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 ...

Axel Fredrik Carlos

Adlercreutz Adlercreutz () is the surname of a Swedish and Finnish noble family. Overview Its oldest known ancestor is Swedish speaking Finn, Erik Markusson, dead 1654, who was a farmer in Biskops, Iso-Teutari, Lohja, Uusimaa, Finland. His son Tomas Erikss ...

(26 January 1890 – 7 October 1963) was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

officer. Adlercreutz is credited with the formation of the General Security Service (''Allmänna säkerhetstjänsten'') in 1938 (predecessor of the

Swedish Security Service The Swedish Security Service ( sv, Säkerhetspolisen , abbreviated SÄPO ; until 1989 ''Rikspolisstyrelsens säkerhetsavdelning'', abbreviated RPS/Säk) is a Swedish government agency organised under the Ministry of Justice. It operates as a se ...

), and the intelligence agency C-byrån in 1939.

Early life

Adlercreutz was born on 26 January 1890 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 ...

, Sweden, the son of count and major Carl Adlercreutz and his wife Jeanna (née Evers). 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 1908.

Career

Adlercreutz was commissioned as an officer in 1910 with the rank of second lieutenant and was assigned to

Svea Life Guards The Svea Life Guards ( sv, Svea livgarde), also I 1, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that was active in various forms 1521–2000. The unit was based in the Stockholm Garrison in Stockholm and belonged to the King's Life and Household Tro ...

(I 1). Adlercreutz received a

Candidate of Law Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries. N ...

degree in Stockholm in 1916. He then 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 ...

from 1918 to 1920, the French War College from 1920 to 1922 and did a course at the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

in 1922. He was promoted to captain in 1925 and served in the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

in 1926. Adlercreutz was expert assistance of Sweden's representative at the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

' disarmament commission from 1929 to 1931 and then served as military attaché in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

from 1932 to 1935. He was a major in the General Staff in 1933 and served in

Älvsborg Regiment The Älvsborg Regiment ( sv, Älvsborgs regemente), designation I 15 and I 15/Fo 34, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traces its origins back 1624. It was disbanded in 1998. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the prov ...

(I 15) in 1935 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1936. Adlercreutz was head of the International Department of the General Staff in 1936 and then the Intelligence Department of the Defence Staff from 1937 to 1942. Adlercreutz was promoted to colonel in 1939 and served again as military attaché in Helsinki from 1942 to 1945. He was back serving in the Defence Staff in 1945, the same year he retired from active service. Adlercreutz remained in the

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 ...

' reserve until 1960. Adlercreutz became a 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 ...

in 1944. He wrote essays in journals and was editor of ''Arméer, flottor och flyg'' ("Armies, navies and air") from 1938 to 1941.

Personal life

In 1944 he married Louise Lovén (1916–1979), the daughter of Colonel Fredrik Lovén and the Baroness Elisabet af Ugglas. He was the father of Thomas (born 1944) and Gustaf (born 1946). After his retirement he ran Brunsholms Manor in

Enköping Enköping is a locality and the seat of Enköping Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 30,000 inhabitants in 2018. Geography Enköping is situated near Lake Mälaren, about 78 km west of Stockholm. A comparably large number of Swedi ...

Death

He died in Enköpings-Näs Parish on 7 October 1963 and was buried at

Norra begravningsplatsen Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Cemetery" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of the Stockholm urban area, located in Solna Municipality. Inaugurated on 9 June 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables. Nota ...

in Stockholm.

Awards and decorations

Adlercreutz's awards:

Swedish

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

Commander 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 ...

Order_of_the_Polar_Star_-_Ribbon_bar,_pre_1975

Knight of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

SWE_Order_of_Vasa_-_Knight_2nd_Class_BAR

Knight of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

* Swedish Civil Defence League's gold medal (''Sveriges civilförsvarsförbunds guldmedalj'') * Swedish Civil Defence League's silver medal (''Sveriges civilförsvarsförbunds silvermedalj'')

Foreign

Commander of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

First and Second 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 * FIN_Order_of_the_White_Rose_Commander_BAR

Commander 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. ...

LVA_Order_of_the_Three_Stars_-_Commander_BAR

Commander of the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is "Per aspera ad astra", meaning "Thr ...

Order_of_Orange-Nassau_ribbon_-_Commander

Commander 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 ...

with swords * St_Olavs_Orden_kommandør_stripe

Commander of the Order of St. Olav * POL Polonia Restituta Komandorski BAR

Commander of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

Commander of the

Order of the German Eagle The Order of Merit of the German Eagle (german: Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler) was an award of the German Nazi regime, predominantly to foreign diplomats. The Order was instituted on 1 May 1937 by Adolf Hitler. It ceased to be awarded follo ...

Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

* Commander of the

Order of Merit of the Kingdom of Hungary The Order of Merit of the Kingdom of Hungary ( hu, Magyar Érdemrend) was established on 14 June 1922 by Miklós Horthy the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary. On 23 December 1935 it was transformed into an official distinction. Since then it has b ...

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adlercreutz, Carlos 1890 births 1963 deaths Swedish Army colonels Military personnel from Stockholm Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen Commanders of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Knights of the Order of Vasa People of the C-byrån Swedish military attachés

Carlos Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...