Brigadier General (BGen) ( sv, Brigadgeneral, Bgen) is a one-star commissioned

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

rank in the

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 ...

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 e ...

and Swedish Amphibious Corps. Brigadier general ranks immediately above

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 ...

and below a

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 ...

. The rank is equivalent to

rear admiral (lower half) A rear admiral in the uniformed services of the United States is either of two different ranks of commissioned officers: one-star flag officers and two-star flag officers. By contrast, in most other countries, the term "rear admiral" refers only t ...

in the

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 ...

History

In 1972, the so-called employment reform (''tjänstställningsreformen'') was implemented. In connection with the

Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...

' increasing involvement in international operations with UN battalions and observers, it became increasingly clear that the Swedish service system did not quite correspond to what was common in other countries. A Swedish

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 ...

had basically the same training and service as a

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 indicato ...

in other countries' defense forces. In many cases, a Swedish

had tasks that in other armed forces were performed by brigadier generals. During the 1960s, this was solved many times by the Swedish officers being given a higher rank during their service abroad. The Supreme Commander suggested to the Swedish government that the Swedish service system should be changed, so that the captains would receive the rank of major and the majors would receive the rank of

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 colon ...

. He further proposed that a new general, brigadier general, be introduced. The government approved the Supreme Commander's proposal regarding captains and majors. No new general rank was introduced. The motivation for the government not following the Supreme Commander's proposal in this respect was that it did not want to contribute to an increase in the number of generals and admirals in the Swedish Armed Forces. However, the government decided to introduce the rank of '' överste av 1. graden'' ( senior colonel) for the army and '' kommendör av 1. graden'' ( senior captain) for the navy. The reform was implemented on 1 July 1972. During the 1990s, the Swedish government raised the issue of introducing a rank for professional officers called brigadier general and flotilla admiral, respectively, and stated there, among other things, the following. For a few years, the Swedish Armed Forces had in various ways announced that they wished to change the current rank level system for professional officers. The idea was that the rank of ''överste av 1. graden'' and ''kommendör av 1. graden'' would be abolished and instead replaced with the rank of brigadier general and

. The reason for this was stated to be that then almost only Sweden did not have this rank. The increased international cooperation was thus considered to have been made more difficult.

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

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 ...

and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

had recently introduced the brigadier general's rank. The government stated in the same bill that the issue should be prepared further before a position was taken on the proposal. In 1999, the government stated that the said rank should now be introduced and intended to make changes to the bill (1994:642) with instructions for the Swedish Armed Forces and the Officers Ordinance (1994:882) with effect from 1 July 2000. The rank was finally introduced in 2000 and replaced the old rank of ''överste av 1. graden''. Anyone who, according to older regulations, held the rank of ''överste av 1. graden'' would continue to hold that rank until otherwise decided. Thus, the rank of ''överste av 1. graden'' was placed between the rank of brigadier general and the rank of colonel. Unlike

major generals 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 ...

lieutenant generals 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 ...

vice admirals A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tr ...

and rear admirals which are appointed by the government, brigadier general are appointed by the Swedish Armed Forces themselves. In everyday speech, generals of all ranks are addressed as generals. The rank is translated officially by the

to Brigadier General. However, almost all officers in this rank do not command brigades, regiments or battalions; but take up senior tasks related to administration, staff, education, planning. Each of the (F)HQ units available (see Swedish Armed Forces) supports a unit which is commanded by a Brigadier General.

Rank insignia

Collar patches

File:OF-6_Brigadgeneral.jpg, Collar patch on field uniform M90 for a brigadier general
(2002–present) File:OF-6_Brigadgeneral_G.jpg, Collar patch m/58 (gold) on ''uniform m/58-m/59'' and ''field uniform M90''
(2000–2002) File:Kragspegel general svart.jpg, Collar patch on field uniform M90 for a general of any rank
(2002–present) File:Kragspegel general guld.jpg, Collar patch on field uniform M90 for a general of any rank
(?–2002)

Shoulder marks

File:OF-6_Brigadgeneral_M87.png,

Shoulder mark A shoulder mark, also called rank slide, or slip-on, is a flat cloth sleeve worn on the shoulder strap of a uniform. It may bear rank or other insignia. A shoulder mark should not be confused with a ''shoulder board'' (which is an elaborate sho ...

(Army)
(2000–present) File:OF-6_Brigadgeneral FV.jpg,

(Air Force)
(2000–present) File:OF-6_Brigadgeneral_FV_hylsa.jpg,

(Air Force)
(2000–present) File:OF-6_Flottiljamiral_FL_hylsa.jpg,

(Navy)
(2000–present)

Sleeve insignias

Amphibious Corps

File:OF-6_Brigadgeneral_AMF_arm.jpg, Sleeve insignia for a brigadier general
(2003–present) File:OF-7_Generalmajor_KA_ärm_pre-1972.jpg, Sleeve insignia for a brigadier general
(2000–2003)

Air Force

File:OF-6 Brigadgeneral FV mäss.jpg,

Mess jacket The mess jacket is a type of formal jacket that ends at the waist. It features either a non-fastening double breast cut or a single-breasted version that fastens.

sleeve insignia for a brigadier general File:OF-6 Brigadgeneral FV2.jpg,

Flight suit A flight suit is a full-body garment, worn while flying aircraft such as military airplanes, gliders and helicopters. These suits are generally made to keep the wearer warm, as well as being practical (plenty of pockets), and durable (includi ...

sleeve insignia for a brigadier general
(2000–present)

Hat insignia

File:Agraff OF General f2000.jpg, Clasp ( ''agrafe'') for a general of any rank
(?–2002) File:Agraff OF General e2002.jpg, Clasp ( ''agrafe'') for a general of any rank
(c. 2002–2009)

Personal flags

The command flag of a brigader general (and a

) is a double swallowtailed Swedish flag. In the first blue field 1 five-pointed white star. File:Naval_Rank_Flag_of_Sweden_-_Flottiljamiralsflagga.svg, Brigadier general/

flag
(2000–present)

Footnotes

References

Notes

Print

* * * *{{cite book , url=http://www.tjelvar.se/pdf/unir_2003.pdf , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605074032/http://www.tjelvar.se/pdf/unir_2003.pdf , title=Uniformsreglemente för Försvarsmakten: UniR FM , edition=2003 , year=2003 , publisher=Försvarsmakten , location=Stockholm , language=sv , id={{SELIBR, 9043529 , archive-date=5 June 2020 , ref={{harvid, ''Uniformsreglemente'', 2003 Military ranks of the Swedish Army Military ranks of the Swedish Air Force sv:Brigadgeneral