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 ...

Sven Yngve Ekstrand (22February 1888 – 30March 1951) was 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 Naval Staff from 1939 to 1942, Chief of 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 1942 to 1945 and the East Coast Naval District from 1945 to 1951.

Early life

Ekstrand was born on 22 February 1888 in Uppsala, Sweden, the son of senior engineer Åke Gerhard Ekstrand and Hulda (née Mellgren). He had four siblings, three brothers and one sister. Ekstrand attended Norra Latin and later from 1900

Norra Real Norra Real ("Northern Real") is an upper-secondary school, located on Roslagsgatan 1 in Stockholm, Sweden. The school is the oldest upper-secondary school in Stockholm and one of the most difficult to get accepted into. A number of prominent re ...

Career

He became a sea cadet in 1902 and received his naval officer exam and was commissioned into the

as an acting sub lieutenant in 1908. Ekstrand was promoted to sub-lieutenant in 1910 and was a cadet officer at the Royal Swedish Naval Academy from 1915 to 1918 and was a teacher at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1918 to 1920. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1917 and was

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

to the corps commanding officer in

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 ...

in 1923 and was first flag lieutenant () in the staff of the Chief of the

from 1926 to 1930. Ekstrand was the adjutant to His Majesty the King in 1929 and was a teacher at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1929 to 1935. Ekstrand was a teacher at the Finnish War College in 1929 and was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1930. He was secretary of the 1930 Defense Commission and a 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 ...

in Stockholm from 1930 to 1934. Ekstrand was also a teacher in courses for senior naval officers in 1926 and 1932. He was head of the Communications Department of the Naval Staff in 1931 and head of the Operations Department of the Naval Staff from 1932 to 1936. Ekstrand was promoted to commander in 1936 and was captain of from 1936 to 1937. As captain of ''Drottning Victoria'' he represented the Swedish Navy at the

Coronation Fleet Review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

at Spithead in connection with King George VI's coronation in May 1937. He became senior adjutant to His Majesty the King in 1937. Ekstrand was promoted to captain in 1937 and was flag captain the same year. He was Chief of the Naval Staff from 1939 to 1942 when he was promoted to rear admiral. Ekstrand was Chief of the Coastal Fleet from 1942 to 1945 when took command of the East Coast Naval District. Ekstrand was a vociferous proponent of Moral Re-Armament, both in Sweden and overseas. He died suddenly while still serving as commanding officer of the East Coast in the spring of 1951 and was given a state funeral.

Personal life

In 1915 he married Lisa Burman (born 1892), the daughter of the banker Bernhard Burman and Tora Tjäder. He was the father of four daughters, one of whom was Brita (1918–2007) who in 1945 married the managing director Gunnar Nittzell (1916–2004).

Death

Ekstrand died in 1951 and is buried in

Galärvarvskyrkogården Galärvarvskyrkogården (literally Galley Shipyard Cemetery) is a cemetery on the island of Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It has about 1,300 burial sites and an area of approximately 0.9 hectares. History Galärvarvskyrkogården in Djurgård ...

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 ...

Dates of rank

*1908 –

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 ...

*1910 –

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 ...

*1917 – Lieutenant *1930 – Lieutenant commander *1936 –

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. ...

*1937 –

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 ...

*1942 –

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 ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1948) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_Grand_Cross_BAR

Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword * 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 * Swedish Auxiliary Naval Corps' gold medal * Sports badge in gold (1908) * Shooting badge in gold (1912)

Foreign

Order_of_Naval_Merit_-_Grand_Officer_(Brazil)_-_ribbon_bar

Grand Officer of the Order of Naval Merit * Grand Officer of the Order of Polonia Restituta * Order_of_the_Dannebrog_K

Commander 2nd 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 ...

2nd Class of the Order of the Cross of Liberty with swords * 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 * LVA_Order_of_the_Three_Stars_-_Commander_BAR

Officer of the Order of the Three Stars * Legion_Honneur_Chevalier_ribbon

Knight of the Legion of Honour * RUS_Order_św

Knight 3rd Class of the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...

ESP_Cruz_Merito_Naval_(Distintivo_Blanco)_pasador

1st Class of the Crosses of Naval Merit, White Decoration (22 August 1929) * King's_Medal_for_Service_in_the_Cause_of_Freedom_ribbon_bar

King's Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom

Honours

*Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences *Honorary member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (1942)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ekstrand, Yngve 1888 births 1951 deaths Swedish Navy rear admirals Military personnel from Uppsala Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Recipients of the Order of Vasa Recipients of the King's Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom Burials at Galärvarvskyrkogården