Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Dick Roland Börjesson (born 16 July 1938) is a former officer of the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

. He was Chief of the Navy from 1990 to 1994 and military commander of the

Middle Military District Middle Military District (, Milo M) was a Sweden, Swedish Military district (Sweden), military district, a command of the Swedish Armed Forces that had operational control over Middle Sweden, for most time of its existence corresponding to the ar ...

(Milo M) from 1994 to 1998.

Early life

Börjesson was born on 16 July 1938 in Strömstad, Sweden, the son of Arvid Börjesson and his wife Viola (née Larsson).

Career

Military career

Börjesson attended the Royal Swedish Naval Academy from 1958 to 1961, in the same class as future Rear Admiral Sten Swedlund. Börjesson finished first in his class at the graduation in 1961. He received a reward that was very rarely awarded, namely the Naval Academy's gold token and an honorary saber. He was commissioned as a naval officer with the rank of acting sub-lieutenant. Börjesson was promoted to sub-lieutenant in 1963 and from 1964 to 1965 he served aboard the cadet training vessel during her trip to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Börjesson was promoted to lieutenant in 1968 and attended the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1970 to 1972 when he was promoted to lieutenant commander. Börjesson was promoted to commander on 1 February 1975 and was secretary in the 1978 Defense Committee from 1978 to 1982. Börjesson was commanding officer of the 6th Mine Clearance Department (''6. minröjningsavdelningen'', 6. mröjA) from 1982 to 1983 before being promoted to

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 ...

on 1 October 1983. He was head of Section 1 in the Naval Staff from 1983 to 1986 and in 1987 he completed the main course at the Swedish National Defence College and was promoted to senior captain on 1 April 1987. Börjesson was section chief in the Defence Staff from 1987 to 1989 and also in 1989 he completed the management course at the Swedish National Defence College and was promoted to rear admiral. In the autumn of 1989, the

Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces The Chief of Defence, formerly the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces (; acronym: ÖB) is the highest ranked professional military officer in the Swedish Armed Forces, and is by NATO terminology the Sweden, Swedish chief of defence, c ...

, General Bengt Gustafsson wanted to appoint Rear Admiral Peter Nordbeck as the new Chief of the Navy after Vice Admiral Bengt Schuback. Instead, the Minister of Defence, Roine Carlsson, appointed Börjesson, who was then a captain. Börjesson was then quickly promoted to rear admiral to become vice admiral and Chief of the Navy on 1 October 1990. He served four years as navy chief and on 1 July 1994 he became military commander of the

(Milo M) and Commandant General in Stockholm. Börjesson left the position and retired in 1998.

Other work

Beside his military career, Börjesson was an expert in the Swedish Coast Guard Committee (''Kustbevakningskommittén)'' and was a board member of the National Institute of Defence Organization and Management (''Försvarets rationaliseringsinstitut''), ''Försvarsmedia'', the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unit ...

and the Swedish National Defence College. In 1999, Börjesson investigated the Swedish government's crisis work following the ''Estonia'' disaster. He proposed a crisis organization in the government office. The proposal was rejected.

Personal life

In 1962 he married the Judge of Appeal Margareta Niklason (born 1939), the daughter of Oskar Niklason and Birgit (née Forsberg).

Dates of rank

*1961 – Acting sub-lieutenant *1963 – Sub-lieutenant *1968 –

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 ...

*1972 – Lieutenant commander *1 February 1975 –

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

*1 October 1983 –

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 ...

*1 April 1987 – Senior captain *1989 –

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

*1 October 1990 –

Vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Awards and decorations

Grand Cross of the Order of May (4 June 1998) * AUT Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria - 3rd Class BAR

Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria (1997) * EST - Order of the White Star - 1st Class BAR

1st Class of the

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star (; ) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state. Design Classes The Order of the White Star ...

(8 September 1995)

Honours

*Member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (1979) (honorary member in 1990) *Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1986)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Börjesson, Dick 1938 births Living people Swedish Navy vice admirals People from Strömstad Municipality Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences