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 ...

Ernst Ferdinand von der Lancken (24 August 1841 – 18 May 1902) 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. His senior commands includes the post as Inspector of the

Swedish Army Service Troops The Swedish Army Service Troops ( sv, Trängtrupperna, T or ''Underhållstrupperna'', before 1942 called ''Trängen'') is the military logistics (or train) branch of the Swedish Army. The task of the troops is to train personnel for maintenance un ...

(1889–1892) and Acting Chief of the General Staff (1892–1895).

Early life

von der Lancken was born on 24 August 1841 in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

, Sweden, the son of lieutenant colonel Gustaf Ferdinand von der Lancken and his wife Katarina Benedikta (née Wulff). He was the brother of Deputy Governor of Stockholm (''Underståthållare''), Ehrenfried von der Lancken (1843–1919). 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

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 ...

in 1858 and graduated with an administrative degree (''kansliexamen'') in 1864.

Career

von der Lancken was commissioned into the South Scanian Infantry Regiment with the rank of ''

underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word ''Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 1926 ...

'' in 1860. He became a

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 ...

officer in 1866 and was promoted to lieutenant in the South Scanian Infantry Regiment in 1870. von der Lancken became captain in the General Staff in 1873 and in the South Scanian Infantry Regiment in 1878. He served as teacher of general staff service at 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 1878 to 1884 and as chief of staff of the 4th Military District from 1879 to 1881. von der Lancken was promoted to major in the

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 ...

in 1881, and became a lieutenant colonel there in 1884 and in the General Staff the same year. He then served as head of the Statistical Department of the General Staff from 1884 to 1892 and as Inspector of the

from 1889 to 1892. von der Lancken was promoted to colonel in the

in 1891 and in the General Staff in 1892. He then served as Acting Chief of the General Staff from 1892 to 1895. von der Lancken was promoted to major general in the army in 1894. As Acting Chief of the General Staff, von der Lancken drafted the proposal for improved army order, which, with few modifications, was adopted by the 1892

Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...

and was adopted by the

King in Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of ap ...

. He was also the driving force of the 1881—83 Service Regulations Committee. He wrote a large number of annual reports, biographies, essays and - generally very sharp - criticisms in ''Krigsvetenskapsakademiens handlingar och tidskrift'', and also translated and provided comments to the Russian military author 's work ''Positive Strategy'' (1874).

Personal life

von der Lancken never married. It said "Faithful and noble" in his obituary, signed by the deceased's brother, Ehrenfried von der Lancken.

Death

He died on 18 May 1902 in

Hedvig Eleonora Parish Hedvig Eleonora Parish ( sv, Hedvig Eleonora församling) is a parish in Östermalm's church district (''kontrakt'') in the Diocese of Stockholm, Sweden. The parish is located in Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm County. The parish forms its own ...

in Stockholm. He 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.

Dates of rank

*1858 – ''

Furir Furir (from French '' fourrier'', a person responsible for the feed) is a Swedish military rank (OR5) reintroduced in 2019, after having been abolished in 2009. Duties The ''Furir'' is a Squad Leader at Skill Level B (Intermediate). Promotion fr ...

'' *1860 – ''

Underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word ''Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 1926 ...

'' *1866 –

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 ...

*1870 –

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 ...

*1873 –

First lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

*1873 –

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 ...

*1881 –

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 ...

*1884 –

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 ...

*1890 –

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 ...

*1896 –

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 ...

Awards and decorations

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class 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 ...

Knight of the Order of St. Olav

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 ...

(1875)

References

External links

Article
at ''

Svenskt biografiskt lexikon ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' () is a Swedish biographical dictionary, started in 1917. The first volume, covering names ''Abelin'' to ''Anjou'', was published in 1918. As of 2017, names from A to S are covered. Volumes # ABELIN – ANJOU (1 ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Lancken, Ernst von der 1841 births 1902 deaths Swedish Army major generals People from Malmö Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of the Polar Star