General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Oscar Eugéne Nygren (26 September 1872 – 12 January 1960) was a Swedish Army officer. He was

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

from 1933 to 1937 and acting Chief of the Army from 1936 to 1937. Although retired from active service in 1937, he was called back in service after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

broke out, as commander of the 2nd Army Corps. He finally retired from the Army in 1941.

Career

Military career

Nygren was born on 26 September 1872 in Gävle, Sweden, the son of Richard Nygren, a city broker, and his wife Thekla (née Engelmark). He became a second lieutenant in

Hälsinge Regiment The Hälsinge Regiment ( sv, Hälsinge regemente), designations I 14, I 14/Fo 49 and I 14/Fo 21, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 1997. The regiment's soldiers were original ...

(I 14) in 1892 and studied at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1896 to 1898 and was a cadet at the General Staff from 1898 to 1901. Nygren became a lieutenant at the General Staff in 1902 and was promoted to captain in 1904. He was adjutant to the head of the

Ministry of Land Defence Ministry of Land Defence ( sv, Lantförsvarsdepartementet) was in a broad sense, one of the eight ministries, in which the Swedish government administration was divided into. Its head was called Minister of War. The Ministry of Land Defence Departme ...

from 1907 to 1910 and was transferred to Hälsinge Regiment (I 14) in 1909. Nygren was major at the General Staff in 1912 and was appointed Chief of Staff in the III Army Division in 1912. He was Vice Chief of the Military Office of the Ministry of Land Defence in 1915 and was lieutenant colonel at the General Staff in 1915. Nygren was appointed head of the Royal Swedish Army Staff College in 1917 and conducted study trips to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, the Western Front and the Macedonian front in 1918. Back in Sweden he became colonel in the General Staff in 1919. He was appointed Chief of the Military Office of the Ministry of Land Defence in 1919 conducted a study trip to the Italian Front in 1922. Back in Sweden he became executive officer of the

Svea Life Guards The Svea Life Guards ( sv, Svea livgarde), also I 1, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that was active in various forms 1521–2000. The unit was based in the Stockholm Garrison in Stockholm and belonged to the King's Life and Household Tro ...

(I 1) in 1923. Nygren was appointed commanding officer of the 7th Infantry Brigade in 1926 and Commandant in Boden Fortress in 1928. He was promoted to major general in 1929 and was appointed military commander of

Upper Norrland Upper Norrland ( sv, Övre Norrland) is a National Area ( sv, Riksområde) of Sweden. The National Areas are a part of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) of Sweden. Geography Övre Norrland is the northernmost region o ...

's Troops in 1930. Nygren was after that

from 1933 to 1937 and acting Chief of the Army from 1936 to 1937 when he was promoted to lieutenant general. He was promoted to general upon retirement in 1937 and was placed in the reserve the year after. In 1939, when

broke out, Nygren was appointed commander of the newly formed 2nd Army Corps in Upper Norrland and in 1940 he became commanding officer of the same in

West Sweden West Sweden ( sv, Västsverige) is a National Area ( sv, Riksområde) of Sweden. The National Areas are a part of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) of Sweden. Geography It is located in the south-west of the country, ...

. Nygren left the position in August 1941.

Other work

Nygren was military member of the Supreme Court from 1934 to 1954. He was military expert for the committee on the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

and for Sweden's representative at the League of Nations' council meeting in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

in 1922. Nygren was Swedish member of the League of Nations' permanent advisory military committee and assistant to the Swedish representative in the League of Nations' disarmament commission. He was also chairman of the board the pension insurance company ''Allmänna pensionsförsäkringsbolaget''. Nygren became a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Krigsvetenskapsakademien) is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 12 November 1796 by Gustaf Wilhelm af Tibell. The academy is an independent organization and a forum for m ...

in 1919.

Personal life

In 1905 he married Jenny Öhgren (1886–1959), the daughter of rådmannen G. A. Öhgren and Ina (née Granberg). He was the father of colonel Hans Nygren (1906–1982).

Death

Nygren died on 12 January 1960 in Stockholm and was buried in

Norra begravningsplatsen Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Cemetery" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of the Stockholm urban area, located in Solna Municipality. Inaugurated on 9 June 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables. Notabl ...

in Stockholm.

Dates of rank

*11 November 1892 – ''

Underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word ''Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 192 ...

'' *7 August 1896 – Lieutenant 2nd Class *9 November 1900 – Lieutenant 1st Class *31 December 1904 – Captain *20 November 1909 – Captain 1st Class *10 January 1913 – Major *17 December 1915 – Lieutenant colonel *16 July 1919 –

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

*22 November 1929 –

Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

*1 July 1936 –

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

*1 October 1937 –

Awards and decorations

Nygren's awards:

Swedish

* Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the ...

* Commander 2nd Class of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

* Knight of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of t ...

* Landstorm Gold Medal (''Landstorm-guldmedalj'') * Voluntary Motor Transportation Corps' Gold Medal (''Frivilliga automobilkårens guldmedalj'')

Foreign

* Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

* Grand Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

* Commander 1st Class of the Order of the Dannebrog * Commander with Star of the Order of St. Olav * Commander with Sword of the Order of Saint Alexander * 1st Class of the Order of Merit * Commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

* Commander of the

Order of the Black Star The Order of the Black Star (''Ordre de l'Étoile Noire'') was an order of knighthood established on 1 December 1889 at Porto-Novo by Toffa, future king of Dahomey (today the Republic of Benin). Approved and recognised by the French government ...

* Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy * Commander with Sword of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

* 3rd Class with Sword of the

Order of Osmanieh The Order of Osmanieh or Order of Osmaniye ( ota, نشانِ عثمانیہ) was a civil and military decoration of the Ottoman Empire. History The order was created in January 1862 by Sultan Abdülaziz. With the obsolescence of the Nişan-i ...

* Knight 1st Class of the

Order of the Zähringer Lion The Order of the Zähringer Lion was instituted on 26 December 1812 by Karl, Grand Duke of Baden , house = Zähringen , father = Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden , mother = Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt ...

* Knight of the 3rd Class of the Order of the Crown * Knight 3rd Class of the

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Hol ...

* 1st Class of the

Austrian Red Cross The Austrian Red Cross ( German: ''Österreichisches Rotes Kreuz'', ÖRK) is the national Red Cross Organization in Austria and is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It was established on March 14, 1880, by Doctor Adam ...

' Badge of Honor

References

External links

Article
in '' Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Nygren, Oscar 1872 births 1960 deaths Swedish Army generals Chiefs of Army (Sweden) Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen People from Gävle Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Commanders Second Class of the Order of Vasa Knights of the Order of the Polar Star