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 ...

Kjeld Georg Hilligsøe Hillingsø SK BVO (born 21 April 1935) is a Danish retired general. He is also the father of the actress

Ellen Hillingsø Ellen Gunilla Hillingsø (born 9 March 1967) is a Danish actress who is known primarily for her work in films. She is also a voice actress, narrating audio books. Early life Ellen Gunilla Hillingsø was born on 9 March 1967 in Copenhagen to Kje ...

Biography

Early life

Hillingsø was born on 21 April 1935 to a Jewish family. His father, Knud Erhard Hillingsø Larsen (1905-1978) was Danish, and his mother Hildegard Dorthea Louise (née Bugge; died 1997), was born in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Hillingsø also had a younger brother, the fashion designer Lars Hillingsø.

Military career

Hillingsø was made a

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

in the

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy (, ) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and ...

in 1955, but changed to serve in the

Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army (; ; ) is the land-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures, equipment and training methods ...

, in which he became a

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 ...

of the Danish Royal Life Guards in 1959. In 1986 he was made a

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 ...

and became the chief of the Planning and Operations Staff in the Defence Command. In 1990, he became a Major General, and Chief of the Army. In 1991, he was made head of the newly-created Army Operational Command. In 1993 he became Lieutenant General and head of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

's BALTAP command, and was also head of the Defence Operational Forces. He held this position until his retirement in 1995, when he was awarded the Grand Cross 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 ...

Retirement

Since 2007, Hillingsø has been the Royal Patron for the Sankt Petri Schule and St. Peter's Church, Copenhagen. Since his retirement, he has been a frequent commentator on topics such as the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

and the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, among others, in the Danish national newspaper

Berlingske ''Berlingske'', previously known as ''Berlingske Tidende'' (, 'Berling's Times'), is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen. It is considered a newspaper of record for Denmark. First published on 3 January 1749, ''Berlingske'' is ...

. On 9 February 2000, Hillingsø was awarded the

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

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 ...

, Third Class, by then-Estonian President

Lennart Meri Lennart Georg Meri (; 29 March 1929 – 14 March 2006) was an Estonian writer, film director, and statesman. He was the country's foreign minister from 1990 to 1992 and President of Estonia from 1992 to 2001. Early life Meri was born in Tallin ...

Personal life and family

Hillingsø married Ellen Birgitta Juel on 18 May 1963. They have two children together, Ellen Gunilla and Jens Georg. Hillingsø's daughter

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth (given name), Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena, and Helen (given name), Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Elle ...

is an actress, perhaps best known internationally for her roles in the television series

The Bridge The Bridge may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Art * ''The Bridge'' (sculpture), a 1997 sculpture in Atlanta, Georgia, US * Die Brücke (''The Bridge''), a group of German expressionist artists * ''The Bridge'' (M. C. Escher), a lithograph ...

and Rita. Hillingsø's son, Jens, is the head of the Department of Paediatric Surgery at the

Rigshospitalet Rigshospitalet (meaning ''the National'', ''State'', ''Kingdom'' or ''Hospital of the Realm'', but not usually translated) is the largest public and teaching hospital in Copenhagen and the most highly specialised hospital in Denmark. The hospital ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and former chairman of

Médecins sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), known in some English-speaking settings as Doctors Without Borders, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zo ...

. His daughter, Olivia, is also starting a career in acting, following in her aunt's footsteps. Hillingsø and his wife have been long-time friends of the Queen of Denmark,

Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly ...

, and her late husband, Prince Henrik. Margrethe is godmother to Hillingsø's daughter, Ellen, and Birgitta Hillingsø is also godmother to

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark may refer to: *Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark (1753–1805), heir presumptive from 1766 to 1768 *Frederick IV of Denmark (1671–1730), King of Denmark and Norway, Crown Prince from 1671 to 1699 *Frederick ...

Awards and decorations

Denmark

Germany

Estonia

Books

* ''Trusselsbilledet: En koldkriger taler ud.'' Copenhagen: Gyldendal 2004. . * ''Landkrigen 1807.'' Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 2007. . * ''Broderstrid: Danmark mod Sverige 1657-60''. Copenhagen: Gyldendal 2009. . * ''Generalens datter''. with

and Henriette Harris. Copenhagen: Lindhart & Ringhof. 2019. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillingsø, Kjeld Living people 1935 births Danish generals Danish people of German descent Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Recipients of the Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle, Class III