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 ...

''Friherre'' Samuel Lars Åkerhielm af Blombacka (23 October 1887 – 15 January 1976) 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 commander of the Norrbotten Artillery Corps from 1931 to 1937, 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 1937 to 1940, Svea Artillery Regiment from 1940 to 1941, VII Military District from 1942 to 1948,

Gotland Naval District Gotland Naval District ( sv, Gotlands marindistrikt, MDG) was a Swedish Navy unit in the Swedish Armed Forces which existed in various forms from 1931 to 1956 when the unit was amalgamated with the East Coast Naval District. The unit was located ...

from 1942 to 1948 and the I Military District from 1948 to 1953.

Career

Military career

Åkerhielm was born on 23 October 1887 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 President of the Administrative courts of appeal in Stockholm, ''Friherre'' Lars Åkerhielm and his wife Hulda (née Nyström). He passed ''mogenhetsexamen'' in Stockholm on 26 May 1906 and became a volunteer at the Svea Artillery Regiment (A 1) on 29 May the same year. He became an officer on 29 May 1908 and was commissioned as a ''

underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word ''Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 1926 ...

'' in the Svea Artillery Regiment on 31 December the same year. Åkerhielm attended the

Artillery and Engineering College Artillery and Engineering College ( sv, Artilleri- och ingenjörhögskolan, AIHS) was a Swedish Army training establishment active between 1878 and 1992, providing courses for artillery officers. It was located within the Stockholm Garrison in Sto ...

from 1910 to 1911 and graduated from en Artillery Course at the Artillery and Engineering College in 1913 and he was promoted to lieutenant on 2 August the same year. He attended the

from 1913 to 1915 and he served as an officer candidate in the

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 ...

from 1916 to 1919. He was appointed staff adjutant and promoted to captain in the General Staff on 19 December 1919 and to captain in the regiment on 24 November 1922. Åkerhielm then served as a teacher of general staff service at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1923 to 1927 and from 1928 to 1931. He was then appointed general staff officer in the staff of the IV Army Division on 15 October 1924 and then as captain in the regiment on 26 October 1926. Åkerhielm served as staff adjutant and captain in the General Staff from 27 June 1927 and chief adjutant and major in the General Staff from 21 December 1927. He was major and served as teacher at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College on 3 July 1930 and on 11 September 1931 he was appointed commander of the Norrbotten Artillery Corps (A 5). Åkerhielm was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 31 May 1934 and to colonel in the

on 13 November 1936. He then served as head of the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 30 April 1937 and as regimental commander of the Svea Artillery Regiment from 1940. Åkerhielm was acting Chief of the Defence Staff in 1941 and acting army division commander of the II Army Division (''II. arméfördelningen'') also in 1941. Åkerhielm was promoted to major general and military commander of the VII Military District and the

in 1942. He held the position for 6 years before being appointed military commander of the I Military District. He left active service in 1953 and was promoted to lieutenant general and transferred to the military reserve.

Other work

Åkerhielm was chairman of the ''Gotlands skarpskytte och jägargille'' ("Gotland Sharpshooter and Hunter Guild") from 1946 to 1948. He was also chairman of the ''Högkvarterskommissionen'' ("Headquarters Commission") from 1946 to 1947, the ''Försvarets krigsutredningskommission'' ("Swedish Armed Forces War Investigation Commission") from 1947 to 1955. Åkerhielm was inspector of the Högre Allmänna Läroverket i Kristianstad from 1948 to 1953.

Personal life

On 14 May 1913 in Stockholm, he married Frances Anna ''Margareta'' Reuterswärd (born 6 November 1891), the daughter of lieutenant colonel Carl Fredrik Casper Reuterswärd and Baroness Rosa Elisabet von Ungern-Sternberg. They had one daughter, Margareta ''Elisabet'', born 12 February 1915 in Svea artilleriregemente Parish in Stockholm. She was married to editor Stig-Arne Öström de Boussard.

Death

Åkerhielm died on 15 January 1976 in

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

and buried in Lovö Cemetery on 30 January 1976.

Dates of rank

*1908 – ''

Underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word ''Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 1926 ...

'' *1913 –

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 ...

*1920 –

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 ...

*1929 –

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 ...

*1934 –

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 ...

*1936 –

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 ...

*1942 –

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 ...

*1953 –

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

Åkerhielm's awards:

Swedish

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_Grand_Cross_BAR

Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword (4 June 1949) * Försvarsutbildarnas förtjänstmedalj

Swedish Central Federation for Voluntary Military Training Medal of Merit in silver * King Gustaf V Olympic Commemorative Medal (''Konung Gustaf V:s olympiska minnesmedalj'') (1912) * Gotland Association for Volunteer Military Training's Gold Medal (''Gotlands befäls(utbildnings)förbunds guldmedalj'') * National Federation of Swedish Women's Auxiliary Defence Services' Silver Medal (''Riksförbundet Sveriges lottakårers silvermedalj'') * Gotland Sharpshooter and Hunter Guild Medal of Merit (''Gotlands skarpskytte och jägargilles förtjänstmedalj'')

Foreign

FIN_Order_of_the_White_Rose_Commander_BAR

Commander of the Order of the White Rose of Finland * DEU_Deutsche_Adlerorden_1_BAR

Commander of the Order of the German Eagle * Order_of_Orange-Nassau_ribbon_-_Officer

Officer of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

with Swords (1931)

Honours

*Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1938)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akerhielm, Samuel 1887 births 1976 deaths Swedish Army lieutenant generals Military personnel from Stockholm Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences