Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Carl ''Gunnar'' Eklund (21 March 1920 – 11 January 2010) was a senior

Swedish Coastal Artillery The Swedish Coastal Artillery ( sv, Kustartilleriet, KA) has its origin in the Archipelago Artillery that was raised in 1866. The Coastal Artillery was formed from the Archipelago Artillery, the Marine Regiment and parts of the Artillery in 1902 ...

officer. His senior commands include Chief of the Naval Staff, Chief of the Defence Staff, military commander of the

Eastern Military District The Eastern Military District (Russian: Восточный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction within the Far Eastern Federal ...

(Milo Ö) and

Commandant General in Stockholm The Commandant General in Stockholm ( sv, Överkommendanten i Stockholm) is a military position in Sweden with responsibility for state ceremonial activities. Lieutenant General Michael Claesson, Chief of Joint Operations is the Commandant Genera ...

Early life

Eklund was born on 21 March 1920 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 ...

, the son of lieutenant Carl Eklund and his wife Sally (née Karlsson). As a child in a non-commissioned officer family in the

Coastal Artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...

, he moved between different garrisons from an early age, but 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 in 1938.

Career

Military career

Eklund became second lieutenant in the Gotland Coastal Artillery Corps (KA 3) in 1941 and during his first years, he served in units with high preparedness in Stockholm's outer archipelago and he was promoted to lieutenant in 1943. He had a strong interest in technology and attended the

Royal Swedish Naval Staff College The Royal Swedish Naval Staff College ( sv, Kungliga Sjökrigshögskolan, KSHS) was a Swedish Navy training establishment between 1898 and 1961, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Swedish Navy's staff college, which prov ...

from 1946 to 1947 and passed its staff and artillery course from 1947 to 1949 and was promoted to captain in 1948. He served in the Defence Staff and was teacher at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1949 to 1954 as well as served as acting teacher at the

Swedish National Defence College The Swedish Defence University ( sv, Försvarshögskolan, FHS) is situated on Drottning Kristinas väg 37 in Östermalm, Stockholm City Centre, next to the campus of the Royal Institute of Technology. History Today's Swedish Defence University ma ...

from 1952 to 1954. Eklund was a teacher of tactics at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1954 to 1958 and attended the

Swedish Infantry Combat School The Swedish Infantry Combat School ( sv, Infanteriets stridsskola, InfSS) was a combat arms school of the Swedish Army which operated in various forms from 1874 to 1995. The school was located at Kvarns bruk north of Borensberg. History The Swedi ...

in 1957 and was promoted to major the same year. Eklund was head of the Defence Staff's Research Department from 1958 to 1961 and attended the Swedish National Defence College in 1959. In 1960 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He was then chief of staff of the Inspector of the Coastal Artillery from 1961 to 1962 when he promoted to colonel. Eklund was appointed commanding officer of the Gotland Coastal Artillery Defence (KA 3) in 1962 and two years later in 1964 he was appointed commanding officer of the Naval Command North (''Marinkommando Nord''), Norrland Coastal Artillery Defence (''Norrlands kustartilleriförsvar'') and Härnösand Coastal Artillery Corps (KA 5). He was promoted to senior colonel in 1966 and was chief of staff 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 ...

(Milo NN) from 1966 to 1970. On 1 October 1970, Eklund assumed the position of Chief of the Naval Staff and promoted to major general. Eklund was Chief of the Defence Staff from 1972 to 1976 and then military commander of the

(Milo Ö) as well as

from 1976 to 1982 when he retired from active service.

Other work

Eklund was a member of Gotland's Coastal Artillery Corps' shooting association from 1942, member of the board and leader of the pistol shooting section leader, and member of the

Vaxholm Coastal Artillery Regiment The Vaxholm Coastal Artillery Regiment ( sv, Vaxholms kustartilleriregemente), designation KA 1, was a Swedish Navy coastal artillery regiment of the Swedish Armed Forces which operated between 1902 and 2000. The unit was based at Rindö in the ...

's shooting association and the

Royal Swedish Naval Academy The Royal Swedish Naval Academy ( sv, Kungliga Sjökrigsskolan, KSS) was a school for officer training for the Swedish Navy, which operated in various forms between the years 1756 and 1987. History 1683–1791 In 1683, when the charter was issue ...

's shooting association. Eklund was editor of the journal ''Kustartilleriet'' ("The Coastal Artillery") from 1954 to 1960 and co-editor of ''Öst och Väst och Vi'' in 1957. He was a board member of the ''Marinlitteraturföreningen'' ("Naval Literature Association") and the ''Försvarspolitiskt forum'' ("Defence Policy Forum Association"). Eklund became a member of the

Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences The Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Örlogsmannasällskapet, KÖMS), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. The Society is an independent organization and a forum for navy and defence i ...

in 1962 and in 1966 he 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 ...

. Eklund was a member of the Swedish delegation in the Disarmament Conference in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

from 1963 to 1965 and chairman of the Section II, Naval Warfare Studies of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences from 1970 to 1972 as well as military expert in the 1972 Defence Investigation. Furthermore, Eklund was chairman of the Swedish Military Sports Association (''Sveriges militära idrottsförbund'') from 1972 to 1984 and he was president of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences from 1982 to 1985. After his retirement, he worked as chairman of the Officers' Association for Older Officers (''Officersföreningen för äldre officerare'') and in the Retired Officers Association (''Föreningen Pensionerade Officerare''). He was also elected municipal politician in

Danderyd Danderyd Municipality (''Danderyds kommun''; ) is a municipality north of Stockholm in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. It is one of the smallest municipalities of Sweden, but the most affluent. Its seat is located in Djursholm and it is ...

from 1983 to 1988.

Personal life

On 31 December 1942 he married Marianne Cecil Elisabet von Malmborg (1920–2004), the daughter of captain Nils von Malmborg and Torborg Vidinghoff. He was the father of Carl (born 1944), Nils (born 1944) and Bertil (born 1948). Nils was colonel in the

and his last position before retiring was as acting head of the

Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...

's internal audit.

Death

Eklund died on 11 January 2010 in

and the funeral service took place in Danderyd Church on 12 February 2010. He was buried at Solna Cemetery on 21 March 2010.

Dates of rank

*1941 –

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 ...

*1943 –

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 ...

*1948 –

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 ...

*1957 –

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 ...

*1960 –

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 ...

*1962 –

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 ...

*1966 – Senior colonel *1970 –

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 ...

*1972 –

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

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 ...

(6 June 1969) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

Commander of the

(6 June 1966) * Order_of_the_Sword_-_Ribbon_bar

Knight of the

(1959) *

Commemorative Medal

Foreign

FIN_Order_of_the_Lion_of_Finland_1Class_BAR

Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eklund, Gunnar 1920 births 2010 deaths Swedish Coastal Artillery lieutenant generals Military personnel from Stockholm Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Sweden)