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 ...

Karl Eric Holm (3 June 1919 – 27 July 2016) 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 include Chief of the Army Staff and the

General Staff Corps General Staff Corps ( sv, Generalstabskåren, Gst) was an administrative corps within the Swedish Armed Forces between 1937 and 1990 and consisted of Swedish Army officers chosen for duty in the Defence Staff and Army Staff. It replaced the earlie ...

(1968–1972), military commander of the

Southern Military District 200px, Headquarters of the district at 53 Pushkinskaya Street / 43 Budenovsky avenue, Rostov-on-Don The Southern Military District (Russian: Южный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military ...

(1972–1980) and the

Chief of Home Guard The Chief of Home Guard, also called the Chief of the National Swedish Home Guard ( sv, Rikshemvärnschefen, RiksHvC) is the Swedish Home Guard chief representative. He reports to the Chief of Armed Forces Training & Procurement. The Home Guard f ...

(1981–1983).

Early life

Holm was born on 3 June 1919 in

Falköping Falköping is a locality and the seat of Falköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 16,350 inhabitants in 2010. History The town of Falköping was first spoken of in the Icelandic ''Rimbegla'' (around 1100 A.D.), and ...

, Sweden, the son of Carl Holm, a station master, and his wife Olga (née Södergren). 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

Skövde Skövde () is a locality and urban centre in Skövde Municipality and Västra Götaland County, in the Västergötland (Western Gothland region) in central Southern Sweden. Skövde is situated some 150 km northeast of Gothenburg, between Swe ...

in 1937 and then served in the

Swedish Volunteer Corps The Swedish Volunteer Corps ( sv, Svenska frivilligkåren) during the Winter War numbered 9,640 officers and men. Sweden was officially non-belligerent during the war, so the Corps was used by Finland. The Swedish volunteers were in the front l ...

during the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

from 1939 to 1940.

Career

Holm was commissioned as an officer in 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 ...

in 1941 with the rank of ''

fänrik ''Fänrik'' () ( en, second lieutenant in the Swedish Army/Air Force, Acting sub-lieutenant in the Navy) is a company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above sergeant and below lieutenant. In the navy, it ranks above sergeant and ...

'' in the Norrland Logistic Corps (T 3) in

Sollefteå Sollefteå () is a locality and the seat of Sollefteå Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 8,562 inhabitants in 2010. The earliest written account on Sollefteå is found in a script dating back to 1270. During this time the name o ...

. Holm attended the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1949 to 1951 and the British Army Staff College in

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 1954. He was appointed captain in the

in 1955 and he served in the expert investigation regarding compulsory military service from 1956 to 1958. Holm served as captain 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 ...

(I 15) in 1958 and he was appointed major in the General Staff Corps in 1959. The same year he attended 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 ...

. Holm was a member of the 1960 Social Emergency Committee (''Socialberedskapskommittéen'') and he served as head of department in the Defence Staff from 1960. He was then promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1963 and served in the

Life Regiment Grenadiers Life Regiment Grenadiers ( sv, Livregementets grenadjärer), also I 3, was a Swedish Army infantry unit that was active in various forms 1815–2000. The unit was based in Örebro Garrison in Örebro and belonged to the King's Life and Household T ...

(I 3) before being appointed colonel in the Defence Staff in 1964. In 1965, Holm was appointed regimental commander of

Norrbotten Regiment The Norrbotten Regiment ( sv, Norrbottens regemente), designation I 19, is a Swedish Army arctic armoured, light infantry and commando regiment that traces its origins back to the 19th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited fr ...

(I 19) in Boden and the year after he served as chief of staff of the

Bergslagen Military District Bergslagen Military District ( sv, Bergslagens militärområde, Milo B), originally V Military District ( sv, V. militärområdet) was a Sweden, Swedish Military district (Sweden), military district, a command of the Swedish Armed Forces that had ...

(Milo B). He was promoted to major general and was appointed acting Chief of the Army Staff in 1966 and two years later he was appointed Chief of the Army Staff and the General Staff Corps, a position he held for four years. In August 1971, Holm inspected the Swedish Contingent serving with the

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

(UNFICYP). He also called on the Force Commander, major general B. F. Osorio-Tafall, and the chief of staff, brigadier general E.M.D. Leslie. In 1972, Holm was promoted to lieutenant general and was appointed military commander of the

(Milo S). After eight years in this role, Holm was commanded to serve the

Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces The Supreme Commander ( sv, överbefälhavaren; acronym: ÖB) is the highest ranked professional military officer in the Swedish Armed Forces, and is by NATO terminology the Swedish chief of defence equivalent. The Supreme Commander is the agency ...

in 1980. The year after he was appointed

, serving from 1 January 1981 to 30 September 1983. As Chief of Home Guard, Holm undertook a reorganization of the National Home Guard Staff's (''Rikshemvärnstaben'') work, including a planning section to investigate the Home Guard's future organization. In 1982 discussions with the

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 ...

were also initiated and the issue of setting up a Home Guard with naval tasks was raised. Holm retired from active service in 1983. Holm was chairman of the Swedish Pistol Shooting Association (''Svenska pistolskytteförbundet'') from 1967 to 1973 and vice chairman of the Swedish Central Federation for Voluntary Military Training (''Centralförbundet för befälsutbildning'') from 1970 to 1981. He was also vice chairman of the

National Association of Volunteer Motor Transport Corps The National Association of Volunteer Motor Transport Corps ( sv, Frivilliga automobilkårernas riksförbund, FAK), commonly known as the Swedish Voluntary Motor Transport(ation) Corps ( sv, Frivilliga Automobilkåren) is a Swedish nationwide volunt ...

from 1983 to 1985 and 1989 to 1991 as well as chairman of the same from 1985 to 1989. Holm was also on the board of the Swedish Armed Forces School for Secondary Education.

Personal life

In 1943, Holm married Hedvig Wadstein (1920–2013), the daughter of tax collector J. Wadstein and Tekla Pierre. He was the father of Karin (born 1948) and Gunilla (born 1952).

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 ...

*19?? –

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 ...

*1949 –

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 ...

*1959 –

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 ...

*1963 –

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 ...

*1964 –

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 –

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

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_Grand_Cross_BAR

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 February 23, 1748, together with the Or ...

(6 June 1973) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

Commander of the

(6 June 1967) * Finnish War Commemorative Medal (''Finsk krigsminnesmedalj'') * Finnish Commemorative Cross due to the Finnish War 1939-45 (''Finskt minneskors med anledning av Finlands krig 1939-45'')

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 ...

(1963) *Honorary member of the Swedish Pistol Shooting Association (''Svenska pistolskytteförbundet'')

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holm, Karl Eric 1919 births 2016 deaths Swedish Army lieutenant generals Volunteers in the Winter War People from Falköping Municipality Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword