Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Count Gösta Carl Albert Ehrensvärd (10 February 1885 – 2 November 1973) was a senior

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

officer. Ehrensvärd hailed from a distinguished naval lineage, being the son of Admiral Count Carl August Ehrensvärd. His family ties included notable figures such as his brother, General Carl August Ehrensvärd, and his great-grandfather, the renowned fortress builder Augustin Ehrensvärd. Following his naval education, Ehrensvärd embarked on a prolific career within the Swedish Navy, rising through the ranks from sub-lieutenant to vice admiral. He held various commanding roles, such as leading the Destroyer Division and serving as Chief of the Naval Staff. Additionally, Ehrensvärd contributed to naval education and literature, notably as a teacher and editor of naval journals. His tenure saw significant contributions to naval strategy and administration, culminating in his promotion to vice admiral before retiring from active service in 1950.

Early life

Ehrensvärd was born on 10 February 1885 in ,

Svedala Municipality Svedala Municipality () is a municipality in Skåne County in southern Sweden, just southeast of Malmö. Its seat is located in the town of Svedala. The present municipality is the result of a series of amalgamations, carried out in 1952, 1967 ...

, Sweden, the son of Admiral, Count Carl August Ehrensvärd (1858–1944) and his wife baroness Lovisa Ulrika "Ulla" (née Thott). He was the brother of Chief of the Army, General Carl August Ehrensvärd (1892–1974) and Deputy Director of the Ministry of Defence Augustin Ehrensvärd (1887–1968). His great-grandfather was the fortress builder Augustin Ehrensvärd, his uncle was Albert Ehrensvärd and his cousin was Lieutenant General Archibald Douglas who preceded his brother Carl August Ehrensvärd on the Chief of the Army post.

Career

Ehrensvärd became a sea cadet in 1898 and was commissioned into the

as an acting sub lieutenant in 1904 after passing the naval officer examination. Ehrensvärd was promoted to sub-lieutenant in 1906. Ehrensvärd passed the higher course at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1910 to 1911 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1913. He was a teacher at the Royal Swedish Naval Academy from 1916 to 1919 and at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1918 to 1922 when he was promoted to commander. Seagoing services in the 1910s was partly as captain and division commander of torpedo boats. Ehrensvärd was commanding officer of the Destroyer Division in 1919 and from 1923 to 1924. Ehrensvärd was editor of the journal ''Tidskrift i sjöväsendet'' from 1925 to 1927 and then served as head of the Communications Department in the Naval Staff from 1927 to 1929. He captained the in 1929 and was head of the Operations Department in the Naval Staff from 1929 to 1932 and served as a member of the 1930 Defence Commission from 1930 to 1932, being promoted to captain in 1933. Ehrensvärd was captain of the from 1932 to 1933 and flag captain in the staff of the Commander-in-Chief of the

Coastal Fleet The Coastal Fleet (, Kfl) was until 1994 a Swedish Navy authority with the main task of training the naval ships commanders and crews. After the formation of the authority Swedish Armed Forces in 1994, the Coastal Fleet remained as a unit until ...

from 1933 to 1936. He was Chief of the Naval Staff from 1937 to 1939 and was promoted to rear admiral in 1938. Ehrensvärd was Commander-in-Chief of the Coastal Fleet from 1939 to 1942 and commanding admiral of the South Coast Navy District from 1942 to 1950 when he was promoted to vice admiral and retired from active service.

Personal life

On 5 January 1909 he married Anna Enell (1886–1972), the daughter of pharmacist Henrik Enell and Emma (née Öst). He was the father of Gösta (1910–1980), Carl August (1913–1982) and Ulla (1918–1983).

Death

Ehrensvärd died on 2 November 1973 in

Hässleholm Hässleholm is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Hässleholm Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 18,500 inhabitants in 2011. Overview Hässleholm was gradually developed from 1860 in connection with the construction of the m ...

. He was interred at in Tomelilla Municipality.

Dates of rank

*1904 – Acting sub-lieutenant *1906 – Sub-lieutenant *1913 –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

*1922 –

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

*1933 –

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

*1938 –

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

*1950 –

Vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

* King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1948) * Commander Grand Cross 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 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

(6 June 1946) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

(6 June 1939) * Knight of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

(1935) * Knight of the

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

(1928) * Swedish Auxiliary Naval Corps' gold medal (''Sjövärnskårens guldmedalj'')

Foreign

Grand Cross of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

(1 July 1956) * Commander of the

with star * Commander First Class of the

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

* Commander First Class of the Crosses of Naval Merit * Commander of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) 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. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...

* Commander of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) 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 alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

* Knight of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

* Knight Third Class of the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

* Fourth Class of the

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie (, August 29, 1852 – 1922) was a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the order was awarded in five classes, with the Firs ...

* Danish Medal of Liberation

Honours

*Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1933) *Member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (1920; honorary member in 1938)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrensvärd, Gösta 1885 births 1973 deaths Swedish counts Swedish Navy vice admirals People from Svedala Municipality Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Knights of the Order of Vasa