Ranks 1901–1925 - Army
With the introduction of the conscript system to replace the Swedish allotment system there were initially no changes in the rank structure.
Överbefäl
Officerare
- Fältmarskalk
- General
- Generallöjtnant
- Generalmajor
- Överste
- Överstelöjtnant
- Major
- Kapten
- Löjtnant
- Underlöjtnant
- Fänrik (from 1914)
Underbefäl
Underofficerare
- Fanjunkare
- Sergeant
Manskap
- Befäl av manskapet
- Distinktionskorpral(to 1914) Furir(from 1914)
- Korpral
- Vicekorpral
- Menig
Conscripted personnel
Conscripts served 8–9 months in the infantry and 12 months in the cavalry and artillery. These personnel carried the rank of menig (private). Later conscripts could also be trained for and given corporal ranks.
Employed personnel
Employed personnel were divided into two groups, överbefäl and underbefäl. Överbefäl consisted of Officerare(Officers) who had a studentexamen (high school degree) and served as cadets for two years at the Karlberg Military Academy before being commissioned.
Underbefäl were divided into two groups, underofficerare and manskap(enlisted men). The category manskap consisted of the ordinary privates and corporals. The status of the underofficerare was lowered with the introduction of conscription for several reasons. The old system had consisted of the allotment regiments and enlisted troops. The enlisted troops had a much lower status than the allotment soldiers and the new conscription system copied more features from the enlisted part of the army than the allotment part. Earlier, the underofficerare were educated in their own national school and the allotment underofficerare, following French practice, were recruited directly, i.e. they did not have to serve as privates or corporals before they could advance to underofficerare. In the conscription army this practice was ended and like to enlisted troops pre 1901 the underofficerare were all recruited from the manskap category.
For the enlisted men the start of the military career was as a private after they had signed a three-year contract. The first year was a training year(volontärskola) after which the most able privates could apply (applications were accepted once a year) for corporal school(korpralskola). Those who were not admitted to the corporal school continued to serve as privates or lance corporals (vicekorpral), if they had special skills such as farrier. After their three-year service was finished they could enlist for additional periods, but if they had not been promoted before 28 years of age, they had to quit. Usually, soldiers who had failed to be accepted to corporal school after their first term (i.e. been rejected three times) would choose to serve for one or two years more at most, since the pay and conditions of privates were poor. The main reason such individuals did not quit directly after three years was that after five years of service(later shortened to four) the privates were eligible for extra benefits, e.g., priority for employment in post offices, government-owned railways, police, etc.
Those who were accepted to corporal school were promoted to vicekorpral and after one year of training promoted to korpral. Advancement to corporal meant that one had to serve one additional year (i.e., four years if the corporal did not re enlist). Corporals could apply to furirskola, a one-year training, after which they were promoted to furir . Korpral and furir worked as instructors and squad leaders and had a mandatory retirement age of 32. Enlisted personnel did not receive pension after their service, but they were entitled to severance pay upon discharge.
A furir who had graduated the furirskola with high marks could apply for underofficersskola, after which they were promoted to sergeant. After two years as sergeant they were given a fullmakt(warrant) and were guaranteed employment until retirement, after which they received pension. Underofficerare were responsible for the training of the conscripts and recruits and could also work as platoon leaders or deputy platoon leaders.
History of other ranks
These historical enlisted and NCO ranks of Sweden comprise the contracted ordinary ranks in the Swedish Armed Forces and their respective insignia. The length of contract is currently restricted to two years due to the employment protection law (LAS).
Menig
Rank for recruits undertaking training.
| Army | Air force | Navy |
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| No insignia |  |  |
Vicekorpral
Vicekorpral was introduced in 2009. How to obtain the rank and what it represents have not yet been clearly defined.
Korpral
Korpral used to be a trainee rank for conscripts prior the rank reform 2009 and the change to a pure professional armed forces in 2010. The rank was obtained by conscript commanders after serving a certain time (usually 4 months) and passing the mandatory tests (such as physical, weapons, enemy identification and tactics etc.).
Prior to 2009
Insignias before 2009| Army | Air force | Navy |
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 |  |  |
1600 - 1700
A korpral of the infantry was in charge of a 24 men strong formation called korpralskap during the Swedish allotment system. The korpralskap consisted of four rote (teams) of 6 men each. Each rote was led by a rote master.
Korpral was considered an under-officer rank in the Cavalry before the reorganization 1833/37 that elevated holders of the rank Korpral to Sergeants and lowered the status of the rank.
Konstapel
A corresponding artillery and air-defense rank that was established in 1500. The rank was discontinued in 1972.
Distinktionskorpral
Established 1858 as a rank above Korpral. In 1912 the rank was discontinued and holders of the rank were elevated to Furir.
- Holders of the rank Korpral were elevated to Furir.
- Holders of the rank Vicekorpral were elevated to Korpral.
- Vicekopral was discontinued.
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank for soldiers in the cavalry, deputy squanders in regular units and is being used as a rank for deputy squad leaders in the home defense organization(Hemvarnet). The rank was obtained by conscript platoon-commanders (PB, plutonsbefäl) when finishing their conscript service (usually after 12 months). How to obtain the rank in the newly formed professional armed forces is not yet clearly defined.
2009 Furir changes name to Sergeant
The rank Sergeant changed name to First Sergeant and Furir to Sergeant.
Furir
Furir (from French fourrier means the person responsible for the feeding) was a Swedish military rank above Korpral and Sergeant (now First Sergeant) awarded after completing the training for company commander (KB, kompanibefäl), level 8 conscript training (usually after 15 months). Level 8 means that the holder has received some basic leadership training at team leader level. Riflemen, MP men and deputy team-leaders (5 men) of cavalry and riflemen at the Nordic Battle Group typically have this rank [ref: K3, K3, K1, NBG]. Other holders of the rank are the deputy team-leaders of the Home Guard.
Origin 1600
The responsibility of a furir was to arrange for housing as well as the distribution of food in a Company.
1833/37
The rank becomes the lowest underofficers rank.
1875
Holders of the rank Furir were elevated to sergeant and the rank was removed.
1914
The rank was reintroduced, not categorized as underofficer, but as a rank for senior squad leaders and instructors.
1944
Establishment of the rank Överfurir above Furir. The rank corresponds to the newly introduced rank Swedish rank First Sergeant. Removed 1983 as a professional rank.
2009
The rank changes name to Sergeant
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