Lieutenant General Richard "Riri" Oscar Roger Åkerman (6July 1898 – 23June 1981) 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 was Chief of the Defence Staff from 1951 to 1957 and military commander of the III Military District from 1957 to 1963, when he retired.

Early life

Åkerman was born on 6 July 1898 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 lieutenant general and politician Joakim (Jockum) Åkerman and Martina Björnstjerna. He passed '' studentexamen'' in Stockholm in 1916.

Career

Military career

Åkerman was commissioned as a second lieutenant in Svea Artillery Regiment (A 1) in 1919 and lieutenant in 1923. Åkerman became captain of the General Staff in 1931 and was

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

officer of the

Western Army Division The Western Army Division ( sv, Västra arméfördelningen, 3. förd), was a division of the Swedish Army that operated in various forms from 1941 to 1997. Its staff was located in Skövde Garrison in Skövde. Heraldry and traditions Coat of ar ...

from 1931 to 1933. Åkerman was then head of the Air Defense Office in the General Staff from 1934 to 1937 and artillery battery commander of Svea Artillery Regiment from 1937 to 1939. Åkerman was major in the General Staff Corps in 1939 and teacher at the Royal Swedish Air Force Staff College the same year. He left the Swedish Army in 1939 and joined the Finnish Army during the Winter War as part of the Swedish Volunteer Corps. Åkerman was promoted to major in the Finnish Army and then lieutenant colonel in 1940. He was then again major of the Swedish General Staff Corps in 1940. Åkerman was again teacher at the Royal Swedish Air Force Staff College from 1941 to 1942 and strategy teacher at 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 1940 to 1942. He became a lieutenant colonel in 1941 and colonel in 1943. Åkerman was head of the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1942 to 1946 and commander of the Östgöta Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Lv 2) from 1946 to 1948. He was promoted to colonel in the

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...

and was appointed Inspector of the Control and Reporting System of the Swedish Air Force (''Inspektören för luftbevakningen'') in 1948. Åkerman was promoted to major general and was appointed Chief of the Defence Staff in 1951. He was also serving as head of the Swedish National Defence College from 1951 to 1952. Åkerman left the Defence Staff in 1957 and was then military commander of the III Military District from 1957 to 1963 when he was promoted to lieutenant general.

Other work

Åkerman was part of the 1930 Defense Commission in 1935 and the 1941 Defense Investigation. He was a member and secretary of the Commission concerning the voluntary acquisition of air defense equipment in 1937, of the King in Council and was representative of the executive committee of Sweden's

Landstorm (plural ) was a form of militia (see ) and territorial defence force created in Sweden in 1885. It consisted of all conscripts who had completed their service, generally men between 33 and 40 years of age, as well as a smaller number immediately tr ...

Federations Central Association (''Sveriges Landstormsföreningars Centralförbunds verkställande utskott'') from 1938 to 1942. Åkerman became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences in 1942. He was chairman of the Bromma Air Protection Association (''Bromma luftskyddsförening'') from 1944. Åkerman was vice chairman of the central association

Society and Defence Society and Defence ( sv, Folk och Försvar) is a Swedish non-governmental organisation which acts as a forum for debate over defence and national security issues in Sweden. It has other organisations rather than individuals as its members. The memb ...

from 1951 to 1957, chairman of the board of the insurance company ''Allmänna livförsäkringsbolaget Oden'' from 1958 to 1959 and the local board of the commercial bank Skaraborgs enskilda bank in Skövde from 1958 to 1969. Furthermore, he was board member of the insurance companies Svenska liv in 1960, Städernas försäkringsbolag in 1964 and

Hansa Hansa may refer to: Places *Hanseatic League, a 13th–17th century alliance of European trading cities *Hansa (shopping centre), in Turku, Finland *Hansa-Park, a German attraction park *480 Hansa, a main-belt asteroid, a minor planet orbiting th ...

from 1967 to 1969. Åkerman was also chairman of Skaraborg County's district of the Swedish Red Cross from 1964 to 1973.

Personal life

In 1920, Åkerman married Thyra Sellén (1899–1988), the daughter of professor, lieutenant colonel Nils Sellén and Ragnhild Frisk. He was the father of Joachim (1921–1994), Elsie (born 1923) and Thyra (born 1926).

Death

Åkerman died on 23 June 1981 and was buried 6 October 1981 in Norra begravningsplatsen in Stockholm.

Dates of rank

Swedish Army/Air Force

*1919 –

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 ...

*1923 – Lieutenant *1931 –

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 ...

*1939 –

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 ...

*1941 –

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 ...

*1943 – Colonel *1948 – Colonel (Swedish Air Force) *1951 – Major general *1963 – Lieutenant general

Finnish Army

*1939 –

*1940 –

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 ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_Grand_Cross_BAR

Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword (6 June 1958) * Order_of_the_Polar_Star_-_Ribbon_bar,_pre_1975

Knight of the Order of the Polar Star * SWE_Order_of_Vasa_-_Knight_2nd_Class_BAR

Knight of the Order of Vasa * Sveriges civilförsvarsförbunds förtjänstmedalj

National Aerial-Protection Association's Medal of Merit (''Riksluftskyddsförbundet förtjänstmedalj'') * National Aerial-Protection Association's Badge of Merit in gold (''Riksluftskyddsförbundets förtjänsttecken i guld'') *

Gold Medal (''Landstorm-guldmedalj'')

Foreign

Commander 1st Class of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

FIN_Order_of_the_White_Rose_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the Order of the White Rose of Finland * St_Olavs_Orden_kommandør_med_stjerne_stripe

Commander with Star of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

(1 July 1955) * Legion_Honneur_Commandeur_ribbon

Commander of the Legion of Honour * JPN_Hokan-sho_blank_BAR

Order of the Cross of Liberty, 3rd Class with swords * Finnish War Commemorative Medal

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akerman, Richard 1898 births 1981 deaths Swedish Army lieutenant generals Military personnel from Stockholm Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of Vasa Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Volunteers in the Winter War Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen 20th-century Swedish military personnel Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Sweden)