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 ...

Per-Ove Poul Ljung (18 May 1918 – 31 May 1997) 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 ...

Master-General of the Ordnance The Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) was a very senior British military position from 1415 to 2013 (except 1855–1895 and 1939–1958) with some changes to the name, usually held by a serving general. The Master-General of the Ordnance was ...

, head of the

Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration The Royal Swedish Army Material Administration ( sv, Kungliga Arméförvaltningen, KAF) was a Swedish central government agency that replaced the War Collegium (''Krigskollegium'') in 1865. It was active between the years 1866 and 1954. History ...

, military commander of the Eastern Military District (Milo Ö) 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 Gene ...

. Ljung retired from the military in 1974 and then served as Director General 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. I ...

from 1974 to 1982.

Early life

Ljung was born on 18 May 1918 in

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipali ...

, Sweden, the son of Per Ljung, an accountant, and his wife Martha (née Jensen). He passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and r ...

'' in 1937.

Career

Military career

Ljung was commissioned as an officer in 1939. He belonged to an officer course, which, due to the increasingly threatening world political situation, had a dramatic shortening of their education in order to join units and strengthen the Swedish

preparedness Preparedness is a research-based set of actions that are taken as precautionary measures in the face of potential disasters. Preparedness is an important quality in achieving goals and in avoiding and mitigating negative outcomes. There are differ ...

. Ljung was commissioned into the Jönköping-Kalmar Regiment (I 12) in

Eksjö Eksjö is a locality and the seat of Eksjö Municipality in Jönköping County, Sweden, with 9,701 inhabitants in 2010. History The city of Eksjö most likely appeared sometime in the Middle Ages when it was the centre for the '' thing'', a regi ...

as second lieutenant in 1940 and then attended the

Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences ( sv, Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan, GIH) in Stockholm is a Sweden, Swedish institution offering higher education in the fields of teaching profession in Physical Education, Sports coaching and Pr ...

in 1942 and was promoted to lieutenant the same year. During the following years he held alternately troop, staff and teaching positions. Ljung attended the Royal Swedish Army Staff College in 1948 and was promoted to captain the same year. Ljung then served in the

in 1950 and in 1955 he served as captain in the Northern Scanian Infantry Regiment (I 6) in

Kristianstad Kristianstad (, ; older spelling from Danish language, Danish ''Christianstad'') is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 40,145 inhabitants in 2016. During the last 15 years, it has ...

. He was promoted to major in 1957 and served again in the General Staff Corps and as chief of staff of the I Military District in Kristianstad. In 1959 Ljung 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 ...

and in 1960 he was appointed head of the Organization Department of the Army Staff. A year later he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 1963 he was promoted to colonel and was appointed head of Section I of the Army Staff. Ljung was appointed commanding officer of 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) in 1964 and in 1966 he was promoted to major general and appointed Chief of the Army Staff and the General Staff Corps. He was also from 1966 serving as the

and acting head of the

. Ljung was appointed head of the Army Materiel Administration (''Armématerielförvaltningen'', FMV-A) at the

in 1968, a position he held for one year before being appointed military commander of the Eastern Military District (Milo Ö) and

. Ljung held this post until 1974 when he retired from the military and was appointed Director General of the Defence Materiel Administration. He served as Director General until 1982.

Other work

Ljung was a member of the board of the Central Federation for Voluntary Military Training (''Centralförbundet för befälsutbildning'') and the National Board of the Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization (''Lottaöverstyrelsen''). He was also a member of the

Administration Board of the Swedish Armed Forces Administration Board of the Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarets förvaltningsdirektion, FFD) was a Swedish government agency that existed from 1954 to 1968. It sorted under the Ministry of Defence and had the task of coordinating the activities o ...

and the board of the

Swedish National Defence Research Institute Swedish National Defence Research Institute ( sv, Försvarets forskningsanstalt, FOA) was a Swedish government agency in defense research existing from 1945 to 31 December 2000. It was amalgamated with the National Aeronautical Research Institute ...

from 1966 to 1968. Ljung was chairman of the Central Joint Consultation Board of the Swedish Armed Forces (''Försvarets centrala företagsnämnd'') from 1968 to 1974 and a member of the board of the Idun Society (''Sällskapet Idun'') from 1968 to 1990 and chairman of the same from 1981 to 1990. Ljugn was a member of the State Administration's Central Cooperation Council for Human Resources (''Statsförvaltningens centrala samarbetsråd för personalfrågor'') from 1969 to 1974 and of the Industrial Council of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences or ''Kungliga Ingenjörsvetenskapsakademien'' (IVA), founded on 24 October 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the royal academies in Sweden. The academy is an independent organisation, which promo ...

from 1974. He was a member of the board of the Home Guard Fund (''Hemvärnsfonden'') from 1975 and vice chairman of the

National Swedish Board of Economic Defence National Swedish Board of Economic Defence ( sv, Överstyrelsen för ekonomiskt försvar, ÖEF) was a central Swedish government agency for the supply issues during war-time. The board was established in 1962 and replaced the National Swedish Comm ...

from 1975 to 1977. Ljung was a member of the board of the County Council's Fund for Technology Procurement and Product Development (''Landstingets fond för teknikupphandling och produktutveckling'') from 1982.

Personal life

In 1942 he married Inga-Maj Sjöholm (born 1918), the daughter of Ture Sjöholm and Gerda (née von Porat). He was the father of Per (born 1943) and Anders (born 1948).

Dates of rank

*1940 –

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 ...

*1942 –

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 ...

*1948 –

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 ...

*1957 –

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 ...

*1961 –

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 ...

*1963 –

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 ...

*1969 –

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

Swedish

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

Commander 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 1966) * Order_of_the_Sword_-_Ribbon_bar

Knight of the

* Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization Royal Medal of Merit in silver

Foreign

Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (1 July 1979)

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 ...

in 1964, (president 1975–1977) *Member of the

in 1979, (chairman of Department XI 1982–1985) *Honorary member 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 ...

in 1975