Chief of Navy (Sweden)

Chief of Navy
Marinchef
Command flag of the Chief of Navy.
Incumbent Rear Admiral Johan Norlén since 14 November 2024
Swedish Navy
Abbreviation	MC
Member of	Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters
Reports to	Chief of Armed Forces Training & Procurement [1]
Seat	Lidingövägen 24, Stockholm, Sweden
Nominator	Minister for Defence
Appointer	The Government
Constituting instrument	FIB 2020:5, Chapter 13 a
Formation	1936
First holder	Charles de Champs
Deputy	Deputy Chief of Navy

The Chief of Navy (Swedish : marinchef, MC) is the most senior appointment in the Swedish Navy. The position Chief of Navy was introduced in 1936 and the current form in 2014.

History

Until 1936 the Swedish monarch was the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces and had formally maintained the Chief of the Navy position together with the Chief of the Military Office of the Minister of Defence in the Ministry of Defence, which is in fact maintained the position. The position of a single professional "Chief of the Navy" (Swedish : Chefen för marinen, CM) was established in 1936 in accordance with the Defence Act of 1936. The position of Chief of the Navy existed from 1936 to 1994 and during this time it was his responsibility to lead the navy units production and development. During the period 1936 to 1961 the Chief of the Navy also had an operational commanding responsibility for the naval forces. ^[2]

Following a larger reorganization of the Swedish Armed Forces in 1994, the staff agency Chief of the Navy ceased to exist as an independent agency. Instead, the post Chief of Navy Command (Swedish : Chefen för marinledningen) was created at the then newly instituted Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters. In 1998, the Swedish Armed Forces was again reorganized. Most of the duties of the Chief of Navy Command were transferred to the newly instituted post of "Inspector General of the Navy" (Swedish : Generalinspektören för marinen). The post is similar to that of the "Inspector General of the Swedish Army" (Swedish : Generalinspektören för armén) and the "Inspector General of the Swedish Air Force" (Swedish : Generalinspektören för flygvapnet). ^[3] It was later renamed to "Inspector of the Navy" (Swedish : Marininspektören) on 1 January 2003. ^[4]

On 1 January 2014, the "Chief of Navy" (Swedish : Marinchefen, MC) position was reinstated in the Swedish Armed Forces. The position has not the same duties as before. ^[5]

Tasks

The newly-appointed chief, Vice Admiral Helge Strömbäck (left) shakes hand with the departing Vice Admiral Fabian Tamm, 1 April 1945.

Tasks of the Chief of Navy: ^[6]

• Lead the units which the Chief of Swedish Armed Forces Training and Development has distributed
• To the Chief of Swedish Armed Forces Training and Development propose the development of the units' abilities
• Being the foremost representative of the units
• Represent the units and the area of ability in international contacts

Heraldry

A command flag of the Chief of Navy, drawn by Brita Grep and embroidered by hand by the company Libraria, was introduced during the reign of Gustaf VI Adolf (1950–1973). Blazon: "Fessed in yellow and blue; on yellow two blue batons of command with sets of yellow crowns placed two and one in saltire, on blue an anchor erect cabled over two gun barrels of older pattern in saltire, all yellow." ^[7]

A new command flag manufactured by Handarbetets Vänner Ateljé, which is a subcontractor to the Swedish Army Museum, was completed in 2020. The flag is embroidered by Jennie Jakobsson and Katarina Öberg. Parts of the preparatory work were done by Anna Eriksson and printed by Marie-Louise Sjöblom. The model drawing was made by Henrik Dahlström, who previously served at the National Archives of Sweden and who is now a heraldic artist and graphic designer at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters. The new command flag was nailed in solemn forms at the Maritime Museum in Stockholm on 10 September 2021 with six former Chiefs of Navy: Vice Admiral Dick Börjesson (1990–1994), Vice Admiral Peter Nordbeck (1994–1998), Rear Admiral Anders Grenstad (2005–2011), Vice Admiral Jan Thörnqvist (2011–2016), Rear Admiral Jens Nykvist (2016–2020), and the then Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Ewa Skoog Haslum (2020–2024). ^[8]

• 
  Command flag of the Chief of Navy.
• 
  Command sign of the Chief of Navy.

List of chiefs

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
Chief of the Navy (Chefen för marinen)
1		de Champs, CharlesVice admiral Charles de Champs (1873–1959)	1936	1 April 1939	2–3 years	[9]
2		Tamm, FabianVice admiral Fabian Tamm (1879–1955)	1 April 1939	31 March 1945	5 years, 364 days	[9]
3		Strömbäck, HelgeVice admiral Helge Strömbäck (1889–1960)	1 April 1945	30 September 1953	8 years, 182 days	[10]
4		H:son Ericson, StigVice admiral Stig H:son Ericson (1897–1985)	1 October 1953	1961	7–8 years	[11]
5		Lindemalm, ÅkeVice admiral Åke Lindemalm (1910–2004)	1 October 1961	30 September 1970	8–9 years	[12] [13]
6		Lundvall, BengtVice admiral Bengt Lundvall (1915–2010)	1 October 1970	30 September 1978	7 years, 364 days	[14] [15]
7		Rudberg, PerVice admiral Per Rudberg (1922–2010)	1 October 1978	30 September 1984	5 years, 365 days	[15] [16]
8		Schuback, BengtVice admiral Bengt Schuback (1928–2015)	1 October 1984	30 September 1990	5 years, 364 days	[16] [17]
9		Börjesson, DickVice admiral Dick Börjesson (born 1938)	1 October 1990	30 June 1994	3 years, 272 days	[17] [18]
Chief of Navy Command (Chef för marinledningen)
10		Nordbeck, PeterVice admiral Peter Nordbeck (born 1938)	1 July 1994	1 July 1998	4 years, 0 days	[18] [19]
Inspector General of the Navy (Generalinspektör för marinen)
11		Lindh, TorstenRear admiral Torsten Lindh (1941–2020)	1 July 1998	2001	2–3 years	[20]
12		Ericsson, JörgenRear admiral Jörgen Ericsson (born 1953)	1 October 2001	31 December 2002	1 year, 91 days	[21] [4]
Inspector of the Navy (Marininspektör)
12		Ericsson, JörgenRear admiral Jörgen Ericsson (born 1953)	1 January 2003	2005	1–2 years	[4]
13		Grenstad, AndersRear admiral Anders Grenstad (born 1958)	1 July 2005	2011	5–6 years	[22]
14		Thörnqvist, JanRear admiral Jan Thörnqvist (born 1959)	1 March 2011	2013	1–2 years	[23]
Chief of Navy (Marinchef)
14		Thörnqvist, JanRear admiral Jan Thörnqvist (born 1959)	1 January 2014	18 April 2016	2 years, 108 days	[24]
15		Nykvist, JensRear admiral Jens Nykvist (born 1968)	4 May 2016	21 January 2020	3 years, 262 days	[25]
16		Skoog Haslum, EwaRear admiral Ewa Skoog Haslum (born 1968)	21 January 2020	14 November 2024	4 years, 298 days	[26]
17		Norlén, JohanRear admiral Johan Norlén (born 1971)	14 November 2024	Incumbent	348 days	[27]

List of deputy chiefs

Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Ref.
Deputy Inspector General of the Navy (Ställföreträdande generalinspektör för marinen)
	Fagrell, Stellan Senior colonel Stellan Fagrell (1943–2022)	1998	2001	2–3 years	Navy (Amphibious Corps)	[28]
	Vacant	2001	2003	1–2 years	-	[29]
Deputy Chief of Navy (Ställföreträdande marinchef)
	Olovsson, AndersRear admiral (lower half) Anders Olovsson (born 1967)	?	?	-	Navy	[30]
	Ohlsson, PederBrigadier general Peder Ohlsson (born 1962)	20 March 2020	August 2022	1–2 years	Navy (Amphibious Corps)	[31]
	Gardesten, PatrikBrigadier general Patrik Gardesten (born 1967)	1 September 2022	May 2025	2–3 years	Navy (Amphibious Corps)	[32] [33]
	Herlitz, FredrikBrigadier general Fredrik Herlitz (born 1973)	17 June 2025	Incumbent	133 days	Navy (Amphibious Corps)	[34]

See also

• Chief of Army (Sweden)
• Chief of Air Force (Sweden)

References

Notes

1. "Försvarsmaktens interna bestämmelser med arbetsordning för Försvarsmakten (FMArbo) - FIB 2020:5" (PDF). FÖRSVARSMAKTENS INTERNA BESTÄMMELSER (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 16 December 2020. p. 5. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
2. Försvarets traditioner i framtiden med översiktlig historik från 1500-talet (PDF) (in Swedish). Statens försvarshistoriska museer TradN. 2015. p. 12. ISBN   9789197859554. SELIBR   17552963. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016.
3. Nordgren, Annika; et al. (24 February 1998). "Motion till riksdagen 1997/98:Fö3" (in Swedish). Riksdag . Retrieved 11 March 2016.
4. "Försvarsgrensinspektörer till Högkvarteret" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish) (4). Stockholm: Flygstaben: 40. 2002. SELIBR   8257600.
5. "Nya namn på nya poster" [New names for new positions] (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 20 December 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
6. Försvarets författningssamling: FFS 2013:4 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: TF-redaktionen, Försvarets materielverk. 23 December 2013. p. 18. ISSN   0347-7576. SELIBR   3683131.
7. Braunstein, Christian (2004). Svenska försvarsmaktens fälttecken efter millennieskiftet [The flags and standards of the Swedish armed forces after the turn of the millennium](PDF). Skrift / Statens försvarshistoriska museer, 1101-7023 ; 7 [dvs 8] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Statens försvarshistoriska museer. p. 107. ISBN   91-971584-7-X. SELIBR   9815350. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
8. "Nytt kommandotecken för marinchefen spikades under högtidliga former på Sjöhistoriska muséet 2021-09-10 med sex marinchefer närvarande" (PDF) (in Swedish). Statens försvarshistoriska museers/Försvarets traditionsnämnd. 22 September 2021. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
9. "Tamm blev marinchef. Efterträder amiral de Champs den 1 april" . Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 21 January 1939. p. 4A. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
10. Gäfvert, Björn (2013). "Helge Hj I Strömbäck". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). Vol. 34. National Archives of Sweden. p. 20. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
11. "Amiral Stig Ericson chef för marinen" . Expressen (in Swedish). 6 March 1953. p. 6. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
12. SvD 1961, p. A5.
13. Skoglund, Claës (2009). Det bästa försvarsbeslut som aldrig kom till stånd: ett kontrafaktiskt uppslag (PDF). Publikation / Försvaret och det kalla kriget (FOKK), 1652-5388 ; 17 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Svenskt militärhistoriskt bibliotek. p. 48. ISBN   9789185789573. SELIBR   11704940. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 August 2018.
14. "Synnergren ny ÖB Lundvall marinchef" . Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning (in Swedish). TT. 10 January 1970. p. 5. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
15. Wennerholm 2015, p. 154
16. Lidén 1983, p. 7
17. SvD 1989, p. 6.
18. "Sammanställning över utnämningar och nya befattningar" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish) (1). Stockholm: Flygstaben: 34. 1994. SELIBR   8257600.
19. Öhman, Anders (17 July 1998). "DN gratulerar: En sjöman går iland" [DN congratulates: A sailor goes ashore]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 November 2017.
20. Lindh, Torsten (2002). "Tre år som Generalinspektör för marinen - blev det som jag hade tänkt mig?" (PDF). Tidskrift i sjöväsendet (in Swedish) (1). Carlskrona: 15. SELIBR   8258455.
21. "Ny Generalinspektör för Marinen" [New Inspector General of the Navy]. www.skargardsbryggan.se (in Swedish). Skärgårdarnas Riksförbund. 1 October 2001. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
22. Lidén, Erik (2006). "Marinens officersbrist löses av reservofficerare" [Shortage of navy officers is solved by reserve officers]. Vårt försvar: Tidskrift (in Swedish) (3). Stockholm: Allmänna försvarsföreningen: 5. SELIBR   3430365. Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
23. "Jan Thörnqvist blir ny marininspektör" [Jan Thörnqvist becomes new Inspector of the Navy] (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
24. "Jan Thörnqvist ny insatschef" (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
25. "Jens Nykvist ny marinchef" [Jens Nykvist new navy chief] (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
26. "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: Personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish) (1). Stockholm: Försvarets forum: 8. 2020. SELIBR   4109339.
27. Adamsson, Jimmie (8 November 2024). "Johan Norlén ny marinchef" [Johan Norlén new navy chief] (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces . Retrieved 11 November 2024.
28. Kjellander, Rune (2007). Svenska marinens högre chefer 1700-2005: chefsbiografier och befattningsöversikter samt Kungl Örlogsmannasällskapets ämbetsmän och ledamöter 1771-2005 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Probus. pp. 73, 242. ISBN   9789187184833. SELIBR   10452099.
29. Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (2002). Sveriges statskalender 2002 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. p. 224. ISBN   9138319519. SELIBR   8428312.
30. Lundqvist Rådmark, Henrik (2020). "EWA SKOOG HASLUMS MILSTOLPAR" (PDF). Försvarets forum: Personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish) (1). Stockholm: Försvarets forum: 24. SELIBR   4109339.
31. "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: Personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish) (2). Stockholm: Försvarets forum: 9. 2020. SELIBR   4109339.
32. "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: Personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish) (4). Stockholm: Försvarets forum: 8. 2022. SELIBR   4109339.
33. "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: Personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish) (3). Stockholm: Försvarets forum: 9. 2025. SELIBR   4109339.
34. "HAN ÄR NY STF MARINCHEF" (PDF). Försvarets forum: Personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish) (3). Stockholm: Försvarets forum: 4. 2025. SELIBR   4109339.

Print

• Lidén, Erik (26 August 1983). "ÖB kvar - armén får ny chef" [Supreme Commander remains - the army gets a new chief]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 1 September 2022.
• Wennerholm, Bertil, ed. (2015). Så kom JAS-projektet till: vittnesseminarium kring beslutsprocessen om JAS 39 1979-1983 : 11 november 2013. Forskningsprojektet Försvaret och det kalla kriget (FOKK), 1652-5388 ; 45 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Forskningsprojektet Försvaret och det kalla kriget (FoKK. ISBN   9789198049886. SELIBR   18205009.
• "Dick Börjesson ny marinchef" [Dick Börjesson new navy chief]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 20 October 1989. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
• KARS (11 March 1966). "Den blivande marinchefen dalmas med stor tillit till ubåtsvapen" . Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 1 September 2022.