Chief of the Air Staff (Sweden)

The Chief of the Air Staff[1] (Swedish: Chefen för flygstaben, CFS, or Flygstabschef) is the professional head of the Swedish Air Staff. The post was created in 1936 with lieutenant colonel Bengt Nordenskiöld as the first incumbent. The post disappeared in 1994 and was reintroduced in 2019 when the new Air Staff was established.

Chief of the Air Staff
Chefen för flygstaben
Incumbent
Colonel Dennis Hedström
since 1 June 2019
Ministry of Defence
TypeChief of the Air Staff
AbbreviationCFS
Reports toChief of Air Force
SeatBanérgatan 62-64, Stockholm (1943–1981)
Lidingövägen 24, Stockholm (1981–1994)
Ärna Air Base (2019–)
Term lengthNo fixed term
Formation1936, 2019
First holderLieutenant Colonel Bengt Nordenskiöld (1936)
Colonel Anders Persson (2019)
Final holderMajor General Bernt Östh
Abolished1994
Unofficial namesFlygstabschef
DeputyVice Chief of the Air Staff (1943–1966)

History

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The Chief of the Air Staff was from 1936 to 1994 the second most senior member of the Swedish Air Force after the Chief of the Air Force and headed the Air Staff. The position was initially held by a colonel (1937–1943) and later by a major general (1943–1994). When the Air Staff was disbanded in 1994, the office was eliminated. In 2019, the Air Staff was re-established and a Chief of the Air Staff was appointed again, this time held by a colonel.

Between 1943 and 1966, the post of Vice Chief of the Air Staff existed. According to the rules of procedure for the Air Staff issued on 1 March 1962, the Vice Chief of the Air Staff (and the Inspector of the Control and Reporting System and the Inspector of the Flying Safety Service) were given responsibility for various departments and other organizational units within the Air Staff's areas of activity so that these executives in effect subsequently served as section heads.[2]

Chiefs of the Air Staff

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Chiefs of the Air Staff (1936–1994)

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No. Portrait Chief of the Air Staff Took office Left office Time in office Chief of the Air Force Ref.
1Nordenskiöld, BengtColonel[a]
Bengt Nordenskiöld
(1891–1983)
1 July 193619425–6 yearsTorsten Friis[3]
2Ljungdahl, AxelMajor general[b]
Axel Ljungdahl
(1897–1995)
194219474–5 yearsBengt Nordenskiöld-
3Westring, Gustaf AdolfMajor general[c]
Gustaf Adolf Westring
(1900–1963)
194719579–10 yearsBengt Nordenskiöld
Axel Ljungdahl
-
4Peyron, LennartMajor general
Lennart Peyron
(1909–1981)
195719602–3 yearsAxel Ljungdahl-
5Norén, StigMajor general
Stig Norén
(1908–1996)
196019643–4 yearsTorsten Rapp
Lage Thunberg
-
6Odqvist, GöstaMajor general
Gösta Odqvist
(1913–2005)
196419661–2 yearsLage Thunberg-
7Nordenskiöld, Claës-HenrikMajor general
Claës-Henrik Nordenskiöld
(1917–2003)
196619703–4 yearsLage Thunberg
Stig Norén
-
8Stenberg, DickMajor general
Dick Stenberg
(1921–2004)
1 April 197030 September 19733 years, 182 daysStig Norén[4]
9Neij, HansMajor general
Hans Neij
(1921–1985)
197330 September 19784–5 yearsDick Stenberg[5]
10Nygren, ErikMajor general
Erik Nygren
(1923–1999)
1 October 197830 September 19801 year, 365 daysDick Stenberg[5]
11Båge, EvertMajor general
Evert Båge
(1925–2021)
1 October 198030 September 19843 years, 182 daysDick Stenberg
Sven-Olof Olson
[5][6]
12Lönnbom, BengtMajor general
Bengt Lönnbom
(1933–2024)
1 April 198419872–3 yearsSven-Olof Olson[6]
13Stenfeldt, BertMajor general
Bert Stenfeldt
(1933–2023)
198730 September 19902–3 yearsSven-Olof Olson
Lars-Erik Englund
[7]
14Östh, BerntMajor general
Bernt Östh
(born 1936)
1 October 199019943–4 yearsLars-Erik Englund[8]
-Nilsson, KjellSenior colonel
Kjell Nilsson
(1943–2018)
Acting
199319940–1 yearsLars-Erik Englund-

Chiefs of the Air Staff (2019–present)

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No. Portrait Chief of the Air Staff Took office Left office Time in office Chief of Air Force Ref.
1Persson, AndersColonel
Anders Persson
(born 1968)
1 January 201930 September 2019272 daysMats Helgesson[9]
2Jönsson, AndersColonel
Anders Jönsson
(born ?)
1 October 201931 May 2020243 daysCarl-Johan Edström[10][11]
3Hedström, DennisColonel
Dennis Hedström
(born ?)
1 June 202031 August 20253 years, 365 daysCarl-Johan Edström
Jonas Wikman
[12][13]

Vice Chiefs of the Air Staff

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No. Portrait Vice/Deputy Chief of the Air Staff Took office Left office Time in office Chiefs of the Air Staff Ref.
1Silfverberg, KarlColonel
Karl Silfverberg
(1899–1978)
194319484–5 yearsAxel Ljungdahl
Gustaf Adolf Westring
-
2Rapp, TorstenColonel
Torsten Rapp
(1905–1993)
1 October 194819512–3 yearsGustaf Adolf Westring[14]
3Colonel
Greger Falk
(1910–1990)
195119531–2 yearsGustaf Adolf Westring-
4Möller, StigColonel
Stig Möller
(1911–2002)
195319595–6 yearsGustaf Adolf Westring
Lennart Peyron
-
5Odqvist, GöstaColonel
Gösta Odqvist
(1913–2005)
195919611–2 yearsLennart Peyron
Stig Norén
-
6Personne, NilsColonel
Nils Personne
(1918–2013)
196119664–5 yearsStig Norén
Gösta Odqvist
-

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Nordenskiöld was lieutenant colonel when taking office on 1 July 1936 and was promoted to colonel on 1 July 1937 while still in office.[3]
  2. ^ Ljungdahl was colonel when taking office in 1942 and was promoted to major general in 1943 while still in office.
  3. ^ Westring was colonel when taking office in 1947 and was promoted to major general in 1950 while still in office.

References

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  1. ^ Gullberg 1977, p. 134
  2. ^ "Kungl. Maj.ts proposition nr 31 år 1963" (in Swedish). Stockholm: Riksdag. 30 December 1963. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b Böhme 1990–1991, p. 292
  4. ^ Scheiderbauer 2007–2011, p. 225
  5. ^ a b c Wennerholm 2015, p. 154
  6. ^ a b "PersonalNytt" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish) (4). Stockholm: Flygstaben: 25. 1983. ISSN 0015-4792. SELIBR 8257600.
  7. ^ "Avgående CFS har ordet" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish) (3). Stockholm: Flygstaben: 2. 1990. ISSN 0015-4792. SELIBR 8257600.
  8. ^ "Utnämningar m.m." (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish) (2). Stockholm: Flygstaben: 2. 1990. ISSN 0015-4792. SELIBR 8257600.
  9. ^ Ullman 2019
  10. ^ "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish) (5). Stockholm: Försvarets forum: 8. 2018. SELIBR 4109339. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  11. ^ "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish) (1). Stockholm: Försvarets forum: 8–9. 2020. SELIBR 4109339. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  12. ^ "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. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  13. ^ "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish) (1). Stockholm: Försvarets forum: 8. 2024. SELIBR 4109339. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  14. ^ Norén 1995–1997, p. 675

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