Vice Admiral Peter Esbjörn Nordbeck (born 19 July 1938) is a

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. He was Chief of the Defence Staff from 1992 to 1993 and the Chief of Navy Command from 1994 to 1998.

Early life

Nordbeck was born on 19 July 1938 in

Grängesberg Grängesberg () is a locality situated in Ludvika Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden, with 3,481 inhabitants in 2010. The town was dominated by iron-ore extraction at Grängesberg ore field (Grängesbergs malmfält) from the 16th century to 198 ...

, Sweden, the son of Stig Nordbeck and his wife Kerstin (née Froste). His father, an engineer, was employed by Gränges AB in Grängesberg in

Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland Värmland () also known a ...

at the time of Nordbeck's birth. Nordbeck has two siblings and two half-siblings. At the age of one year Nordbeck moved to

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 ...

where his father took up a position as chief engineer at Karlskrona City Municipal Enterprises in 1939. The

Swedish Auxiliary Naval Corps The National Association of Naval Volunteer Corps ( sv, Sjövärnskårernas Riksförbund, SVK RF), commonly known as the Swedish Auxiliary Naval Corps ( sv, Sjövärnskåren, SVK) is a Swedish auxiliary defence organization that cooperate with the ...

got him interested in the sea and directed him to a naval officer course.

Career

Nordbeck attended 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 ...

from 1957 to 1960 and served in the

Coastal Fleet The Coastal Fleet ( sv, Kustflottan, Kfl) was until 1994 a Swedish Navy authority with the main task of training the naval ships commanders and crews. After the formation of the authority Swedish Armed Forces in 1994, the Coastal Fleet remained ...

from 1960 to 1970 aboard destroyers and torpedo boats. Nordbeck then attended the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1970 to 1972 and was captain of the and commanding officer of the 11th Torpedo Boat Division (''11. torpedbåtsdivisionen'') before attending 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 1974 to 1975. Prior to his education in the United States, Nordbeck was a distinguished technician, but later focused on strategy and security policy. Back in Sweden, Nordbeck served in the Naval Staff from 1975 to 1978 and in the Defence Staff from 1978 to 1986, where he was captain and head of Planning Section 1 in the Planning Staff from 1 October 1982. On 1 October 1986, he took command of the 1st Surface Attack Flotilla (''1. ytattackflottiljen''). He then served as acting chief of staff of

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 ...

(Milo S) from 1988 to 1990 and then as chief of staff of the same from 1 October 1990. During 1992 Nordbeck was the head of the Supreme Commander's Planning Department at the Defence Staff and from 1 October 1992 to 1993 he served as Chief of the Defence Staff. From 1993, Nordbeck served as chief of the Joint Operations Command (''Operationsledningen'', OpL) until the 1 July 1994 when he was appointed Chief of Navy Command as well as Chief of the Naval Command, a position he held until 1 July 1998. Nordbeck is an 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 which he was elected in 1978 as number 1046. He was president 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 ...

until 10 November 1999. He was also chairman and is honorary chairman of the Friends of the

Vasa Museum The Vasa Museum ( sv, Vasamuseet) is a maritime museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Located on the island of Djurgården, the museum displays the only almost fully intact 17th-century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship '' Vasa'' that sa ...

Association. Nordbeck was also ''Inspectore Emeriti'' of the naval academic association SjöLund and Inspector of the naval association SjöCannnes.

Personal life

On 9 September 1961, Nordbeck got engaged to physiotherapist Eva Lindblad (born 1941), the daughter of colonel Tord Lindblad and Ruth (née Strömberg). They married on 21 June 1962 in

Oscar's Church Oscar's Church ( sv, Oscarskyrkan) is one of the major churches in Stockholm, Sweden. The three-aisled hall church, which holds 1,200 people, has an tower in the south-western part of the building. Oscar's Church is located in the south-eastern ...

in Stockholm. They have two children: Marie (born 3 January 1965 at

birthing center), and Carl (born 24 December 1971 in

Danderyd Hospital Danderyd Hospital ( sv, Danderyds sjukhus) is a public teaching hospital in Danderyd Municipality in northern Greater Stockholm opened in 1922. Until 1964 it was called ''Centrallasarettet i Stocksund''. Danderyd Hospital is one of Sweden's large ...

Dates of rank

*1960 –

Acting 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 ...

*1962 –

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 ...

*1968 –

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 ...

*1972 –

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 ...

*1973 –

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. ...

*1980 –

with special position (') *1 October 1982 –

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 ...

*19?? –

Senior captain Senior captain is a rank which is used in some countries' armed forces, navies, merchant marines, civil aviation and in the airline industry. Army In some armies of the world, the senior captain is a rank between a regular captain and a majo ...

*1988 –

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 ...

*1992 – Vice admiral

Awards and decorations

H. M. The King's Medal H. M. ( His Majesty) The King's Medal ( sv, H.M. Konungens medalj), earlier known as the Court Medal ( sv, Hovmedaljen), is a Swedish honour that may be bestowed upon Swedish and foreign citizens. The medal was created in 1814 and is awarded in di ...

, 12th size gold (silver-gilt) medal worn around the neck on the Order of the Seraphim ribbon (7 February 2013) * 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 ...

(1998)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordbeck, Peter 1938 births Living people Swedish Navy vice admirals People from Ludvika Municipality Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Naval War College alumni Recipients of the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Sweden)