''Friherre'' Ebbe Gyllenstierna af Lundholm (12 November 1911 – 14 May 2003) 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 and a

modern pentathlete The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anc ...

. He competed at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

and finished 16th.

Early life

Gyllenstierna was born on 12 November 1911 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden, the son of major general, ''friherre'', Göran Gyllenstierna and his wife Anna (née Neijber).

Career

He was commissioned as an officer in the Life Regiment of Horse (K 1) with the rank of ''

fänrik ''Fänrik'' () ( en, second lieutenant in the Swedish Army/Air Force, Acting sub-lieutenant in the Navy) is a company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above sergeant and below lieutenant. In the navy, it ranks above sergeant and ...

'' in 1932. He represented Sweden in modern pentathlon in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

1935-1936 and competed at the

. Gyllenstierna served as military attaché in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

from 1936 to 1937 and was promoted to ''

ryttmästare ''Ryttmästare'' (from the German word ''Rittmeister'') was a military rank in the Swedish cavalry in the Swedish Army. The rank corresponded to the rank of captain in other service branches. The rank was abolished in 1972. History The military ...

'' (cavalry captain) in 1941. The same year, Gyllenstierna was promoted to captain in the

Swedish Armoured Troops The Swedish Armoured Troops ( sv, Pansartrupperna, P) is the armoured branch of the Swedish Army. Since 2005, the Armoured Troops include the South Scanian Regiment (P 7) in Revingehed, Skaraborg Regiment (P 4) in Skövde, Norrbotten Armoured Bat ...

. In 1943, he was promoted to captain of the

General Staff Corps General Staff Corps ( sv, Generalstabskåren, Gst) was an administrative corps within the Swedish Armed Forces between 1937 and 1990 and consisted of Swedish Army officers chosen for duty in the Defence Staff and Army Staff. It replaced the earlie ...

, and he served as '' aide-de-camp'' to the Chief of Army, lieutenant general Ivar Holmquist from 1943 to 1944. Gyllenstierna then served as a general staff officer (mobilization officer) of the III Military District in 1944 and as a teacher at the

Royal Swedish Army Staff College The Royal Swedish Army Staff College ( sv, Kungliga Krigshögskolan, KHS) was a Swedish Army training establishment between 1866 and 1961, providing courses for army officers. It was the home of the Swedish Army's staff college, which provided adv ...

from 1945 to 1948 and from 1953 to 1957. He was ''ryttmästare'' in the cavalry from 1948, was promoted to major in the General Staff Corps in 1952, and served on the Medical Board of the Swedish Armed Forces from 1952. Gyllenstierna was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1955 and served as battalion commander in the

Västerbotten Regiment The Västerbotten Regiment ( sv, Västerbottens regemente), 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 fr ...

(I 20) from 1957 and served as commanding officer of the Swedish Battalion VI in Gaza from April to October 1959. He was promoted to colonel in Västerbotten Regiment in 1960 and served as military attaché in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

from 1960 to 1965. From 1966 until his retirement in 1972, Gyllenstierna served as regimental commander of the

Life Regiment Grenadiers Life Regiment Grenadiers ( sv, Livregementets grenadjärer), also I 3, was a Swedish Army infantry unit that was active in various forms 1815–2000. The unit was based in Örebro Garrison in Örebro and belonged to the King's Life and Household T ...

(I 3). He was also a board member of the Swedish Military Sports Association (''Sveriges militära idrottsförbund'') from 1943 to 1944 and secretary of the

Royal Patriotic Society The Royal Patriotic Society ( sv, Kungliga Patriotiska Sällskapet) is a Swedish royal society founded in 1772 in Stockholm, Sweden, by royal charter of King Gustav III of Sweden, with the aim of improving Sweden's economy, particularly agricult ...

from 1973 to 1987.

Personal life

In October 1936, he married Eva Svennilson (1915–1966), the daughter of Sven Nilson, a court chaplain, and Auga (née Andersson), in

Solna Church Solna Church ( sv, Solna kyrka) is a so-called round church in Solna Municipality near Stockholm, Sweden. It is part of Solna Parish in the Diocese of Stockholm. The church is located on the headland between Brunnsviken and Ulvsundasjön, at t ...

. They had three children: Nils (born 1938), Christofer (born 1942) and Tove (born 1951). His son Christofer Gyllenstierna is a Swedish ambassador. In 1970, he married Maj Dalén (1908–1983), the daughter of professor Albin Dalén and Maja (née Svedin). He later married Else Bengtson-Muusfeldt (1921–1998), an artist.

Death

Gyllenstierna died on 14 May 2003 in Stockholm and was buried in

Skogskyrkogården Skogskyrkogården (; ) is a cemetery located in the Gamla Enskede district south of central Stockholm, Sweden. Its design, by Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz, reflects the development of architecture from Nordic Classicism to mature Functional ...

on 29 August 2003.

Dates of rank

*1932 –

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 ...

*1936 –

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 ...

*1941 – ''

Ryttmästare ''Ryttmästare'' (from the German word ''Rittmeister'') was a military rank in the Swedish cavalry in the Swedish Army. The rank corresponded to the rank of captain in other service branches. The rank was abolished in 1972. History The military ...

'' *1941 –

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 ...

*1952 –

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 ...

*1955 –

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 ...

*1960 –

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 ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

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

(6 June 1966) * RyttOl Medal of Merit

Foreign

* Commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

* Commander of the Order of St. Olav * Knight of the Order of the Crown *

United Nations Medal A United Nations Medal is an international decoration An international decoration is a military award which is not bestowed by a particular country, but rather by an international organization such as the United Nations or NATO. Such awards ar ...

Honours

*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 ...

(1956)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gyllenstierna, Ebbe 1911 births 2003 deaths Swedish Army colonels Swedish male modern pentathletes Olympic modern pentathletes of Sweden Modern pentathletes at the 1936 Summer Olympics Military personnel from Stockholm Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders of the Order of the Sword