Bengt Lehander

Lieutenant General Bengt Anders Lehander (25 June 1925 – 9 May 1994) was a Swedish Air Force officer. His senior commands include wing commander of the Skaraborg Air Force Wing, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, military commander of the Eastern Military District and Commandant General in Stockholm.

Bengt Lehander
Birth name	Bengt Anders Lehander
Born	(1925-06-25)25 June 1925 Skagersvik, Sweden
Died	9 May 1994(1994-05-09) (aged 68)
Allegiance	Sweden
Service/branch	Swedish Air Force
Years of service	1947–1988
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	Skaraborg Air Force Wing Vice Chief of the Defence Staff Eastern Military District Commandant General in Stockholm

Career

Lehander was born on 25 June 1925 in Skagersvik, Sweden, the son of Anders Lehander and his wife Gerda (née Gustafsson). He passed studentexamen in Linköping in 1944 and became an officer in 1947 when he was commissioned as fänrik in the Swedish Air Force. Lehander served as a flight instructor at the Swedish Air Force Flying School from 1948 to 1955 and completed the technical course at the Royal Swedish Air Force Staff College from 1956 to 1957. He then served as a staff officer in the Air Staff's Operation Department from 1957 to 1960 before serving as Director of Flight Operations at the Södermanland Air Force Wing (F 11) from 1960 to 1962.[1]

Lehander served as deputy head and head of the Air Staff's Organization Department from 1962 to 1965, and as staff officer at the Ministry of Defence from 1965 to 1968. He was promoted to colonel and appointed wing commander of the Skaraborg Air Force Wing (F 7) in 1968, and then served as head of division at the Defence Materiel Administration from 1972 to 1974. Lehander was promoted to major general in the Swedish Air Force 1974 and served as head of the Central Planning at the Defence Materiel Administration from 1974 to 1978. He was appointed Vice Chief of the Defence Staff in 1978[1] and head of the Planning Command (Planeringsledningen) in the Defence Staff.[2] On 1 October 1982 he was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed military commander of the Eastern Military District,[3] serving until 1988.[1] Lehander also served as Commandant General in Stockholm from 1982 to 1988 when he retired.

Personal life

In 1955, he married Isabella Laurell (born 1931), the daughter of Alvar Laurell and Flory (née Månsson).[1]

Lehander died on 9 May 1994 and was buried at Danderyd Cemetery on 7 June 1994.[4]

Dates of rank

• 1947 – Fänrik
• 1949 – Lieutenant
• 1956 – Captain
• 1960 – Major
• 1963 – Lieutenant Colonel
• 1968 – Colonel
• 1972 – Colonel 1st Class
• 1974 – Major General
• 1982 – Lieutenant General

References

1. Uddling, Hans; Paabo, Katrin, eds. (1992). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1993 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1993] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 642. ISBN 91-1-914072-X. SELIBR 8261513.
2. "Ledningen möbleras om". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish) (312). 17 November 1981. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
3. Charleville, Jahn, ed. (1982). "UTNÄMNINGAR" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish). Stockholm: Flygstaben (2): 39. SELIBR 8257600.
4. "BENGT ANDERS LEHANDER". www.finngraven.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 February 2019.

Military offices
Preceded by Folke Barkman	Skaraborg Air Force Wing 1968–1972	Succeeded by Karl-Erik Fernander
Preceded by Bengt Schuback	Vice Chief of the Defence Staff 1978–1982	Succeeded by Lars-Bertil Persson as Deputy Chief
Preceded by Gunnar Eklund	Eastern Military District 1982–1988	Succeeded by Bror Stefenson
Preceded by Gunnar Eklund	Commandant General in Stockholm 1982–1988	Succeeded by Bror Stefenson