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 ...

Lars Peter Mikael Hederstedt (born 29 August 1963) is 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, currently serving as commander of the Western Military Region 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 ...

since 2018. Hederstedt has a background in the Swedish special forces, and has served within '' Särskilda Skyddsgruppen'' (SSG) for 15 years, as deputy commander among other things. Hederstedt then served as the first commander of ''

Särskilda operationsgruppen ''Särskilda operationsgruppen'' (English: ''Special Operations Task Group'', abbreviated SOG, literal translation: ''Special Operations Group''.) is a special forces unit within the Swedish Armed Forces which has been active since 2011. The uni ...

'' (SOG). He has also served in various staff positions 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, ...

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 ...

and abroad.

Early life

Hederstedt was born 29 August 1963 in

, Sweden, the son of General

Johan Hederstedt General Johan Ivar Hederstedt (born 26 August 1943) is a senior Swedish Army officer. Hederstedt was commissioned as an officer in 1966 and served in Älvsborg Regiment (I 15) and Northern Småland Regiment (I 12) in the 1960s and 1970s. Heders ...

. Hederstedt did his

mandatory military service Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

at the

Gotland Regiment The Gotland Regiment ( sv, Gotlands regemente, P 18) is a Swedish Army armoured regiment which has been active in various forms between 1963–1994 and 2000–2005, when it was disbanded. The regiment was re-raised on 1 January 2018. The regiment ...

(P 18) in

Visby Visby () is an urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably th ...

in 1983. In 1984 Hederstedt did his first

United Nations peacekeeping Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peace Operations as an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is distinguished ...

mission in

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 ...

, part of 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), as a squad leader. Back in Sweden he trained to be a reserve officer in the

Swedish Armoured Troops The Swedish Armoured Troops ( sv, Pansartrupperna, P) is the armoured branch of the Swedish Army. Since 2005, the Armoured Troops include the South Scanian Regiment (P 7) in Revingehed, Skaraborg Regiment (P 4) in Skövde, Norrbotten Armoured Bat ...

and then did two more UN missions, in Cyprus and with

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( ar, قوة الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة في لبنان, he, כוח האו"ם הזמני בלבנון), or UNIFIL ( ar, يونيفيل, he, יוניפי״ל), is a UN peacekeeping m ...

(UNIFIL) in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, as a platoon leader.

Career

Hederstedt began his officer training at the Infantry and Cavalry Officers' College (''Infanteriets och kavalleriets officershögskola'', Inf/KavOHS) in

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Ume� ...

in 1987. He was commissioned as an officer in 1988 and was assigned as a second lieutenant to the

Life Regiment Hussars The Life Regiment Hussars ( sv, Livregementets husarer; designated K 3) is one of the world's oldest regiments still active. The regiment descends directly from units set up by King Gustav I of Sweden (Gustav Vasa) in 1536, when Sweden set ...

(K 3) in

Karlsborg Karlsborg (, outdatedly ) is a locality and the seat of Karlsborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 3,551 inhabitants in 2010. This garrison town lies at the shore of lake Vättern in Västergötland. History The town of Karl ...

. He served in K 3 until 1994, where he was trained in

anti-tank guided missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...

service, grenade launcher service and completed command training as an

Airborne Ranger ''Airborne Ranger'' is an action game developed and published by MicroProse for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum in 1987 and the Amstrad CPC and IBM PC compatibles in 1988. Ports to the Amiga and Atari ST by Imagitec Design were released in 1989 ...

at the Swedish Army Paratroop School, among other things. In 1992 he also served in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

for a few months, as an

exchange officer An exchange officer is a commissioned officer in a country's armed forces who is temporarily seconded either to a unit of the armed forces of another country or to another branch of the armed forces of their own country. The exchange officer will ...

. As a captain, Hederstedt was involved in establishing the special operations unit '' Särskilda Skyddsgruppen'' (SSG) in 1994, where he then served in various positions until 2010. From 2004 to 2006, Hederstedt underwent the management course at the

Swedish Defence University 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 2016 he completed a bachelor's thesis in military science about the planning of the Swedish participation with special forces in

Operation Artemis Operation Artemis, formally European Union Force Democratic Republic of the Congo (EUFOR), was a short-term European Union-led UN-authorised military mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the Ituri conflict. ARTEMIS is consider ...

in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. From 2006 to 2007, he served as deputy commander of the Special Forces Command (SFL) at the

. Hederstedt had also held international staff positions at the EU operational headquarters in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, Germany in 2006 and in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

from 2007 to 2008 for the EU's efforts in Congo and

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

. As deputy commander of the SSG, he was tasked with merging the SSG and the '' Särskilda Inhämtningsgruppen'' (SIG) to form the ''

'' (SOG). Hederstedt was appointed the unit's first commander 2011–2015. He was promoted to colonel in 2013. Within the special forces, he has carried out operations, in various command positions, in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On 1 August 2015, Hederstedt became head of the Experience and Analysis Department in the Joint Forces Command (''Insatsstaben'', INSS) at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters. On 15 August 2016, Hederstedt became head of the International Relations Section in the Policy and Plans Department in the Defence Staff. He was also appointed as one of His Majesty's '' aide-de-camp''s on duty in 2015. On 1 January 2018, Hederstedt took command of the Western Military Region in

. In early 2020, Hederstedt's appointment was extended to 31 December 2023. In mid-2023, Hederstedt's appointment was extended to 31 August 2024.

Personal life

Hederstedt lives in Skövde and has two sons, Jonathan (born 2004) and Hampus (born 2006). Besides work, he likes to play golf.

Dates of rank

*1988 –

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 ...

*???? –

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 ...

*???? –

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 ...

*???? –

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 ...

*???? –

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 ...

*2013 –

Awards and decorations

Swedish

H. M. The King's Medal, 8th size gold (silver-gilt) medal worn on the chest suspended by the Order of the Seraphim ribbon (28 January 2020) *

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 ...

*etc

Foreign

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 ...

( UNFICYP) * UNIFIL_ribbon_bar

(

UNIFIL The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( ar, قوة الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة في لبنان, he, כוח האו"ם הזמני בלבנון), or UNIFIL ( ar, يونيفيل, he, יוניפי״ל), is a UN peacekeeping m ...

) *etc

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hederstedt, Peter Living people 1963 births Swedish Army colonels People from Skövde Municipality Special forces personnel