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 ...

Per Erik Robert Lugn (12 February 1923 – 16 April 2016) 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 ...

(1979–1983) and the

Chief of Home Guard The Chief of Home Guard, also called the Chief of the National Swedish Home Guard ( sv, Rikshemvärnschefen, RiksHvC) is the Swedish Home Guard chief representative. He reports to the Chief of Armed Forces Training & Procurement. The Home Guard f ...

(1983–1988).

Early life

Lugn was born on 12 February 1923 in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

, Sweden, the son of the museum curators Pehr Lugn and Gunhild (née Henschen). He passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968 ...

'' in 1947 and attended the

Military Academy Karlberg Military Academy Karlberg ( sv, Militärhögskolan Karlberg, MHS K) is a Swedish military academy, since its inauguration in 1792 in operation in the Karlberg Palace in Solna, just north of central Stockholm. It is thus the oldest military academ ...

in 1948 and was commissioned as an officer the same year and assigned as a second lieutenant in Skaraborg Regiment (P 4).

Career

Military career

Lugn was promoted to lieutenant in 1950 and attended the Royal Swedish Army Staff College in from 1955 to 1957 and conducted military studies in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1956. He became captain of the

in 1960 and was appointed section chief in the Organisation Department of the Army Staff. Lugn conducted military studies in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in 1961. In 1965, Lugn served in the Swedish Battalion 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) and in 1966 he was promoted to major of the General Staff Corps. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the General Staff Corps in 1968 and served in Göta Life Guards (P 1) in 1970. In 1972, Lugn was promoted to colonel of the General Staff Corps and appointed section chief in the Army Staff. From 1975 to 1977, he served as acting 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) and Gävleborg Defence District (''Gävleborgs försvarsområde'', Fo 49) when he was promoted to senior colonel and was appointed Chief of Staff of 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, ...

. Lugn was promoted to major general and appointed Chief of the Army Staff and Chief of the General Staff Corps in 1979. As Chief of the Army Staff, he led the difficult balancing work between quality and quantity in the conscript army within the given financial framework. His written instructions to the staff were marked by a good pen. They expressed his enduring interest in quality in the army's war organization. Lugn's interaction with the staff members was characterized by consideration pairing with great humor. His laid-back leadership style created a good atmosphere that eased employees' sometimes heavy workload. Lugn then served as

from 1 October 1983. As Chief of Home Guard, Lugn made radical changes to the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...

. He got the servicemen to accept that they belonged to an army unit and introduced military training to all servicemen. It was revolutionary for the Home Guard, which until then admittedly received weapons training but very little unit training. Now the servicemen were trained in groups and also in working platoons and the training included all the elements that a soldier needs to be able to have. He also made sure that the platoons got heavier weapons such as machine guns and recoilless rifles. Lugn also took hold of the higher education of the commander and introduced a higher education of circuit Home Guard commanders, which led to competence as battalion commander. Lugn served as Chief of Home Guard until his retirement on 1 March 1988.

Other work

Lugn was an expert in 1960 and the 1972 Conscription Investigation and in the 1966 Conscription Commission (''1966 års värnpliktskommission'') as well as in the Swedish Armed Forces Peace Organization Investigation (''Försvarets fredsorganisationsutredning'', FFU). He was also a member of the Real Estate Board of the Swedish Armed Forces (''Försvarets fastighetsnämnd'') Lugn was chairman of the Swedish Pistol Shooting Association (''Svenska pistolskytteförbundet'') from 1979 to 1985 and of the Swedish Defence Automobile Association (''Försvarets motorklubb'') from 1983 to 1986. He was also secretary in 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 ...

from 1988 to 1990.

Personal life

In 1947, Lugn married Brita-Stina Alinder (1925–2018), the daughter of Nimrod Alinder and Bricken (née Udén). He was the father of Kristina (1948–2020), Anders (born 1951) and Magnus (1956–2013).

Death

Lugn died on 16 April 2016 and was interred on 30 June 2016 at

Vallentuna Vallentuna is the seat of Vallentuna Municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden, with 33,219 inhabitants in 2018. Vallentuna's cultural landscape is well preserved, and human habitation in the area has been traced back as far as the Stone Age. Arche ...

Cemetery.

Dates of rank

*1948 –

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 ...

*1950 –

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 ...

*1960 –

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 ...

*1966 –

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 ...

*1968 –

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 ...

*1975 –

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 ...

*1977 – Senior colonel *1979 –

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 ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Knight 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 ...

(1966) *

SWE_Home_Guard_Royal_Medal_of_Merit_ribbon

Home Guard Medal of Merit in gold * Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization Royal Medal of Merit * Försvarsutbildarnas_förtjänstmedalj

Swedish Central Federation for Voluntary Military Training Medal of Merit in gold * National Association of Volunteer Motor Transport Corps Medal of Merit in gold * National Federation of Voluntary Motor Cycle Corps Medal of Merit in gold (''Frivilliga Motorcykelkårernas Riksförbunds förtjänstmedalj i guld'', FMCKGM) * Swedish Association of Women’s Auxiliary Driver Corps Royal Medal in gold (''Sveriges Kvinnliga Bilkårers riksförbunds kungliga medalj'', SKBRGM) *

Swedish Shooting Sport Federation The Swedish Shooting Sport Federation ( sv, Svenska Skyttesportförbundet, SvSF) is a Swedish sport shooting association founded in 2009 by merging the three former organisations Swedish Sport Shooting Association (''Svenska Sportskytteförbundet'', ...

's Bernadotte Medal * Skaraborg County Officers’ Association's Silver Medal (''Skaraborgs befälsförbunds silvermedalj'')

Foreign

Officer of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

Honours

*Member of the

(1973)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lugn, Robert 1923 births 2016 deaths Swedish Army major generals Military personnel from Uppsala Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Knights of the Order of the Sword Officers of the Legion of Merit