Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

Carl-Johan Edström (born 21 May 1967) is a

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( or just ) is the air force Military branch, 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 escalatin ...

officer. He currently serves as Chief of the Defence Staff since 1 October 2024. Prior to that Edström served as Chief of Joint Operations from 2023 to 2024, and Chief of Air Force from 2019 to 2022.

Early life

Edström was born on 21 May 1967 in

Nora Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to: * Nora (name), a feminine given name People with the surname * Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer * Pierre Nora (1931–2025), French historian * Simon Nora (1921–2006), French politician Place ...

, Sweden, and was raised in Klutmark, a village 10 kilometers west of

Skellefteå Skellefteå (, locally ) is a Cities in Sweden, city in Västerbotten County, Sweden, with a population of 36,388. It is the seat of Skellefteå Municipality, which had 77,322 inhabitants in 2024. The city is historically industrial, with mining ...

. Carl-Johan Edström is twin brother of Swedish Air Force colonel Carl-Fredrik Edström. Carl-Johan Edström started his military career as platoon leader in the Norrland Brigade in

Västerbotten Regiment The Västerbotten Regiment (), designations I 19, I XIX, I 20 and I 20/Fo 61, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province of Västerbott ...

(I 20) in

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; ; ; ; ) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Umeå is the largest Urban areas in Sweden, locality in Norrland and the t ...

in 1988.

Career

Edström trained as a pilot at the

Swedish Air Force Flying School Swedish Air Force Flying School (), also F 5 Ljungbyhed, or simply F 5, is a former Swedish Air Force training wing with the main base located in Ljungbyhed in southern Sweden. History The moor at Ljungby was adopted for military use in 1658 by t ...

Ljungbyhed Ljungbyhed is a urban areas of Sweden, locality situated in Klippan Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden, with 2,046 inhabitants in 2010. History Ljungbyhed was and is located in Riseberga ''socken'' and was part of the Riseberga ''landskommun'' af ...

and was commissioned as an officer in 1989 with the rank of second lieutenant in

Norrbotten Wing Norrbotten Wing (), also F 21 Luleå, or simply F 21, is a Swedish Air Force wing (air force unit), wing with the main base located in Luleå Airport in northern Sweden. It is one of the three remaining wings in Sweden and currently has two Squa ...

. There he was promoted to lieutenant in 1995 and to captain in 1998. In 1996, Edström served as squad leader in the 212th Fighter Squadron (''212. stridsflygdivisionen''). During the Swedish flight operation over

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

in 2011, he was operations commander for the Swedish flight contingent FL02, part of the

Operation Unified Protector Operation Unified Protector was a NATO operation in 2011 enforcing United Nations United Nations Security Council, Security Council United Nations Security Council resolution, resolutions United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970, 1970 and ...

. In

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, he served as senior adviser and planning manager for

Train Advise Assist Command – Air Train Advise Assist Command – Air (TAAC – Air) was a multinational military formation, part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission within Afghanistan. Contributing nations included Australia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hun ...

(TAAC – Air). Edström served as a staff officer in the Policy and Plans Department in the Defence Staff (''Ledningsstabens inriktningsavdelning'', LEDS INRI) until he on 16 January 2015 took command as wing commander of Norrbotten Wing and commander of

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; ; ) is a Cities in Sweden, city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the County Administrative Boards of Sweden, capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban ...

Garrison. In addition to Swedish officer training, in 2014 he received a master's degree in strategy from the

Air War College The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University (United States Air Force), Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, ...

in the USA. He attended a Higher Management Course at the

Swedish Defence University The Swedish Defence University (, 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 marks the latest devel ...

in 2015 and at Solbacka in 2016 as well the Common Security and Defence Policy High Level Course at the

European Security and Defence College The European Security and Defence College (ESDC) is an autonomous EU body under the overall responsibility of the HR/VP, that provides training and education at EU level in the field of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), which is pa ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

from 2016 to 2017. From the re-establishment of the Air Staff on 1 January 2019, Edström served as Deputy Chief of Air Force until 4 September 2019 when he was appointed Chief of Air Force, taking office on 1 October 2019. He was promoted to major general at the same date. On 30 June 2022, the Swedish government appointed Edström lieutenant general and chief of the new Joint Operations Unit from 1 January 2023, succeeding Lieutenant General

Michael Claesson Michael Claesson (born 1 March 1965) is a Swedish Army officer. He currently serves as the Chief of Defence (Sweden), Chief of Defence since 1 October 2024. Claesson began his military career in 1984 as a tank commander. He advanced through vario ...

as Chief of Joint Operations. From 15 December 2022 to 31 December 2022, Edström was placed at the disposal of the Chief of Joint Operations. On 1 October 2024, he succeeded Lieutenant General Michael Claesson as Chief of the Defence Staff.

Personal life

Edström is married to Ulrika and they have two sons, Gustav and Oscar.

Dates of rank

*1989 – Second lieutenant *1995 –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

*1998 –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

*2001 –

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

*2006 – Lieutenant colonel *16 January 2015 –

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

*1 October 2018 – Brigadier general *1 October 2019 – Major general *1 January 2023 –

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm ribbon

For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm * Swedish Armed Forces Conscript Medal * FMintBM bar - no 2

Swedish Armed Forces International Service Medal * SWE_Home_Guard_Silver_Medal_ribbon

Home Guard Silver Medal (5 September 2022) * Swedish_Air_Force_Volunteers_Association_Badge_of_Merit_ribbon

Swedish Air Force Volunteers Association Merit Badge *

Medal of Merit (''Norrbottens flygflottiljs (F 21) förtjänstmedalj'', NorrbffljGM)

Foreign

* Grand Officer of the Order of Aeronautical Merit (22 October 2020) * Bronze Star Medal ribbon

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

(24 October 2019) * NATO_Medal_OUP-LIBYA-LIBYE_ribbon_bar

NATO Non-Article 5 medal for

(2011) *

NATO_Medal_AFGHANISTAN_Resolute_Support_ribbon_bar

NATO Non-Article 5 medal for Operation Resolute Support (2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edstrom, Carl-Johan 1967 births Living people Swedish Air Force lieutenant generals Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Sweden) People from Nora Municipality Air War College alumni Swedish twins