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 ...

Karl Åke Sagrén (26 January 1935 – 12 December 2022) 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 Army from 1990 to 1994 and Chief of Army Command from 1994 to 1996.

Early life

Sagrén was born on 26 January 1935 in

Motala Motala () is a locality and the seat of Motala Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 29,823 inhabitants (41,956 in the entire municipality) in 2010. It is the third largest city of Östergötland, following Linköping and Norrköping. M ...

, Sweden, the son of Karl Sagrén, an engineer, and his wife Annie (née Myrman). His father joined 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 ...

, the first day it was established and at the age of 15, Sagrén knew that he wanted to become an officer. Sagrén 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 1955 and became an officer in 1958.

Career

Military career

Sagrén served at the Life Grenadier Regiment (I 4) and the

Army Ranger School The Swedish Army Ranger School ( sv, Arméns jägarskola, JS) was a Swedish Army ranger unit which was active in various forms between 1910 and 1975. The unit was based in Kiruna, Lapland. History The Army Ranger School has its origins in the ...

from 1958 to 1967 and was completed the higher course of the

Swedish Armed Forces Staff College The oyalSwedish Armed Forces Staff College ( sv, Militärhögskolan, MHS) was from 1961 to 1996 the Swedish Armed Forces highest institution for officers training, for staff and senior executive education and was located in Stockholm. In 1997 it ...

from 1967 to 1969. He then served at the Army Staff from 1969 to 1973 and the

Eastern Military District The Eastern Military District (Russian: Восточный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction within the Far Eastern Federal ...

(Milo Ö) from 1973 to 1976. He served in the Defence Staff from 1976 to 1982 and was commanding officer of the

Västernorrland Regiment The Västernorrland Regiment ( sv, Västernorrlands regemente), designation I 21, is a Swedish Army infantry unit which operated in various forms the years 1869–1983, 1991–2000 and from 2022. It is located in Sollefteå Garrison in Sollefteå ...

(I 21) and

Sollefteå Sollefteå () is a locality and the seat of Sollefteå Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 8,562 inhabitants in 2010. The earliest written account on Sollefteå is found in a script dating back to 1270. During this time the name o ...

Army Garrison from 1982 to 1983. Sagrén was commanding officer of the Västernorrland Regiment and was

Defence District Commander The Defence District Commander ( sv, Försvarsområdesbefälhavare, Fobef) within the Swedish Armed Forces, was a senior commanding officer, who led forces in a geographical/military territorial district, or within a specific area of responsibility ...

of the Västernorrland Defense District (Fo 23) from 1983 to 1984. On 1 April 1984, he became director and head of the Planning and Budget Secretariat (PBS) at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

in Stockholm. He was promoted to major general in 1985 and on 1 October 1986, he assumed the position of chief of staff of the

Upper Norrland Military District Upper Norrland Military District ( sv, Övre Norrlands militärområde, Milo ÖN), originally VI Military District ( sv, VI. militärområdet) was a Swedish military district, a command of the Swedish Armed Forces that had operational control ov ...

(Milo ÖN). On 1 October 1988, Sagrén assumed the position of military commander of the Upper Norrland Military District, succeeding lieutenant general

Lars-Erik Englund Lieutenant General Lars-Erik Englund (23 March 1934 – 19 October 2010) was a Swedish Air Force officer. His senior appointments included military commander of the Upper Norrland Military District (Milo ÖN) from 1986 to 1988 and Chief of the Ai ...

. On 1 April 1990, Sagrén succeeded lieutenant general Erik G. Bengtsson as Chief of the Army. He held the post until 30 June 1994 and the post of Chief of Army Command from 1 July 1994 to 1996.

Other work

Sagrén was secretary in the 1974 Defense Investigation and expert in 1978 Defense Committee as well as the 1984 Defense Committee. He became a member 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 ...

in 1978. Sagrén was chairman of the board of the Fältrittklubben from 1996 to 2001 (honorary member in 2001), of the Army, Navy and Air Film (''Föreningen Armé- Marin- och Flygfilm'') from 1996 to 2001, of the ''Försvarsfrämjandet'' from 2000 until its closure in 2004 and of the Swedish Fencing Federation (''Svenska Fäktförbundet'') as well as the honorary general secretary of the Association of Home Guard Officers (''Hemvärnsbefälets Riksförbund''). Sagrén was also deputy chairman of the board of the Karolinska förbundet.

Personal life

In 1982 he married Yvonne Öström (born 1947). He has three children.

Death

Sagrén died on 12 December 2022 in

Täby Täby () was previously a trimunicipal locality, with 66,292 inhabitants in 2013. However, as from 2016, Statistics Sweden has amalgamated this locality with the Stockholm urban area. It is the seat of Täby Municipality in Stockholm County, Swed ...

, Sweden. The funeral service was held on 27 January 2023 in Täby Church. Attendees, among others, where the former Chiefs of the Army, Lieutenant General

Mertil Melin Lieutenant General Mertil Börje Melin (born 17 July 1945) is a retired Swedish Army officer. Melin started his military career as a ranger at Norrland's Dragoons (K 4) in Umeå and after several position and courses he became Chief of Army Com ...

, Major General

Paul Degerlund Major General Fritz Erling Paul Degerlund (born 16 December 1948) is a retired Swedish Army officer. Degerlund's senior commands include Inspector General of the Swedish Army and commanding officer of the Southern Military District. Career Mili ...

, General

Sverker Göranson Sverker John Olof Göranson (born 3 May 1954) is a Swedish Army general with an armoured forces background. In 1995, he was the chief of staff of the Nordic battalion within UNPROFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav Wars. Göranson w ...

and Major General Berndt Grundevik.

Dates of rank

*1958 –

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 ...

*19?? –

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 ...

*19?? –

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 ...

*19?? –

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 ...

*19?? –

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 ...

*1982 – Senior colonel *1985 –

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 ...

*1988 –

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

For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm ribbon

For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm ( sv, För nit och redlighet i rikets tjänst) is a reward medal awarded to one who has been a Swedish State employee for 30 years and has shown "zealous and devoted service". As an alternative to the m ...

* Pro Musica Militare (1996)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagren, Ake 1935 births 2022 deaths Swedish Army lieutenant generals Chiefs of Army (Sweden) People from Motala Municipality Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences 20th-century Swedish military personnel