

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

*1958 –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

*1964 –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

*1969 –

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

*1972 –

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

*1977 –

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

*1979 – Senior colonel *1984 –

Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Honours

*Member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Krigsvetenskapsakademien) is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 12 November 1796 by Gustaf Wilhelm af Tibell. The academy is an independent organization and a forum for m ...

(1980)

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lönnbom, Bengt 1933 births Living people Swedish Air Force major generals People from Lund Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences