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 ...

Carl Jonas Wærn (23July 1915 – 6November 2003) 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 who led Swedish, Irish, and Indian

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

troops in the Congo Crisis. He also commanded Swedish forces on

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

in 1964. Later, he served as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: * Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short car ...

Early life

Wærn was born on 23 July 1915 in

Spånga Spånga is a community and parish in the borough of Spånga-Tensta in Stockholm County, Sweden. Background Spånga was an independent municipality until January 1, 1949 when most of it was merged with the City of Stockholm, with smaller por ...

, Sweden, the son of lawyer Olof Wærn and the journalist Gerd Ribbing (née Rehn). 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 1934.

Career

Military career

Wærn became a reserve officer in 1936 and an officer in 1940. He was commissioned as an officer into

Värmland Regiment The Värmland Regiment ( sv, Värmlands regemente), designations I 22, I 2 and I 2/Fo 52, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traces its origins back to the 16th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province o ...

(I 2) in 1941. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served as a ranger platoon leader at the Norway–Sweden border. He 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 ...

in 1947 and was deputy

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in 1948 and was second teacher at 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 ...

the same year. Wærn attended the

School of Infantry A School of Infantry provides training in weapons and infantry tactics to infantrymen of a nation's military forces. Schools of infantry include: Australia *Australian Army – School of Infantry, Lone Pine Barracks at Singleton, NSW. France ...

Warminster Warminster () is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of about 17,000 in 2011. The 11th-century Minster Church of S ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1950 and served at Värmland Regiment (I 2) in 1951. Wærn served at the Army Staff in 1955 and at

Västerbotten Regiment The Västerbotten Regiment ( sv, Västerbottens regemente), designations I 19, I XIX, I 20 and I 20/Fo 61, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited fr ...

(I 20) in 1956 and became major the same year. He was first teacher at Infantry Combat School in 1957 and the same year he was appointed

. He was a colonel and commander of the twelfth and fourteenth Swedish UN battalion in

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

from 1961 to 1962. At the same time, he was brigade commander of the Swedish, Indian and Irish troops in southern Katanga, which was part of the

United Nations Operation in the Congo The United Nations Operation in the Congo (french: Opération des Nations Unies au Congo, abbreviated to ONUC) was a United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in the Republic of the Congo in 1960 in response to the Congo Crisis. ONUC was the ...

(ONUC) from June 1961 to May 1962. Wærn was the section chief of the IV Military Commanding Staff in 1962 and was commander of the Swedish UN Battalion in

in 1964, part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). He was infantry commander of the Stockholm Coastal Artillery Defense (''Stockholms kustartilleriförsvar'') in 1966.

Later life

Wærn was a 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''). ...

and of the Charles John Association (''Karl Johans förbundet''). In 1974 he was appointed cabinet chamberlain. Wærn continue to be active at the court as governor of Gripsholm Castle and

Strömsholm Palace Strömsholm Palace, sometimes called Strömsholm Castle ( sv, Strömsholms slott), is a Swedish royal palace. The baroque palace is built on the site of a fortress from the 1550s, located on an island in the Kolbäcksån river at the west end of ...

from 1975 to 1983. In 1976 he received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree. In spring 1998, the TV program ''Röda rummet'' did a viewing poll about the century's most significant Swedish books. Wærn's book about Katanga was placed in 84th place out of 100 titles.

Personal life

In 1939, Wærn married the royal housekeeper Lissie Ehnström (1916–2012), the daughter of Axel Ehnström and Stina Larsdotter. He was the father of Stina (born 1942), Olof (born 1944), Peder (born 1950) and Lotta (born 1957). Wærn died on 6 November 2003 and was buried on 12 December 2003 in the family grave at Norra begravningsplatsen in

Solna Municipality Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of t ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

King Gustaf VI Adolf's Commemorative Medal (29 August 1967) * Order_of_the_Sword_-_Ribbon_bar

Knight of the Order of the Sword (1958) * SWE_Order_of_Vasa_-_Knight_2nd_Class_BAR

Knight of the Order of Vasa * SWE Home Guard Royal Medal of Merit ribbon

Home Guard Medal of Merit in gold * Värmland Officers Association's Silver Medal (''Värmlands befälsförbunds silvermedalj'') * Army Shooting Medal (''Arméns skyttemedalj'')

Foreign

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, ...

United Nations Medal A United Nations Medal is an international decoration An international decoration is a military award which is not bestowed by a particular country, but rather by an international organization such as the United Nations or NATO. Such awards ar ...

( ONUC;

) *

(

UNFICYP The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) is a United Nations peacekeeping force that was established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting following intercommunal violen ...

;

) *

United Nations Emergency Force Medal The United Nations Emergency Force Medal was a service medal of the United Nations for service in the United Nations Emergency Force between 7 November 1956 and 19 May 1967. History In 1956, Egypt came into conflict with the combined forces of Is ...

Italian Red Cross The Italian Red Cross (IRC, it, Croce Rossa Italiana or ''CRI'') is the Italian national Red Cross society. The Italian Red Cross was one of the original founding members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1919. History Early h ...

' Silver Medal

Bibliography

* * *

References

External links

Interview with colonel Jonas Wærn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waern, Jonas 1915 births 2003 deaths Swedish Army colonels Military personnel from Stockholm People of the Congo Crisis Knights of the Order of the Sword Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen