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 ...

Sven-Olof Olson (26 November 1926 – 20 April 2021) was a senior

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 ...

officer. He served as Commanding General of the

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 ...

from 1980 to 1982 and as Chief of the Air Force from 1982 to 1988.

Early life

Olson was born on 26 November 1926 in

Oskarshamn Oskarshamn is a coastal city and the seat of Oskarshamn Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 17,258 inhabitants in 2010. History Etymology Döderhultsvik was the original name before a town charter was granted in 1856. The name was then chang ...

, Sweden, the son of Axel Olson, a furniture dealer, and his wife Ellen (née Ingvarsson). 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

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

in 1945.

Career

Military career

Olson graduated from the Royal Swedish Air Force College (''Kungliga Flygkadettskolan'') in 1948 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant at

Västmanland Wing Västmanland Wing ( sv, Västmanlands flygflottilj), also F 1 Hässlö, or simply F 1, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located at Hässlö Airport in Västerås in central Sweden. History The 1st Flying Corps was set up nea ...

(F 1) the same year. As a pilot he flew J 30 and J 33. In 1951 he received the ''

Stockholms-Tidningen ''Stockholms-Tidningen'' (Swedish: ''The Stockholm Times'') was a Swedish-language morning newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden, between 1889 and 1984 with an interruption from 1966 to 1981. It was one of the major dailies in the country tog ...

''s gold medal after having saved a J 30 Mosquito fighter aircraft from a serious situation. Olson was promoted to lieutenant in 1950 and attended the General Course at the

Royal Swedish Air Force Staff College __NOTOC__ Royal Swedish Air Force Staff College ( sv, Flygkrigshögskolan, FKHS) was established in 1939 and located in Stockholm. It was under the command of the Chief of the Swedish Air Force. From the start, one-year higher courses in staff ser ...

from 1953 to 1954, where he attended the Technical Course from 1956 to 1957. He was promoted to captain in 1957 and to major in 1960. Olson was head of the Department of Combat Management System ain he Air Staff's Planning Department from 1957 to 1962. He was responsible for operational planning and construction of STRIL 60 from 1958 to 1962 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1963. He was head of the Planning Department in the Defence Staff from 1963 to 1967 when he was promoted to colonel. Olson 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 ...

and the

Swedish National Defence College 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 ma ...

and was head of the Planning Department at the Defence Staff in 1963. Olson was a military expert in the 1965 Defense Investigation from 1965 to 1967 and commanding officer of the Flygvapnets krigsskola (F 20) from 1967 to 1971 and commanding officer of

Uppland Wing Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhabi ...

(F 16) from 1971 to 1973, both in the city of

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 ...

. He became major general and Vice Chief of the Defence Staff in 1973 and was commanding officer of the Attack Group (E 1) from 1977 to 1980 when he was promoted to lieutenant general. In 1980-1982 Olson was the military commander of the

(Kristianstad) in Sweden. He assumed the position of Chief of the Air Force on 1 October 1982 and left the command on 30 September 1988.

Retirement

Olson served as 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 ...

from 1988 to 1991. Olson became CEO of AB Afoma and chairman of the board of Nyge CSE Aviation AB (Saab Nyge Aero AB from 1999) as well as a board member of Volvo lastvagnar AB, Celsius AB and Maynard AB.

Personal life

In 1950 he married the dance teacher Yvonne Jahn (born 1931), the daughter of John Jahn and Birgitta (née Bergman-Olson). He is the father of Tom (born 1951), Ylva (born 1955) and Åsa (born 1966).

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 ...

*19?? –

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 ...

*1957 –

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 ...

*1960 –

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 ...

*1963 –

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 ...

*1967 –

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 ...

*1973 –

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 ...

*1980 –

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

Swedish

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class 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 ...

(6 June 1974) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

Commander of the

(18 November 1971) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Knight_1st_Class_BAR

Knight 1st Class of the

(1964) *

Swedish_Air_Force_Volunteers_Association_Medal_of_Merit_ribbon

Swedish Air Force Volunteers Association Medal of Merit The Swedish Air Force Volunteers Association Medal of Merit ( sv, Flygvapenföreningarnas riksförbunds förtjänstmedalj or ''Flygvapenfrivilligas förtjänstmedalj'') is a Swedish reward medal established in 1962 by the Swedish Air Force Volunt ...

in gold (January 1987) * Swedish Air Force Volunteers Association Shield of Honour (January 1987) * Swedish Military Sports Association Medal of Merit in gold (The King's Medal) (''Sveriges militära idrottsförbund förtjänstmedalj i guld (Kungamedaljen)'') (1989) * ''

s gold medal "for Swedish aviation services" (1950)

Foreign

FIN_Order_of_the_Lion_of_Finland_1Class_BAR

Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President o ...

(7 April 1987)

Honours

*Member of the

(1968; president 1988–1991; honorary member in 2011) *Honorary member of the Swedish Aviation Historical Society (''Svensk flyghistorisk förening'', SFF) *Honorary member of the Östergötland Aviation Historical Society (''Östergötlands Flyghistoriska Sällskap'')

Bibliography

References

External links

Short clip from a film about Sven-Olof Olson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Sven-Olof 1926 births 2021 deaths Swedish Air Force lieutenant generals People from Oskarshamn Municipality Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences