Carl Jacob Karsten Petersén (18 April 1883 – 14 April 1963) was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

officer. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served as head of the intelligence agency

C-byrån C-byrån ("C bureau") was a Swedish secret intelligence agency established in 1939, sorting under the Swedish Armed Forces. It was led by Major Carl Petersén. During World War II C-byrån organized operations in the German-occupied Norway and ...

. He later served as Secretary General of the

International Road Transport Union The International Road Transport Union (IRU) is a global road transport organization, which upholds the interests of bus, coach, taxi and truck operators to ensure economic growth and prosperity via sustainable mobility of people and goods by r ...

Early life

Petersén was born on 18 April 1883 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden, the son of deputy assistant Carl Petersén and Ingeborg Tanberg. 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, ...

'' at in

Bromma Bromma () is a Boroughs of Stockholm, borough (''stadsdelsområde'') in the western part of Stockholm, Sweden, forming part of the Stockholm Municipality. Bromma is primarily made up of Bromma Parish and Västerled Parish. The fourth largest airpo ...

in 1901.

Career

He became a second lieutenant in the Uppland Artillery Regiment (A 5) in 1903 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1906. He attended the Royal Central Gymnastics Institute in 1907. Petersén was major and instructor in the

Persian Gendarmerie The Iranian Gendarmerie (Persian: ژاندارمری ایران), also known as the Government Gendarmerie (), was the gendarmerie, and subsequent modern highway patrol, in Iran. A paramilitary force, it also played a significant part in politics ...

from 1911 to 1913 and participated in the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915. The same year he was promoted to captain in the Swedish Army and did the certificate exams for

balloon A balloon is a flexible membrane bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. For special purposes, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), ...

license. Petersén participated in the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

in 1918 as a lieutenant colonel in the White Guard. He was then attaché in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

from 1919 to 1920, was in the Commission Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations from 1923 to 1925, the Bulgarian Refugee Commission from 1926 to 1928, in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

in 1929 and the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

border control commission in Syria and Iran in 1932. In 1932, Petersén was promoted to major in the Swedish Army. He was Head of Department at the

International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a aid agency, humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of Law of ...

in Paris from 1921 to 1937, the general secretary of the

Royal Swedish Aero Club Royal Swedish Aero Club (, KSAK, previously ''Svenska Aeronautiska Sällskapet'', SAS), established in 1900, is today the national organization for Sweden's over 150 flying clubs and has been authorized by the Swedish Transport Agency administer ul ...

from 1937 to 1939 and was legation counsellor in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and worked at the B Department of the

Ministry for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral rela ...

from 1939 to 1940. Petersén was head of the intelligence agency

from 1940 to 1946. In 1944, he led the Swedish side of the

Operation Stella Polaris Operation Stella Polaris was the cover name for an operation in which Finnish signals intelligence records, equipment and personnel were transported to Sweden in late September 1944 after the end of combat on the Finnish-Soviet front in World W ...

. During the war, Petersén and his colleague Algot Törneman had organised private arms trades. They had sold weapons via a private firm, Skandiastål, to the Norwegian and

Danish resistance movement The Danish resistance movements () were an underground insurgency to resist the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. Due to the initially lenient arrangements, in which the Nazi occupation authority allowed the democratic govern ...

s. After the war Petersén moved to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

where he continued to represent the weapons firm Skandiastål. He became a major in the reserve of

Bergslagen Artillery Regiment The Bergslagen Artillery Regiment (), designation A 9, is a Swedish Army artillery unit which has operated in various forms from 1943 to 2000 and again from 4 December 2022 after the Swedish government decided to re-form the regiment in Kristine ...

in 1945 and a lieutenant colonel in 1947. Petersén later served as secretary general of the

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Personal life

Petersén got engaged to Esther Warodell (1886–1978) on 23 August 1909 and they married on 22 February 1910. Esther was the daughter of Oscar Andrén (1858–1918) and his wife Ellen Andersson (1863–1952). Esther was adopted by her stepfather Carl Warodell (1847–1902), a captain of the Göte Life Guards. One daughter was born in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, Iran on 19 October 1912. They also had on son, ambassador (1914–1976). He had a total of four children: Carl Henrik, Ingeborg, Rurik and Kerstin.

Death

Petersén died on 14 April 1963 in

, Switzerland. He was interred on 27 June 1963 at

Norra begravningsplatsen Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Burial Place" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of the Stockholm urban area, located in Solna Municipality. Inaugurated on 9 June 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables. Th ...

i Stockholm.

Dates of rank

Sweden

*1903 – ''

Underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word '' Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 19 ...

'' *1906 –

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 ...

*1916 –

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 ...

*1932 –

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 ...

*1947 – Lieutenant colonel

Finland

*1918 – Lieutenant colonel

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Knight 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 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

(1925) * Knight of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

(1937) *

Swedish Red Cross The Swedish Red Cross ( Swedish: ''Svenska Röda Korset'') is a Swedish humanitarian organisation and a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Founded in 1865, its purpose is to prevent and alleviate human suffering wher ...

' Silver Medal

Foreign

Orders

Commander of the

Order of Saint Alexander The Order of St Alexander () was the second highest Bulgarian order during the Kingdom of Bulgaria. It was established by Knyaz Alexander I and named after his patron saint (Alexander Nevsky). History The order was established with a decree on ...

with swords * FIN Order of the White Rose Commander BAR

Commander of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...

* Commander of the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

Commander of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

* Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

Order of the Lion and the Sun Ribbon Bar - Imperial Iran

2nd Class of the

Order of the Lion and the Sun The Imperial Order of the Lion and the Sun (Persian language, Persian: نشان سلطنتی شیر و خورشید) was instituted by Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar, Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials (later extend ...

Finland Cross of Liberty 2nd Class Military Wartime

2nd of the

Order of the Cross of Liberty The Order of the Cross of Liberty (; ) is one of three official state Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The awards of the Order of the Cross of Liberty ...

with swords * Finland Cross of Liberty 3rd Class Military Wartime

3rd Class of the

with swords * POL Polonia Restituta Kawalerski BAR

Knight 2nd Class of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

Officer of the ''de l'Instruction publique'' * EST Order of the Cross of the Eagle 4th Class BAR

Knight 4th Class of the

Order of the Cross of the Eagle The Order of the Cross of the Eagle (; ) was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a state order in 1936. The Order of the Cross of the Eagle is bestowe ...

Medals and crosses

Liakat Medal The Liakat Medal () translated as "Medal of Merit," was a decoration of the Ottoman Empire established in 1890. It could be awarded in two classes, gold or silver. The medal was a common military decoration of the late Ottoman Empire, through the ...

King Haakon VII Freedom Cross King Haakon VII's Freedom Cross () was established in Norway on 18 May 1945. The medal is awarded to Norwegian or foreign military or civilian personnel for outstanding achievement in wartime. It is ranked fifth in the order of precedence in the ...

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

* Finnish War Memorial Medal * Tampere Medal * Iranian Gold Medal *

French Red Cross The French Red Cross (), or the CRF, is the national Red Cross Society in France founded in 1864 and originally known as the ''Société française de secours aux blessés militaires'' (SSBM). Recognized as a public utility since 1945, the Frenc ...

' Silver Medal *

Italian Red Cross The Italian Red Cross (IRC, or ''CRI'') is the Italian national Red Cross society. The Italian Red Cross was one of the original founding members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1919. History Early history The present-day I ...

' Silver Medal *

Polish Red Cross Polish Red Cross (, abbr. PCK) is the Polish member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Its 19th-century roots may be found in the Russian and Austrian Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. On regaining its ind ...

' Medal *

Netherlands Red Cross The Netherlands Red Cross () was founded in 1867. It is among the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. It adopts branch governance structure which leads to approximately 214 branches that enables it to serve the whole country. It is run by pai ...

' Cross of Merit *

Norwegian Red Cross The Norwegian Red Cross (''Norges Røde Kors'') was founded on 22 September 1865 by prime minister Frederik Stang. In 1895 the Norwegian Red Cross began educating nurses, and in 1907 the Norwegian Ministry of Defence authorized the organization ...

Badge of Honour * 2nd Class of the

German Red Cross The German Red Cross (GRC) ( ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany. During the Nazi era, the German Red Cross was under the control of the Nazi Party and played a role in supporting the regime's policies, including the exclusion ...

Badge of Honour

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Carl 1883 births 1963 deaths Swedish Army colonels Swedish expatriates in Iran Military personnel from Stockholm Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Knights of the Order of the Sword Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 2nd Class Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 3rd Class Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Liakat Medal Recipients of the King Haakon VII Freedom Cross Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen People of the C-byrån Iranian Gendarmerie personnel Swedish volunteers in the Finnish Civil War (White side)