Major General Jan-Olof Borgén (born 6 December 1937) is a retired

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. Borgén graduated from the

Military Academy Karlberg Military Academy Karlberg (, MHS K) is a Swedish military academy, since its inauguration in 1792 in operation in the Karlberg Palace in Solna, just north of central Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urb ...

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 ...

in 1962. He served in various positions, including platoon leader and company commander, before being promoted to captain in 1970. Over the years, he undertook training courses and held roles in the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College and the

Swedish Defence Materiel Administration The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (, FMV) is a Swedish government agency that reports to the Ministry of Defence. The agency is responsible for the supply of materiel to the Swedish defence organisation. It is located in Stockholm. D ...

. He achieved the rank of major general and served as the Chief of Home Guard from 1994 to 1997, and also held leadership roles in organizations like the National Association of Volunteer Motor Transport Corps.

Early life

Borgén was born on 12 July 1947 in in

Åsele Åsele () is a locality and the seat of Åsele Municipality in Västerbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 1,798 inhabitants in 2010. Its elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height ab ...

Västerbotten County Västerbotten County (), sometimes called Westrobothnia, is a county or '' län'' in the north of Sweden. It shares the borders with the counties of Västernorrland, Jämtland, and Norrbotten, as well as the Norwegian county of Nordland and the ...

, Sweden, the son of Runo Borgén and his wife Ingrid (née Olovsson). Borgén 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, ...

'' in 1961.

Career

Borgén graduated from the

in 1962 and was commissioned as an officer and assigned as a second lieutenant to the

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 ...

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 the same year. He served as a platoon leader and company commander from 1962 to 1968 and was promoted to captain in 1970. He attended the Weapon Technology Course at the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1968 to 1971 and became an aspirant in the Technical Staff Corps (''Tekniska stabskåren'') in 1971. He served with the Army Staff and the

from 1971 to 1977, being promoted to major in 1973 and serving as a company commander at the Roslagen Anti-Aircraft Regiment from 1977 to 1978. In 1978, Borgén was promoted to lieutenant colonel and served as the head of the Equipment Department at the Army Staff from 1978 to 1981. He also served as a battalion commander at the Västerbotten Regiment from 1981 to 1982. From 1982 to 1985, he was the head of System Planning in the System Department at the Main Division for Army Materiel at the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration. He attended the Swedish National Defence College in 1983 and was promoted to colonel in the same year. He served as the commander of the Bohuslän Regiment from 1985 to 1987. In 1987, he was promoted to senior colonel and subsequently served as the commander of the

Svea Life Guards The Svea Life Guards (), also I 1, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that was active in various forms 1521–2000. The unit was based in the Stockholm Garrison in Stockholm and belonged to the King's Life and Household Troops (''Kungl. Maj: ...

and the Defence District Commander for the Stockholm Defence District from 1987 to 1992. He studied at the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest leve ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1993, was promoted to major general in 1994, and served as the Chief of Home Guard from 1 April 1994 to 30 September 1997. Borgén also held the position of national corps commander in the National Association of Volunteer Motor Transport Corps from 1999 to 2001.

Personal life

In 1960, Borgén married Torborg Holmstedt (born 1938), the daughter of Helge Holmstedt and Margareta (née Lundström).

Dates of rank

*1962 – Second lieutenant *???? –

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 ...

*1970 –

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 ...

*1973 –

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 ...

*1978 – Lieutenant colonel *1983 –

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 ...

*1987 –

Senior colonel __NOTOC__ Senior colonel is an officer rank usually placed between a regular colonel and a British brigadier or American brigadier general. Use Most western militaries tend to equate a senior colonel as being on the level of a "brigadier general ...

*1994 – Major general

Awards and decorations

* Commander of the

Royal Norwegian Order of Merit The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (Norwegian: ''Den Kongelige Norske Fortjenstorden'' (Bokmål) or ''Den Kongelege Norske Fortenesteordenen'' (Nynorsk)) was instituted by King Olav V in 1985. It is awarded to foreigners, Norwegian citizens livin ...

(1 July 1992)

Honours

*Member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences () 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 military (army and air force) and de ...

(1987)

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borgén, Jan-Olof 1937 births Living people Swedish Army major generals People from Åsele Municipality Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies