Gunnar Eklund

Lieutenant General Carl Gunnar Eklund (21 March 1920 – 11 January 2010) was a senior Swedish Coastal Artillery officer. His senior commands include Chief of the Naval Staff, Chief of the Defence Staff, military commander of the Eastern Military District (Milo Ö) and Commandant General in Stockholm.

Gunnar Eklund
Birth name	Carl Gunnar Eklund
Born	(1920-03-21)21 March 1920 Stockholm, Sweden
Died	11 January 2010(2010-01-11) (aged 89) Danderyd, Sweden
Buried	Solna Cemetery
Allegiance	Sweden
Service/branch	Coastal Artillery (Swedish Navy)
Years of service	1941–1982
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	Gotland Coastal Artillery Defence with Gotland Coastal Artillery Corps Naval Command North Norrland Coastal Artillery Defence Chief of Staff, Milo NN Chief of the Naval Staff Chief of the Defence Staff Eastern Military District Commandant General in Stockholm

Career

Military career

Eklund was born on 21 March 1920 in Stockholm, the son of lieutenant Carl Eklund and his wife Sally (née Karlsson).[1] As a child in a non-commissioned officer family in the Coastal Artillery, he moved between different garrisons from an early age, but he passed studentexamen in Stockholm in 1938.[2] Eklund became fänrik in the Gotland Coastal Artillery Corps (KA 3) in 1941[3] and during his first years, he served in units with high preparedness in Stockholm's outer archipelago[2] and he was promoted to lieutenant in 1943.[3] He had a strong interest in technology[2] and attended the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1946 to 1947[4] and passed its staff and artillery course from 1947 to 1949 and was promoted to captain in 1948. He served in the Defence Staff and was teacher at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1949 to 1954 as well as served as acting teacher at the Swedish National Defence College from 1952 to 1954.[4] Eklund was a teacher of tactics at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1954 to 1958[4] and attended the Swedish Infantry Combat School in 1957 and was promoted to major the same year.[1]

Eklund was head of the Defence Staff's Research Department from 1958 to 1961[1] and attended the Swedish National Defence College in 1959.[4] In 1960 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He was then chief of staff of the Inspector of the Coastal Artillery from 1961 to 1962 when he promoted to colonel.[1] Eklund was appointed commanding officer of the Gotland Coastal Artillery Defence (KA 3) in 1962 and two years later in 1964 he was appointed commanding officer of the Naval Command North (Marinkommando Nord), Norrland Coastal Artillery Defence (Norrlands kustartilleriförsvar) and Härnösand Coastal Artillery Corps (Härnösands kustartillerikår, KA 5).[1]

He was promoted to colonel 1st class in 1966[3] and was chief of staff of the Lower Norrland Military District (Milo NN) from 1966 to 1970. On 1 October 1970, Eklund assumed the position of Chief of the Naval Staff and promoted to major general.[5] Eklund was Chief of the Defence Staff from 1972 to 1976 and then military commander of the Eastern Military District (Milo Ö) as well as Commandant General in Stockholm from 1976 to 1982 when he retired from active service.[6]

Other work

Eklund was a member of Gotland's Coastal Artillery Corps' shooting association from 1942, member of the board and leader of the pistol shooting section leader, and member of the Vaxholm Coastal Artillery Regiment's shooting association and the Royal Swedish Naval Academy's shooting association.[3] Eklund was editor of the journal Kustartilleriet ("The Coastal Artillery") from 1954 to 1960 and co-editor of Öst och Väst och Vi in 1957.[1] He was a board member of the Marinlitteraturföreningen ("Naval Literature Association") and the Försvarspolitiskt forum ("Defence Policy Forum Association").[4] Eklund became a member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences in 1962 and in 1966 he became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences. Eklund was a member of the Swedish delegation in the Disarmament Conference in Geneva from 1963 to 1965[1] and chairman of the Section II, Naval Warfare Studies of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences from 1970 to 1972 as well as military expert in the 1972 Defence Investigation.[2] Furthermore, Eklund was chairman of the Swedish Military Sports Association (Sveriges militära idrottsförbund) from 1972 to 1984[2] and he was president of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences from 1982 to 1985.[6] After his retirement, he worked as chairman of the Officers' Association for Older Officers (Officersföreningen för äldre officerare) and in the Retired Officers Association (Föreningen Pensionerade Officerare). He was also elected municipal politician in Danderyd from 1983 to 1988.[2]

Personal life

On 31 December 1942 he married Marianne Cecil Elisabet von Malmborg (1920–2004),[3] the daughter of captain Nils von Malmborg and Torborg Vidinghoff.[1] He was the father of Carl (born 1944), Nils (born 1944) and Bertil (born 1948).[4] Eklund died on 11 January 2010 in Danderyd and the funeral service took place in Danderyd Church on 12 February 2010.[3] He was buried at Solna Cemetery on 21 March 2010.[7]

Dates of rank

• 1941 – Fänrik
• 1943 – Lieutenant
• 1948 – Captain
• 1957 – Major
• 1960 – Lieutenant Colonel
• 1962 – Colonel
• 1966 – Colonel 1st Class
• 1970 – Major General
• 1972 – Lieutenant General

Awards and decorations

• Commander First Class of the Order of the Sword[3]
• Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland[3]
• Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commemorative Medal[2]

References

1. Lagerström, Sten, ed. (1968). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1969 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1969] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 228. SELIBR 3681519.
2. Rossander, Erik (2010). "Minnesord över bortgångna ledamöter" (PDF). Kungl. Krigsvetenskapsakademiens handlingar och tidskrift (in Swedish). Stockholm: Kungl. Krigsvetenskapsakademien (4): 8–9. SELIBR 3417415.
3. Olsson, Kjell. "Carl Gunnar Eklund". www.tjelvar.se (in Swedish). Gotlands militärhistoria & Gotlands trupper. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
4. Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1962). Vem är vem? 1, Stor-Stockholm [Who's Who? 1, Greater Stockholm] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem. p. 322. SELIBR 53509.
5. "Synnergren ny ÖB Lundvall marinchef". Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning (in Swedish). TT. 10 January 1970. p. 5. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
6. 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. 273. ISBN 91-1-914072-X. SELIBR 8261513.
7. "Carl Gunnar Eklund" (in Swedish). Finngraven.se. Retrieved 18 December 2017.

Military offices
Preceded by Lars-Fritiof Melin	Chief of Staff of the Lower Norrland Military District 1966–1970	Succeeded by Bo Varenius
Preceded by Bo Westin	Chief of the Naval Staff 1970–1972	Succeeded by Bo Varenius
Preceded by Bo Westin	Chief of the Defence Staff 1972–1976	Succeeded by Lennart Ljung
Preceded by Nils Sköld	Eastern Military District (Milo Ö) 1976–1982	Succeeded by Bengt Lehander
Preceded by Nils Sköld	Commandant General in Stockholm 1976–1982	Succeeded by Bengt Lehander
Professional and academic associations
Preceded by Gunnar Thyresson	President of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences 1982–1985	Succeeded by Per Sköld