Major General Carl-Gustaf Ståhl (15 November 1920 – 11 April 2016) was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

officer. Ståhl's military career began in 1940 when he joined the Military Academy Karlberg in Stockholm, graduating in 1942 as a second lieutenant. Over the years, he underwent further training and rose through the ranks, serving in various capacities within the Swedish military. Notably, he commanded the third Swedish battalion in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

as part of the UN Peacekeeping Force and later served as a military attaché in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and

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. Promoted to major general in 1972, he held significant roles in the

Swedish Defence Materiel Administration The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (, FMV) is a Swedish government agency that reports to the Ministry of Defence. The agency is responsible for the supply of materiel to the Swedish defence organisation. It is located in Stockholm. D ...

before entering the reserves in 1982. Ståhl's international service continued as he commanded the

United Nations Disengagement Observer Force The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission tasked with maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Syria in the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The mission was established by Unite ...

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from 1982 to 1985, achieving notable success in facilitating a prisoner exchange between Syria and Israel. Post-retirement, he contributed to educational initiatives on behalf of the Swedish Ecclesiastical Educational Association, receiving recognition for his work on the Middle East Project.

Early life

Ståhl was born on 15 November 1920 in

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, Denmark, the son of Torsten Ståhl and his wife Siri (née Maniette). He grew up in Copenhagen with two siblings. His father was the director of Cederslunds Punch in Denmark. Ståhl passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968, ...

'' in Copenhagen in 1939. Ståhl dreamed of becoming an engineer, but

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

put an end to that dream. Instead, he was mobilized for military service with the

Göta Engineer Regiment The Göta Engineer Regiment (), designation Ing 2, is a Swedish Army engineer regiment that traces its origins back to the 19th century. It is still in active service, and is currently garrisoned in Eksjö. History The regiment has its origin ...

Eksjö Eksjö is a locality and the seat of Eksjö Municipality in Jönköping County, Sweden, with 9,701 inhabitants in 2010. History The city of Eksjö most likely appeared sometime in the Middle Ages when it was the centre for the thing, a regio ...

. As the war seemed to be prolonged, he sought officer training.

Career

Ståhl enrolled at the

Military Academy Karlberg Military Academy Karlberg (, MHS K) is a Swedish military academy, since its inauguration in 1792 in operation in the Karlberg Palace in Solna, just north of central Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urb ...

in Stockholm in 1940. He attended the same class as the future

Chief of the Army Staff Chief of the Army Staff or Chief of Army Staff, which is generally abbreviated as COAS, is a title commonly used for the appointment held by the most senior staff officer or the chief commander in several nations' armies. * Chief of Army Staff ( ...

, Major General

Gösta Hökmark Major General Anders Gösta Hökmark (14 June 1920 – 15 April 1993) was a Swedish Army officer. His senior commands include postings as Chief of the Army Staff and the General Staff Corps (1976–1979) and military commander of Bergslagen M ...

. Ståhl graduated in 1942 and was commissioned as an officer the same year and was assigned as a second lieutenant into the

Swedish Engineer Troops The Swedish Engineer Troops (, I) is the engineer branch of the Swedish Army. The branch was formed after the Defence Act of 1936. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the Swedish Armed Forces. Today, it consists of a ...

. He studied at the Engineer Officers' School (''Ingenjörofficersskolan'') in 1945 and attended the Advanced Course at the

Artillery and Engineering College Artillery and Engineering College (, AIHS) was a Swedish Army training establishment active between 1878 and 1992, providing courses for artillery officers. It was located within the Stockholm Garrison in Stockholm, Sweden. History The Higher Art ...

from 1947 to 1949. Ståhl was promoted to captain in 1950 and entered the

General Staff Corps General Staff Corps (, Gst) was an administrative corps within the Swedish Armed Forces between 1937 and 1990 and consisted of Swedish Army officers chosen for duty in the Defence Staff and Army Staff. It replaced the earlier General Staff. Histo ...

in 1953. He served as an office head in the Defence Staff from 1953 to 1956, military secretary in the 1953 Fortification Management Investigation (''1953 års fortifikationsförvaltningsutredning''), section chief at the VI Military District staff from 1956 to 1958, and chief of the Planning Department in the Army Staff from 1960 to 1962, being promoted to major in 1960. He attended the General Course at the Swedish National Defence College in 1962. After being promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1963, he served as acting commander of the

from 1963 to 1964. On 12 October 1964, Ståhl succeeded Colonel

Jonas Wærn Carl Jonas Wærn (23 July 1915 – 6 November 2003) was a Swedish Army officer best known for having commanded Swedish, Irish, and Indian peacekeeping troops during the Congo Crisis. He also commanded Swedish forces in Cyprus in 1964. Wærn is on ...

as commander of the third Swedish battalion of 894 men in

, part of the

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(UNFICYP). He served in this position until April 1965. On 1 April 1966 he was promoted to colonel. After that, he served as a military attaché at the embassies in

, and

from 1966 to 1972 and attended the Senior Staff Course at the Swedish National Defence College in 1972. Ståhl was chairman of the Swedish Defence Automobile Association (''Försvarets motorklubb'', FMK) in the 1970s and the 1980s. After his promotion to major general in 1972, he served at the

from 1972 to 1982: as head of Central Planning from 1972 to 1974 and as head of the Main Army Materiel Department from 1974 to 1982. Ståhl entered the reserves in 1982. On 5 May 1982, Ståhl was appointed commander of the

(UNDOF), with headquarters in

, with effect from 1 June 1982, replacing Major General Erkki R. Kaira of Finland. UNDOF consisted of approximately 1,200 personnel with the main forces from

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, and

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. His greatest success was the prisoner exchange between Syria and Israel. Ståhl served as commander of UNDOF until 1985. Ståhl served as a consultant to the (SKS) from 1987 to 1998. In 1990, Ståhl and Bishop Emeritus each received SKS's cultural prize. Ståhl received his prize for the SKS Middle East Project, including authoring study materials about the

Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is a geopolitical phenomenon involving military conflicts and a variety of disputes between Israel and many Arab world, Arab countries. It is largely rooted in the historically supportive stance of the Arab League ...

and the role of the

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in the Middle East.

Personal life

In 1943, Ståhl married Margaretha Engdahl (1920–2001), the daughter of Gunnar Engdahl and Signe (née Sörensen). They had two children: Gunilla (born 1944) and Claes-Göran (born 1948). From his retirement until his death, he resided in

Båstad Båstad () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably mor ...

. He was very active in community life and often contributed with lectures on various social issues and his experiences from his many international assignments. Until the age of 95, he was, among other things, a leader of the senior citizen gymnastics in Båstad.

Death

Ståhl died on 11 April 2016 in

Skåne County Skåne County ( ), sometimes referred to as Scania County or just Scania in English, is the southernmost Counties of Sweden, county, or , of Sweden, mostly corresponding to the traditional Provinces of Sweden, province of Scania. It borders th ...

, Sweden. The funeral service took place at

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in Båstad on 26 May 2016.

Dates of rank

*1942 – Second lieutenant *???? –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

*1950 –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

*1960 –

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

*1963 – Lieutenant colonel *1 April 1966 –

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

*1972 – Major general

Awards and decorations

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Knight_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class 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 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

(6 June 1974) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Knight_1st_Class_BAR

Knight of the

(1961) *

AUT_Honour_for_Services_to_the_Republic_of_Austria_-_5th_Class_BAR

Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver with Star (February 1980)

Honours

*Member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences () 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 military (army and air force) and de ...

(1974)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stahl, Carl-Gustaf 1920 births 2016 deaths Swedish Army major generals UNDOF Force Commanders Swedish military attachés Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Military personnel from Copenhagen Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword Swedish people of Danish descent Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria