Bengt Helge Ljungquist (20 September 1912 – 15 July 1979) was a Swedish fencer, equestrian and military officer.

Early life

Ljungquist was born on 20 September 1912 in

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Ume� ...

, Sweden, the son of Major Helge Ljungquist and his wife Edith Palander. Ljungquist began riding at the age of ten. He passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968 ...

'' in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in 1931.

Military career

In 1934 he received his cavalry commission, which he resigned in 1939, along with many of his fellow officers, to fight in the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

for Finland in its two-year conflict with the invading

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Ljungquist also attended the

Royal Swedish Army Staff College The Royal Swedish Army Staff College ( sv, Kungliga Krigshögskolan, KHS) was a Swedish Army training establishment between 1866 and 1961, providing courses for army officers. It was the home of the Swedish Army's staff college, which provided adv ...

between 1938 and 1940 and then served as a

General Staff Corps General Staff Corps ( sv, Generalstabskåren, Gst) was an administrative corps within the Swedish Armed Forces between 1937 and 1990 and consisted of Swedish Army officers chosen for duty in the Defence Staff and Army Staff. It replaced the earlie ...

aspirant. Ljungquist was promoted to Lieutenant in the

Life Regiment Hussars The Life Regiment Hussars ( sv, Livregementets husarer; designated K 3) is one of the world's oldest regiments still active. The regiment descends directly from units set up by King Gustav I of Sweden (Gustav Vasa) in 1536, when Sweden set ...

(K 3) in 1936 and became ''

ryttmästare ''Ryttmästare'' (from the German word ''Rittmeister'') was a military rank in the Swedish cavalry in the Swedish Army. The rank corresponded to the rank of captain in other service branches. The rank was abolished in 1972. History The military ...

'' in 1943. He then served as a teacher at

Military Academy Karlberg Military Academy Karlberg ( sv, Militärhögskolan Karlberg, MHS K) is a Swedish military academy, since its inauguration in 1792 in operation in the Karlberg Palace in Solna, just north of central Stockholm. It is thus the oldest military academ ...

from 1944 to 1948 and as a military instructor in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

from 1948 to 1950. Ljungquist was commanding officer of the Swedish Cavalry Cadet School (''Kavalleriets kadettskola'', KavKS) from 1950 to 1954 when he was promoted to Major. In 1955, he was appointed executive officer of the Life Guards Squadron (K 1). As part of his military duties, Ljungquist organized the equestrian competition at the 1956 Stockholm Olympic Games. Four years later, Ljungquist was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and appointed executive officer of the

(K 3). He retired from the military in 1967.

Sports career

He competed in various fencing events at the 1936, 1948, 1952 and 1956 Olympics and won a silver and bronze in the team épée in 1948 and 1952. In 1964 he took part only in mixed

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

events and finished fifth with the Swedish team. At the world fencing championships Ljungquist won four silver and two bronze medals in the épée in 1937–1954. During a visit with his sister to the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, he made a trip to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

that sparked his interest in furthering dressage. He later became a

United States Equestrian Team The United States Equestrian Team (USET) refers to the American national teams in Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines of horse sport. US Equestrian, the governing body of horse sport in the United States, selects, trains and funds the teams. The O ...

coach. As a United States Equestrian Team coach, Ljungquist guided the US dressage team to a bronze medal at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

and a gold medal at the

1975 Pan American Games The 1975 Pan American Games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26, 1975, exactly twenty years after the second Pan American Games were held there. It was the third major sporting event held in the Mexican capital in seve ...

. He was inducted into the

United States Dressage Federation The United States Dressage Federation, or the USDF, is the national membership federation for the equestrian sport of dressage. Running under the United States Equestrian Federation, USEF, the Federation is committed to education, recognition of ach ...

Hall of Fame in 1998.

Personal life

In 1942, Ljungquist married Märta Thorén (born 1915), the daughter of Captain Gösta Thorén and Märta Bernström. He was the dather of Ewa (born 1943), Sten (born 1944) and Ulf (born 1947).

Death

He died on 15 July 1979 in Förslöv, Sweden during a visit from the United States where he was living.

Dates of rank

*193? –

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 ...

*1936 –

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 ...

*1943 – ''

Ryttmästare ''Ryttmästare'' (from the German word ''Rittmeister'') was a military rank in the Swedish cavalry in the Swedish Army. The rank corresponded to the rank of captain in other service branches. The rank was abolished in 1972. History The military ...

'' *1954 –

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 ...

*1959 –

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 ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Knight of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Or ...

* Skaraborg County Schooting Association's Gold Medal (''Skaraborgs skytteförbunds guldmedalj'') * Swedish Equestrian Badge of Honor (''Svensk ridsports hederstecken'') * Swedish Fencing Association's Gold Medal (''Svenska fäktförbundet EtoGM'')

Foreign

FIN Order of the White Rose Knight 1st Class BAR

Knight 1st Class of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

Knight of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

Knight 1st Class of the Order of St. Olav * UK_Royal_Victorian_Order_honorary_member_ribbon

Honorary Lieutenant of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(June 1956) * JPN Hokan-sho blank BAR

4th Class of the

Order of the Cross of Liberty The Order of the Cross of Liberty ( fi, Vapaudenristin ritarikunta; sv, Frihetskorsets orden) is one of three official state orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. Organisation ...

with Swords * Finnish War Commemorative Medal * Finnish Commemorative Cross on the occasion of the Finnish War 1939-45 * Medal of Honour for Physical Education, silver (''Médaille d'Honneur de l'Education Physique'')

Honours

*Member of the

Samfundet SHT Samfundet SHT (English translation: "SHT Society") is a parodical Swedish fraternal order founded in 1844 in Uppsala. It is dedicated to the Roman god Bacchus, the fine arts and mutual enjoyment, vulgarly known as ''Tratten'' (''the funnel''). ...

*Member of the

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

*Member of the

Hall of Fame (1998)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ljungquist, Bengt 1912 births 1979 deaths Swedish Army colonels Swedish male épée fencers Swedish dressage riders Olympic fencers for Sweden Olympic equestrians for Sweden Swedish male equestrians Fencers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Sweden Olympic bronze medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in fencing People from Umeå Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Volunteers in the Winter War Ethiopian military personnel Stockholms AFF fencers

Early life

Military career

Sports career

Personal life

Death

Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Foreign

Honours

See also

References

External links