The Svea Life Guards ( sv, Svea livgarde), also I 1, was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav ...

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

that was active in various forms 1521–2000. The unit was based in the Stockholm Garrison in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

and belonged to the King's Life and Household Troops (''Kungl. Maj:ts Liv- och Hustrupper'') until 1974.

History

1500s–1900s

Svea Life Guards, the

's first guard infantry regiment, originated from the

Trabant Trabant () is a series of small cars produced from 1957 until 1991 by former East German car manufacturer VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. In total, four different models were made, the Trabant 500, Trabant 600, Trabant 601, and the Tr ...

Corps that surrounded the first Vasa Kings and is said to have been formed in 1526. The Trabant Corps seems to have, at least in part, been included in the enlisted regiment established in 1613, which consisted mostly of Germans, which under the names of the King's Life and Court Regiment (''Konungens liv- och hovregemente''), the Yellow Regiment (''Gula regementet'') and the Yellow Brigade (''Gula brigaden'') participated in

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' campaign in

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 betwee ...

. The regiment's first two companies formed the king's

lifeguard A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features ...

and consisted mostly of Swedes. The 60 survivors of the guard after the Battle of Lützen, followed the king's corpse to Sweden, after which the guard, whose staff has been increased to 148 men, united in 1644 with one established regiment in the

Baltic governorates The Baltic governorates (russian: Прибалтийские губернии), originally the Ostsee governorates (german: Ostseegouvernements, russian: Остзейские губернии), was a collective name for the administrative units ...

and one established regiment in

Svealand Svealand (), or Swealand, is the historical core region of Sweden. It is located in south central Sweden and is one of three historical lands of Sweden, bounded to the north by Norrland and to the south by Götaland. Deep forests, Tiveden, T ...

into a large court regiment of which Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie was the commander. Carolean exercise at Gärdet

Most of the regiment was disbanded after 1660, but the part still in Sweden was developed into a Guard or Court Regiment. Eventually increased to 24 companies, it participated in Charles XII's War and was lost after the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava; russian: Полта́вская би́тва; uk, Полта́вська би́тва (8 July 1709) was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. A Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeat ...

, but was then reestablished. The Life Guards as the regiment then was commonly known, was given the name Svea Guards (''Svea garde'') in 1792. The regiment had its barracks at Fredrikshov Castle in

Östermalm Östermalm (; "Eastern city-borough") is a 2.56 km2 large district in central Stockholm, Sweden. With 71,802 inhabitants, it is one of the most populous districts in Stockholm. It is an extremely expensive area, having the highest housing ...

, Stockholm from 1802. In 1808 it lost for a short time its dignity of being a guard and was then called Fleetwood's Enlisted Regiment (''Fleetwoodska värvade regementet''). It was in 1809 again called Svea Guards (''Svea garde'') and received the name Svea Life Guards (''Svea livgarde'') the same year. From having been divided into 10 companies of 80 men, the regiment was in 1831 divides into eight companies with a total of 820 men. After the Defence Act of 1901, it increased into 12 companies (three battalions) and 1 machine gun company, but its number strength of volunteers was reduced to 555 men (music staff included) and after the Defence Act of 1914 further to 540 men. Svea Livgarde and Göta livgarde at Linnégatan ca 1890

Svea Livgarde and Göta livgarde at Linnégatan ca 1890

Svea Life Guards was an enlisted regiment and its staff, which was stationed in the barracks at Fredrikshov, was permanently employed. In the early 1800s compulsory military service in Sweden was introduced on a modest scale. As a result of the increased multiform unrest in Europe during the 1850s, it increased the conscripts appropriated exercise period from 12 to 30 days, spread over the first two years of conscript military service. These exercises took place during the summer. However, when the space in the barracks was too small to accommodate these conscripts, they were placed in

bivouac shelter A bivouac shelter is any of a variety of improvised camp site, or shelter that is usually of a temporary nature, used especially by soldiers, or people engaged in backpacking, bikepacking, scouting, or mountain climbing. It may often refer to s ...

s at Ladugårdsgärdet. The cramped space at Fredrikshov and the unhygienic conditions there and the ever-increasing need to place conscripts in barracks, forced the decision on the construction of modern barracks for the two foot guards regiments, Svea Life Guards and Göta Life Guards. It was decided that the plateau above Fredrikshov, was the most well-situated location for the barracks, adjacent to the large practice field, which northern

Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, ''Kungliga Djurgården'' (), is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum ...

then still was. Palace intendant, Professor Ernst Jacobsson, was instructed to carry out the drawings and in the autumn of 1888 Svea Life Guards could during great celebrations, led by their head, King

Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

, take possession of their new barracks.

1900s–2000s

In the early 1940s the decades ago planned relocation of the regiment to Järvafältet became reality. On 5 October 1946 the Svea Life Guards officially left its barracks at Linnégatan in

, Stockholm and this took place at a ceremony in the park at the memorial stone. The then executive officer, colonel Gösta von Stedingk handed the memorial stone over to the

City of Stockholm Stockholm Municipality or the City of Stockholm ( sv, Stockholms kommun or ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. It has the largest population of the 290 municipalities of the country, but one of the smallest areas, maki ...

, represented by the municipal commissioner of the Stockholm Central Board of Administration (''Stadskollegium''),

Yngve Larsson Gustaf Richard ''Yngve'' Larsson (; December 13, 1881 – December 16, 1977) was a Swedish political scientist, Municipal commissioner (''Borgarråd''), and Member of Parliament. He was an important force in the urban development of Stockholm du ...

. It then left Stockholm which had been its location for more than 400 years. The regiment moved in 1947 to Sörentorp in

Solna Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of the ...

. The design of the area was carried out by the Royal Fortifications Administration. The area was given a relatively free pooled plan, and Bertil Karlén was the architect of the buildings. In 1970 Svea Life Guards moved again, this time to an area at Granhammar Castle in

Kungsängen Kungsängen ( en, King’s Meadow) is a locality and the seat of Upplands-Bro Municipality Upplands-Bro Municipality (''Upplands-Bro kommun'') is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Kungs ...

. From 1975 to 1984, the regiment's duties were maintain a number of military units in the war organization and conduct war planning for these. The regiment was also responsible for Kungsängen's barracks area with associated exercise and firing range as well as some support to other units in the garrison. Included in the maintenance of war units were basic recruitment of officers but internal officer training and education of the conscripts. Officer training was also carried out to maintain the war units. The regimental staff and training units also participated extensively in state ceremonial activities on behalf of the

Commandant General in Stockholm The Commandant General in Stockholm ( sv, Överkommendanten i Stockholm) is a military position in Sweden with responsibility for state ceremonial activities. Lieutenant General Michael Claesson, Chief of Joint Operations is the Commandant Gener ...

and the Commandant of Stockholm. The regiment consisted mainly of a staff, a training unit, including a training battalion and department for management of exercises and firing range, and a support unit with subdivisions. The Swedish Armed Forces ABC-Defence School was located in Kungsängen and was included as a section in the unit. On 1 October 1984 the Life Guard Dragoons with

Stockholm Defence District Stockholm Defence District ( sv, Stockholms försvarsområde, Fo 44), was a Swedish defence district which operated from 1939 to 2000. Fo 44 was responsible for the defence of Stockholm and its key task was to protect the national Swedish adminis ...

(K 1/Fo 44) was disbanded, and Svea Life Guards was renamed Svea Life Guards with Stockholm Defence District (I 1/Fo 44). The regiment took over the task as lower regional head of the Stockholm Defence District as well as the maintenance of cavalry troops in war organization. The regimental commander was the Commandant of Stockholm. The regiment consisted of a staff, a unit of territorial management, a training unit, including two training battalions and one support unit with subdivisions. The duties of the regimental commander as the Commandant of Stockholm, notably to state ceremonial activities, were coordinated by a garrison unit located at the

Stockholm Palace Stockholm Palace or the Royal Palace ( sv, Stockholms slott or ) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch (King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia use Drottningholm Palace as their usual residence). Stockholm Pala ...

in Stockholm. On 1 July 1994 the Life Guard Dragoons were separated and again became an independent unit. The unit was disbanded in 2000 as a result of the disarmament policies set forward in that year's

Defence Act Defence Act is a stock short title used in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom for legislation relating to territorial defence. List Australia *The Defence (Citizen Military Forces) Act 1943 New Zealand *The Defence Act 1886 ...

, and re-emerged the same year as the

Life Guards Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy transf ...

(LG).

Units

The regiment came through the Defence Act of 1942 to organize two field regiments, the Svea Life Guards (IR 1) and the Stockholm Infantry Regiment (IR 31). Through the Defence Act of 1948, the field regiments were reorganized into infantry brigades. In Svea Life Guards only the field regiment Svea Life Guards was reorganized into a brigade, and Stockholm Infantry Regiment was divided between the Blue Brigade (PB 6) and the Södermanland Brigade (PB 10).

Yellow Brigade

The Yellow Brigade (''Gula brigaden'', IB 1) was raised in 1949 by reorganizing the field regiment Svea Life Guards (IR 1) into a brigade. The brigade initially became Svea Life Guard's only brigade. Through the Defence Act of 1982, the

Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...

decided that the army's brigade organization would be reduced, thus the Yellow Brigade would be disbanded on 30 September 1984. However, the name came to be taken over by the sister brigade, the Uppland Brigade.

Life Guard Brigade

The Life Guard Brigade (''Livgardesbrigaden'', MekIB 1 ), originally Uppland Brigade (''Upplandsbrigaden'', IB 38), was raised in 1957 through the Defence Act of 1958. The background was that it was transferred from the Uppland Regiment (I 8), which was disbanded by the same Defence Act. Through the Defence Act of 1972, the brigade came to become Svea Life Guards' attack brigade, when it was adopted into the IB 77 brigade organization. On 1 October 1984, the brigade adopted the name Yellow Brigade (''Gula brigaden'', IB 1). In the early 1990s, the brigade was one of the experimental brigades for the IB 2000 brigade organization. In 1991, the name was changed to the Life Guard Brigade (''Livgardesbrigaden'', IB 1). On 1 July 1994, the Yellow Brigade (IB 1) was separated from the regiment, and became a cadre-organized war unit within the

Middle Military District Middle Military District ( sv, Mellersta militärområdet, Milo M) was a Swedish military district, a command of the Swedish Armed Forces that had operational control over Middle Sweden, for most time of its existence corresponding to the area co ...

(Milo M), under the name Life Guard Brigade (MekIB 1). The brigade was disbanded on 30 June 2000 in connection with the Defence Act of 2000.

Life Guard Dragoons

The Life Guard Dragoons (K 1) was amalgamated into Svea Life Guards on 1 October 1984 . Through this organizational change, Svea Life Guards also took over the defence district staff for Stockholm Defence District (Fo 44) from the Life Guard Dragoons (K 1). On 1 July 1994, the Life Guard Dragoons were separated and again became an independent unit.

Stockholm Defence District

The

(Fo 44) was raised on 1 October 1942, and had its staff located in Stockholm Garrison. On 1 January 1947, parts of Norrtälje Defence District (Fo 45) were amalgamated into the defence district. On 1 July 1975, Vaxholm Defence District (Fo 46) was added, which meant that Stockholm Defence District covered the entire

Stockholm County Stockholm County ( sv, Stockholms län, link=no ) is a county or ''län'' (in Swedish) on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockho ...

. In connection with the OLLI reform on 1 July 1975, the Stockholm Defence District was given joint staff with the Life Guard Dragoons (K 1). Through this reorganization, the defence district staff was located with the regiment at Lidingövägen. Through the Defence Act of 1982, the defence district staff was transferred to the Svea Life Guards, both organizationally and that it was located at Kungsängen with the other regiment staff. Stockholm Defence District was disbanded together with the regiment on 30 June 2000.

Companies

Life Company A Life Company ( sv, Livkompani, but usually written in its definite form; ''Livkompaniet'') is a Swedish military term of several centuries' standing. It is the first company of a regiment in the Swedish Army. Before the 17th century, the term ref ...

# (Vacant) # Company # Company # Company # Company # Company # Company # (Vacant) # (Vacant) # Company # Company

Heraldry and traditions

Colours, standards and guidons

The Life Guards present one regimental colour, one regimental standard and one company colour:

Colour of the Life Guards

The 1964 colour, which had been presented at the Stockholm Palace by His Majesty the King Gustaf VI Adolf. This colour was from 1 July 1994 been carried by both the Svea Life Guards and the Life Guards Brigade. A new colour was presented to the Svea Life Guards and the Life Guards Brigade on 30 April 2000 by His Majesty the King

Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973. He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, D ...

at the

in connection with his birthday. It was used by the two units until the amalgamation with the Life Guard Dragoons (K 1) on 1 July 2000. The colour is also carried by the Guards Battalion of the Life Guards. The colour is drawn by Bengt Olof Kälde and embroidered by hand in insertion technique by Maj-Britt Salander/company Blå Kusten.

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The ...

: "On white cloth in the centre the greater coat of arms of Sweden as to the law without mantle. In each corner a royal crown proper with red lining. Battle honours (

Swedish War of Liberation The Swedish War of Liberation (1521–23; sv, Befrielsekriget, lit=The Liberation War), also known as Gustav Vasa's Rebellion and the Swedish War of Secession, was a rebellion and a civil war in which the nobleman Gustav Vasa deposed King Chr ...

1521,

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

1631, Lützen 1632,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

1656, March Across the Belts 1658,

Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational city at the mouth of the Nissan river, in the province of Halland on the Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat of Halmstad Municipality and the capital of Halland County. The ...

1676,

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish province of Scania, across the Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipality, Scania County. The Öre ...

1676,

Landskrona Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona ...

1677,

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru county, at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. With 5 ...

1700,

Düna , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic Se ...

1701, Kliszów 1702, Holowczyn 1708, Svensksund 1790) in yellow horizontally placed above and below the coat of arms."

Standard of the Life Guards

The standard is drawn by Bengt Olof Kälde and embroidered by hand in insertion technique by Maj-Britt Salander/company Blå Kusten. The standard was presented to the then Life Guard Dragoons (K 1) at the regimental barracks in Stockholm by His Majesty the King Carl XVI Gustaf on 4 December 1995 - the regimental memorial day of the

battle of Lund The Battle of Lund, part of the Scanian War, was fought on December 4, 1676, in an area north of the city of Lund in Scania in southern Sweden, between the invading Danish army and the army of Charles XI of Sweden. The Danish had an army of about ...

in 1676. It was used by the regiment until the amalgamation with the Svea Life Guards on 1 July 2000. The standard is also carried by the Dragoon Battalion (''Livgardets dragonbataljon'') of the Life Guards. Blazon: "On white cloth in the centre the Swedish Royal coat-of-arms as to the law without mantle. In each corner a royal crown proper with red lining. On the reverse battle honours horizontally placed and in each corner three open crowns placed two and one (a legacy from the former Royal Life Regiment Dragoons, K 2), all yellow. White fringe."

Colour of the Life Company

The colour of the Svea Life Guards'

Life company A Life Company ( sv, Livkompani, but usually written in its definite form; ''Livkompaniet'') is a Swedish military term of several centuries' standing. It is the first company of a regiment in the Swedish Army. Before the 17th century, the term ref ...

was presented in 1868 by Her Majesty the Queen

Lovisa Lovisa is a Swedified form of Louise, which originates in Louis and has been used in Sweden since the 17th century. It was placed in the Swedish calendar in the 1750s after king Adolf Fredericks marriage to Lovisa Ulrika of Prussia in 1744. L ...

who also embroidered it by hand together with her ladies-in-waiting. Blazon: "On white cloth in the centre the Royal monogram of His Majesty the King Carl XV between three open crowns, all yellow and with red lining in the crowns. Fringe of golden threads." File:AM.010781.jpg, Life colour m/1815 of Svea Life Guards. File:AM.002451.jpg, Colour m/1868 of Svea Life Guards'

. File:AM.010782.jpg, Battalion colour m/1850 of 1st Battalion, Svea Life Guards. File:AM.010783.jpg, Battalion colour m/1850 of 2nd Battalion, Svea Life Guards. File:AM.090071.jpg, Guards colour of Svea Life Guards.

Coat of arms

The coat of the arms of the Svea Life Guards (I 1) 1977–1984, the Svea Life Guards (I 1/Fo 44) 1984–1994 and the Life Guard Brigade (IB 1) 1994–2000.

: "Azure, the lesser

coat of arms of Sweden The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges riksvapen) has a greater and a lesser version. Regulated usage The usage of the coats of arms is regulated by Swedish Law, Swedish Code of Statutes, Act]1970:498 which states (in unoffi ...

, three open crowns or placed two and one. The shield surmounted two muskets in saltire argent and surrounded by the chain of the

Royal Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim ( sv, Kungliga Serafimerorden; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) 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 P ...

placed under muskets and crown". Another coat of arms was used by Svea Life Guards (I 1/Fo 44) 1994–2000 and has been used by the Life Guard Group (''Livgardesgruppen'') since 2000. Blazon: "Azure, lesser coat of arms of Sweden, three open crowns or placed two and one. The shield surmounted two swords in saltire argent and is surrounded by the chain of the Royal Order of the Seraphim placed under swords and crown". File:Svea Livgarde vapen.svg, Coat of the arms of the Svea Life Guards (I 1) 1977–1984, the Svea Life Guards (I 1/Fo 44) 1984–1994 and the Life Guard Brigade (IB 1) 1994–2000. File:Livgardesgruppen vapen.svg, Coat of arms of the Svea Life Guards (I 1/Fo 44) 1994–2000 and the Life Guard Group (''Livgardesgruppen'') 2000–present.

Insignias

Unlike the other infantry and armor regiments, which have a constant unit insignia, the Svea Life Guards has the Swedish monarch's monogram. File:Vapenplåt m1878.jpg,

Cap badge A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as w ...

m/1878 for

kepi The kepi ( ) is a cap with a flat circular top and a peak, or visor. In English, the term is a loanword of french: képi, itself a re-spelled version of the gsw, Käppi, a diminutive form of , meaning "cap". In Europe, this headgear is most ...

. Soldiers = brass, N.C.O's = gilt. File:AM.090984a.jpg, Unit insignia M7675-138000 m/1950-60 for Svea Life Guards (I 1). File:AM.090984b.jpg, Unit insignia M7675-138000 m/1950-60 for Svea Life Guards (I 1). File:AM.094499 (02).jpg, Unit insignia m/1960. File:AM.094499 (01).jpg, Unit insignia m/1960. File:Förbandsmärke I1.png, Shoulder sleeve insignia.

Medals

In 1921, the ''Kungliga Svea livgardes 400-åriga jubileumsmedalj i silver'' ("Royal Svea Life Guards 400-year Anniversary Medal") in silver (SLMSM) was established. This medal was established as a commemorative medal when the regiment was disbanded on 30 June 2000. In 1999, the ''Svea livgardes (I 1) och Livgardesbrigadens (IB 1) förtjänstmedalj'' ("Svea Life Guards (I 1) and Life Guard Brigade (IB 1) Medal of Merit") in gold and silver (SvealivgLivgbrigGM/SM) was established. The

medal ribbon A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each cou ...

is of yellow moiré with a white stripe on each side both followed on both sides by a blue line. His Majesty the King's monogram is attached to the ribbon. In 2000, when Svea Life Guards was disbanded and the Life Guards was raised, this medal was renamed ''Livgardets (LG) förtjänstmedalj'' ("Life Guards (LG) Medal of Merit I") (LGIGM/SM). File:AM.095933.jpg, Svea Life Guards and the Life Guards Brigade Medal of Merit in gold File:Livgardets förtjänstmedalj I & Svea livgardes och Livgardesbrigadens förtjänstmedalj.svg, Svea Life Guards and the Life Guards Brigade Medal of Merit

Commanding officers

Regimental commanders and

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

s (''Sekundchef'') active at the regiment. On 11 March 1774, King

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

himself took over as commanding officer of the regiment, but left the actual command of it to the executive officer. This was subsequently done to all units within the King's Life and Household Troops (''Kungl. Maj:ts Liv- och Hustrupper'') which until 1974 had each an executive officer and the king as joint commander. ''Sekundchef'' was a title which was used until 31 December 1974 at the regiments that were part of the King's Life and Household Troops.

Commanding officers (1657–1774)

*1696–1706: Knut Posse *1706–1712: Carl Magnus Posse *1712–1712: Jakob Grundel *1712–1717: Gabriel Ribbing *1717–1727: Michael Törnflycht *1727–1739: Arvid Posse *1739–1744: Otto Wrangel *1744–1751:

Adolf Frederick Adolf Frederick, or Adolph Frederick ( sv, Adolf Fredrik, german: Adolf Friedrich; 14 May 171012 February 1771) was King of Sweden from 1751 until his death. He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin, and Albertina ...

*1751–1756: Per Gustaf Pfeiff *1756–1772: Axel von Fersen *1772–1772: Carl Ehrenkrook (acting) *1772–1774:

Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten Baron Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten (1727–1786) was a Swedish-Finnish army officer and politician, and half-brother of Georg Magnus Sprengtporten. He is most famous as one of the leaders of the Revolution of 1772, the ''coup d'état'' which ended ...

Executive officers (1774–1974)

Commanding officers (1975–2000)

*1975–1980: Colonel Bengt Selander *1980–1987: Colonel Rolf Frykhammar *1987–1992: Jan-Olof Borgén *1992–1994: Göran De Geer *1994–1997: Markku Sieppi *1997–2000: Kim Åkerman