General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Olof Gerhard Thörnell (19 October 1877 – 25 July 1977) was a senior

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. Thörnell's military career spanned several promotions and roles within the Swedish Army. He began as a lieutenant in the

Uppland Regiment The Uppland Regiment (), designation I 8, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 1957. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province of Uppland, and it was ...

in 1900, later graduating from the

Royal Swedish Army Staff College The Royal Swedish Army Staff College (, 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 advanced training for officers ...

in 1906 and rising to the rank of captain. After teaching at the Army Staff College, he served as a captain in the

Älvsborg Regiment The Älvsborg Regiment (), designation I 15 and I 15/Fo 34, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traces its origins back 1624. It was disbanded in 1998. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the provinces of Västergötland, ...

. He then returned to the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

, quickly climbing the ranks to become a major and later a lieutenant colonel. In 1918, he assumed a key position as head of the Central Department of the General Staff. Over the years, he held various commands in different regiments and was eventually appointed Chief of the Defence Staff in 1936. Despite being viewed as a rigid bureaucrat by some, he proved loyal to the government and took a cautious approach to Sweden's neutrality 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 ...

. However, Thörnell's pro-German stance and the receipt of the Grand Cross of the

Order of the German Eagle The Order of Merit of the German Eagle () was an award of the German Nazi regime, predominantly to foreign diplomats. The Order was instituted on 1 May 1937 by Adolf Hitler. It ceased to be awarded following the collapse of Nazi Germany at the e ...

in 1940 led to criticism. He served as

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 ...

until 1944, when he was succeeded by General

Helge Jung General (Sweden), General Helge Victor Jung (23 March 1886 – 3 January 1978) was a Swedish Army officer. Helge Jung had a distinguished military career in the Swedish Army. He began as a volunteer in 1904, graduated from the Military Academy Kar ...

. Thörnell continued to play a role in the military until 1950 when he served as chief of His Majesty's Military Staff until the king's passing.

Early life

Thörnell was born on 19 October 1877 in ,

Söderhamn Municipality Söderhamn Municipality () is a Municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Gävleborg County, in east central Sweden. The seat is located in Söderhamn. The present municipality was created in 1971 when the former ''City of Söderhamn'' was amalga ...

, Sweden, the son of Per Thörnell, a vicar, and his wife Gerhardina "Dine" Margareta (née Lindgren). He was the brother of professor . He was born in the same room as

Nathan Söderblom Lars Olof Jonathan Söderblom (; 15 January 1866 – 12 July 1931) was a Swedish bishop. He was the Church of Sweden Archbishop of Uppsala from 1914 to 1931, and recipient of the 1930 Nobel Peace Prize. He is commemorated in the Calendar of ...

. Thörnell grew up in a priest's home with close contact with the academic world. After passing ''

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, ...

'' on 17 May 1895 at

Norra Latin Norra Latin is the familiar Swedish name of a historic Stockholm school more properly known as ''Högre allmänna läroverket för gossar å Norrmalm'' ("public senior secondary school for boys at Norrmalm"). Completed in 1880, for over a hun ...

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 ...

he was commissioned as an officer in the

(I 8) in 1897. The choice of regiment gave him time to lay the groundwork for solid language knowledge at the

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

during vacant periods, including in Russian. In future commissions to foreign units in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, he had additional opportunities to improve his language skills alongside the professional studies.

Career

Thörnell was promoted to lieutenant on 7 December 1900 in Uppland Regiment (I 8). On 7 July 1906, Thörnell graduated from the

and was commissioned as an officer cadet at the

. He was promoted to captain of the General Staff on 10 June 1910. From 1911 to 1915 Thörnell was a teacher at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College. In 1915 he left the General Staff and served as captain in the

(I 15). After a few years in the field, he returned to the General Staff, where he quickly rose through the ranks. On 27 November 1917, he was promoted to major and on 19 August lieutenant colonel. He was promoted to major of the General Staff in 1917, and became head of the Central Department of the General Staff in 1918. In 1921 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the General Staff. Thörnell was after that serving in the Upplands Infantry Regiment (I 8) in 1924 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel and acting commanding officer of

Gotland Infantry Regiment The Gotland Infantry Regiment (), designations I 27 and I 18, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 19th century. It was reorganized into an Gotland_Regiment, armoured regiment in 1963. The regiment's soldiers we ...

(I 27) in 1926. On 24 August 1926 Thörnell was promoted to colonel and became commanding officer of Vaxholm Grenadier Regiment (I 26). On 1 January 1928 he was appointed military commander of Gotland and commanding officer of Gotland Infantry Regiment (I 27) and in 1931 he was appointed Inspector of the

Swedish Army Service Troops The Swedish Army Service Troops (, T or ''Underhållstrupperna'', before 1942 called ''Trängen'') is the military logistics (or Train (military), train) branch of the Swedish Army. The task of the troops is to train personnel for maintenance uni ...

. On 28 December 1933 he was promoted to major general and was appointed Inspector of the Swedish Infantry. On 1 July 1936, Thörnell, was promoted to Lieutenant General and at the same time appointed Chief of the Defence Staff. He now began the organization work. On 1 July 1937, the new staff gathered and the Chief of the Defense Staff took command of the new staff. Thörnell had a harsh and sarcastic personality, and was commonly known as LM, short for ''Lustmördaren'', "the lust murderer", among the younger officers in the Defence Staff. He was considered an aged, stiff and unimaginable bureaucrat. The circle around

had no respect for Thörnell, they saw him as a "chair warmer", a temporary solution until someone from their own ranks had enough years of service to take over his post. But from the government's point of view, Thörnell had an advantage. He was a loyal bureaucrat. On 8 December 1939, he was appointed Supreme Commander and on 1 January he was promoted to general. Thörnell's time as the Supreme Commander was marked by several major concessions to

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 ...

and Thörnell himself was generally considered pro-German. Thörnell was criticized by

Torgny Segerstedt Torgny Karl Segerstedt (1 November 1876 – 31 March 1945) was a Swedish professor and scholar of comparative religion, who later became editor-in-chief of the newspaper ''Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning''. He is most remembered for ...

among other, because he, on 7 October 1940, received the Grand Cross of the

by the hands of the Prince of Wied with a letter signed by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

. Thörnell was a skilled organizer who put high demands on his staff. He was also a politically cautious general, overcautious some thought, who took active part in the intricate game about the

Swedish neutrality Sweden had a policy of Neutral country, neutrality in armed conflicts from the early 19th century, until 2009, when it entered into various mutual defence treaties with the European Union (EU), and other Nordic countries.Helge Jung General (Sweden), General Helge Victor Jung (23 March 1886 – 3 January 1978) was a Swedish Army officer. Helge Jung had a distinguished military career in the Swedish Army. He began as a volunteer in 1904, graduated from the Military Academy Kar ...

. Thörnell was chief of His Majesty's Military Staff until the king died on 29 October 1950.

Duties

* Member of the 1918 Military Payroll Experts (''1918 års militära avlöningssakkunniga'') 1920-1921 * Member of the 1921 Pension Committee (''1921 års pensionskommittée'') * Member of the Swedish Armed Forces Salaries and Wages Board (''Försvarsväsendets lönenämnd'') 1921-1924 * Vice Chancellor of the Orders of His Majesty the King (''Kungl. Maj:ts Orden'') in 1947

Personal life

On 1 October 1904, he married Anna Henrika Halling (1883–1972) in Skållerud, the daughter of factory manager Alex Halling and Henrika Gustafva (née Collén). They had four children: Gerhard (1905–1940), Barbro (1908–1992), Ulla (1914–2011) and Per (1918–1990).

Death

Thörnell died on 25 July 1977 in

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

and was buried in

Uppsala Old Cemetery Uppsala Old Cemetery () is a cemetery in Uppsala, Sweden. In July 2024, about 20 grave sites at Uppsala Old Cemetery were vandalized (overturned gravestones, broken grave lanterns and destroyed flower arrangements). Notable burials * Greta A ...

Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

Swedish

* Knight and Commander of the Orders of His Majesty (6 June 1942) * Order of the Seraphim - Ribbon bar

King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1948) * King Gustaf V's Commemorative Medal (1951) * Order of the Seraphim - Ribbon bar

King Gustaf VI Adolf's Commemorative Medal (1967) * Royal Order of the Sword - Commander Grand Cross BAR

Commander Grand Cross 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 ...

(5 June 1937) * Royal Order of the Sword - Commander 1st Class BAR

Commander First Class of the

(28 November 1929) * Order of the Sword - Ribbon bar

Knight of the

(1918) *

Knight of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

(1945) * National Air Protection Federation Medal of Merit in silver (1943) * Swedish Voluntary Motor Transport Corps Merit Badge (1940) * Medal of Merit for the Voluntary Motorboat Corps (''Förtjänstmedalj för Frivilliga motorbåtskåren'') 1929 * Landstorm Officer's Society Medal of Merit (''Landstormsofficerssällskaps förtjänstmedalj'') (1930) * National Federation of Swedish Women’s Auxiliary Defence Services' Medal of Merit (''Svenska lottakårens förtjänstmedalj'') (1930) * Swedish Landstorm Association Medal of Merit (''Sveriges Landstormsförenings förtjänstmedalj'') (1930) * Gotland Shooting Association Medal of Merit (''Gotlands skytteförbunds förtjänstmedalj'') (1932) * Swedish Red Star Medal of Merit (''Svenska Röda Stjärnans förtjänstmedalj'') (1938)

Foreign

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 ...

FIN Order of the White Rose Grand Cross BAR

Grand Cross 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 ...

(26 October 1938) * DEU Deutsche Adlerorden 1 BAR

Grand Cross of the

(1940) *

Order of Orange-Nassau ribbon - Commander

Commander of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

with swords * FIN Winter War 1939-40 Comm Medal BAR

Winter War Commemorative Medal for Foreigners

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 ...

(1923) * Honorary Member of the

Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences The Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (, KÖMS), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. The Society is an independent organization and a forum for navy and defence issues. Fellowship is limited to 120 ...

(1939)

Footnotes

References

Notes

Print

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thornell, Olof 1877 births 1977 deaths People from Söderhamn Municipality Swedish Army generals Swedish people of World War II Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of Vasa Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Burials at Uppsala old cemetery Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Sweden)