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 ...

Nils Gunnar Sköld (23May 192117March 1996) 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. He served as Commanding General 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 ...

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 ...

from 1974 to 1976 and as Chief of the Army from 1976 to 1984.

Early life

Sköld was born on 23 May 1921 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 ...

, Sweden, the son of the politician and former

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

Per Edvin Sköld Per Edvin Sköld (25 May 1891 – 13 September 1972) was a Swedish Social Democratic politician. As a Minister for Agriculture during the 1930s crisis, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Minister for Defence during the war and Minister for Finan ...

and his wife Edit (née Persson). He was also brother to the Marshal of the Realm Per Sköld and the first female National Antiquarian Margareta Biörnstad.

Career

Sköld was commissioned as an officer in 1943 and 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 ...

from 1948 to 1950. Sköld became a captain of the General Staff in 1954 and served in the Army Staff's Organization Department the same year. He served at the Defence Staff's Planning Department in 1957 and was company commander of the Swedish UN battalion in Gaza in 1959. Sköld served at the

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) the same year and was promoted to major in 1960 and was also teacher of strategy at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College in 1960. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1962 and served at the Norrbotten Regiment (I 19) in 1963. Sköld was promoted to colonel of the General Staff in 1964 and served as section chief at the Defence Staff from 1964 to 1967 and was after that regimental commander of

Hälsinge Regiment The Hälsinge Regiment ( sv, Hälsinge regemente), designations I 14, I 14/Fo 49 and I 14/Fo 21, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 1997. The regiment's soldiers were original ...

(I 14) from 1967 to 1968. He was chief of staff at the

Western Military District The Western Military District (russian: Западный военный округ, Zapadnyy voyennyy okrug) is a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, ...

(Milo V) from 1968 to 1969. Sköld was promoted to major general in 1969 and was head of the Army Materiel Administration (''armématerielförvaltningen'') at 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 ...

and the Technical Staff Corps from 1969 to 1974. He was promoted to lieutenant general in 1974 and was military commander at the

(Milo Ö) and the

from 1974 to 1976. Sköld was then Chief of the Army from 1976 to 1984. As Chief of the Army he stressed the role of conscription in a major public defense of more traditional kind and laid great emphasis on issues concerning security policy and leadership in war. His defense doctrine was summed up in the concept of "tough guys" ("''sega gubbar''"), which accounted for an organization where every man was armed, and where a tenacious defense battle could be conducted over the entire Swedish territory. He was an expert in the 1962 Defense Commission and in the 1965 Defense Investigation. Sköld was a member of the 1969 Defense Research Investigation. He was an expert at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

from 1984 to 1987 and chairman of the Friends of the

Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology The Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology ( sv, Tekniska museet) is a Swedish museum in Stockholm. It is Sweden’s largest museum of technology, and has a national charter to be responsible for preserving the Swedish cultural herita ...

from 1986. Sköld also made a contribution to

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

by laying the foundations for the army music platoon. Like his father and grandfather, Sköld was a

social democrat Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

, which he also declared with an openness that was less common among senior officers.

Personal life

In 1945, Sköld married Inger Rutqvist (born 1924), the daughter of the timber dealer John Rutqvist and Elma, née Wikström. He was the father of Per-Olov (born 1949) and Ingemar (born 1953). Like his father and grandfather Sköld was a

Social Democrat Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

, as he declared with an openness that was less common among senior officers. Sköld died in 1996 and was buried at Kungsholms Church in Stockholm.

Dates of rank

*1943 –

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 ...

*1954 –

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 ...

*1960 –

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 ...

*1962 –

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 ...

*1969 –

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 ...

*1974 –

Awards and decorations

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commanders 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 ...

(5 June 1971) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

Commander of the

(6 June 1968) * UN_Medal_UNEF_ribbon_bar

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 ...

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 ...

(1960)