Vice Admiral Anders Jan-Eric Törnqvist (born 9 October 1959) is a retired

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels o ...

officer. Before his retirement in 2020, he served as the Chief of Joint Operations 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 ...

from 2016 to 2020 and as

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 Gene ...

from 2019 to 2020.

Career

Thörnqvist began his career at the age of fifteen in the Swedish Sea Cadet Corps. He was commissioned into the

in 1976 and served as a basic Private and Petty Officer afloat on various types of ships in the Navy, including Minesweepers, Destroyers, Fast Patrol and Picket Boats. In 1981, he entered 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 ...

and graduated in 1982. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant Junior Grade and moved immediately to complete the Principal Warfare Officer training course. Thörnqvist was promoted to Lieutenant in 1983. From 1982 to 1983 he was 2nd Officer on Mine Warfare Ship and Icebreaker HSwMS ''Thule'' and various Mine Countermeasures Wessels. In addition, he became a qualified mine clearance diver and he served as 1st Instructor at the Naval Mine Warfare School (''Minkrigsskolan''). He was commanding officer of the Diving Support Vessel from 1987 to 1988 and completed the Staff Course 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 ...

in 1989. Thörnqvist was commander of the Naval MCM Divers Squadron (''Röjdykardivisionen'') from 1993 to 1996 and commanding officer of 411th MCM Divers Squadron and the Minehunter . From 1997 to 1999 he completed the Advanced Command Program at the Swedish National Defence College and was then Chief of Staff in the ''Visby''-class corvette Trials Unit at the 3rd Naval Warfare Flotilla in Karlskrona from 1999 to 2001. Thörnqvist was promoted to commander and served as Staff Officer at the

Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters The Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters ( sv, Högkvarteret, HKV) is the highest level of command in the Swedish Armed Forces. Established in 1994, its primary task is to command operations, but is also involved in areas such as military strategy, ...

, Joint Forces Development, Staff Department, Analysis Section from 2001 to 2004. In June 2004 he attended the Naval Command College at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. From 2005 to 2006 he headed the Forces Development, Plans and Policy Staff in the Joint Headquarters and from 2006 to 2009 Thörnqvist was commander of the 4th Naval Warfare Flotilla. From October to December 2009 he commanded the

Naval Base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that us ...

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swed ...

. He was between 14 April and 14 August 2010 the EU Force Commander of EUNAVFOR Somalia - Operation ATALANTA and lead the multinational Force Headquarters on board the EU NAVFOR Swedish warship, . Thörnqvist was promoted on 1 March 2011 to Rear Admiral and was appointed Chief of Navy the same day and was in this position the head of the

Maritime Component Command Maritime Component Command ( sv, Marinens taktiska stab, MTS) was a part of the Joint Forces Command of the Swedish Armed Forces. The staff was located at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters in Stockholm and is headed by the Chief of Navy. Th ...

. On 7 April 2016 he was promoted to vice admiral and appointed Chief of Joint Operations (''Insatschef'') of the Joint Forces Command (''Insatsstaben''). He assumed the position on 18 April 2016. In 2019, Jan Thörnqvist was appointed

. Törnqvist retired in 2020 and was succeeded as Chief of Joint Operations by Lieutenant General

Michael Claesson Lieutenant General Leif ''Michael'' Claesson (born 1 March 1965) is a Swedish Army officer. He served as the Chief of Policy and Plans Department in the Defence Staff from 2018 to 2020. Claesson currently serves av Chief of Joint Operations. ...

Personal life

Thörnqvist is married to Christina Martinsson and they have three children, Johan (born 1985), Henrik (born 1990) and Eric (born 2000).

Dates of rank

Dates of rank: *1982:

Sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

*1983:

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 ...

*1989-07-01:

Lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

*2001-04-01:

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

*2006-09-14:

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 ...

*2010-01-12—09-30:

Rear admiral (lower half) A rear admiral in the uniformed services of the United States is either of two different ranks of commissioned officers: one-star flag officers and two-star flag officers. By contrast, in most other countries, the term "rear admiral" refers only t ...

(constituted) *2010-01-01:

*2011-03-01:

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

*2016-04-18: Vice admiral

Awards and decorations

Swedish

For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm ribbon

For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm ( sv, För nit och redlighet i rikets tjänst) is a reward medal awarded to one who has been a Swedish State employee for 30 years and has shown "zealous and devoted service". As an alternative to the m ...

FMGUSM - Försvarsmaktens grundutbildningsmedalj (Sverige)

Swedish Armed Forces Conscript Medal Swedish Armed Forces Basic Training Medal ( sv, Försvarsmaktens grundutbildningsmedalj, FMGUSM), previously the Swedish Armed Forces Conscript Medal ( sv, Försvarsmaktens värnpliktsmedalj, FMvplSM) is a Swedish reward medal instituted by the Sw ...

Swedish Armed Forces International Service Medal The Swedish Armed Forces International Service Medal ( sv, Försvarsmaktens medalj för internationella insatser, FMintBM) is a Swedish reward medal instituted by the Swedish Armed Forces in 1991. The medal regulations has been revised twice, in 1 ...

* Swedish Reserve Officers Federation Merit Badge in silver (''Förbundet Sveriges Reservofficerares förtjänsttecken i silver'') * National Association of Naval Volunteer Corps Medal of Merit in silver (''Sjövärnskårernas Riksförbunds förtjänstmedalj i silver'') *

4th Naval Mine Warfare Flotilla Commemorative Medal (''4. minkrigsflottiljens minnesmedalj'')According to the ribbon bars o
this picture
/ref> *

Coastal Ranger Association Medal of Merit in silver (''Förbundet Kustjägarnas förtjänstmedalj i silver'')

Foreign

FIN_Order_of_the_Lion_of_Finland_2Class_BAR

Commander, First Class, 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 ...

(19 May 2016) * Ordre_national_du_Merite_Chevalier_ribbon

Commander of the National Order of Merit (2012) * Pingat_Jasa_Gemilang_(Tentera)_ribbon

Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) The Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) ( eng, Meritorious Service Medal (Military)) is a decoration awarded to members of the Singapore Armed Forces for exceptionally distinguished performance or extraordinary service, or the furtherance of links wi ...

(2014) *

ESDP_Medal_EU_NAVFOR_ATALANTA_ribbon_bar

European Security and Defence Policy Service Medal – EUNAVFOR ATALANTA

Honours

* Member 1380 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 ...

(2004). * 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 ...

, Section II, Naval Warfare Studies (2012) * Chairman of the Naval Officer's Society in Karlskrona (''Sjöofficerssällskapet i Karlskrona'') (2008) * Chairman of Stiftelsen Drottning Victorias Örlogshem (2006) * Member of the board of the

Defence Materiel Administration The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration ( sv, Försvarets materielverk, FMV) is a Swedish government agency that reports to the Ministry of Defence. The agency is responsible for the supply of materiel to the Swedish defence organisation. It ...

* Former member of the

Swedish Maritime Administration The Swedish Maritime Administration ( sv, Sjöfartsverket) is the government agency in Sweden which provides services to the transport sector by keeping the sea lanes open and safe. The agency is to a certain degree financed through fees levied o ...

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornqvist, Jan Living people 1959 births Swedish Navy vice admirals Naval War College alumni People from Karlskrona Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Commanders of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera)