Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Claes Egmont Tornberg (born 10 February 1936) is a retired

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

officer. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the

Coastal Fleet The Coastal Fleet (, Kfl) was until 1994 a Swedish Navy authority with the main task of training the naval ships commanders and crews. After the formation of the authority Swedish Armed Forces in 1994, the Coastal Fleet remained as a unit until ...

from 1985 and 1990 and as head of the

Swedish Armed Forces Staff College The oyalSwedish Armed Forces Staff College (, MHS) was from 1961 to 1996 the Swedish Armed Forces highest institution for officers training, for staff and senior executive education and was located in Stockholm. In 1997 it was merged with the S ...

from 1990 to 1996 and the newly created Swedish National Defence College from 1997 to 1998.

Early life

Tornberg was born on 10 February 1936 in

Västerås Västerås () is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 158,653, over 100,000 mo ...

Parish, Sweden, the son of colonel Egmont Tornberg and his wife Aina (née Setterborg). He 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, ...

'' at

Södra Latin Södra Latin, officially Södra Latins gymnasium, ("Southern Latin" in Swedish) is an upper secondary school ("''gymnasium (school), gymnasieskola''"), situated in Södermalm, Stockholm. The current school building was inaugurated in 1891. History ...

in Stockholm on 7 May 1955.

Career

Tornberg graduated from the

Royal Swedish Naval Academy The Royal Swedish Naval Academy (, KSS) was a school for officer training for the Swedish Navy, which operated in various forms between the years 1756 and 1987. History 1683–1791 In 1683, when the charter was issued that "those who were propo ...

in September 1958. He underwent a staff course at the

between 1966 and 1968, and attended the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

in the United States from 1976 to 1977. Tornberg commanded the 11th Torpedo Boat Division (''11. torpedbåtsdivisionen'') from 1977 to 1979 and was head of the Naval Staff's Planning Section from 1979 to 1983. He was promoted to captain on 25 June 1981. On 1 October 1983, Tornberg was appointed

flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a " captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "Firs ...

in the

. He was promoted to rear admiral and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Coastal Fleet from 1 October 1985. In October 1990, Major General

Evert Båge Major General Evert Karl Erik Båge (25 August 1925 – 21 January 2021) was a Swedish Air Force officer. Båge served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1980 to 1984 and as head of the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1984 to 1990. Early ...

was to be replaced as the head of the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College. The

Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces The Chief of Defence, formerly the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces (; acronym: ÖB) is the highest ranked professional military officer in the Swedish Armed Forces, and is by NATO terminology the Sweden, Swedish chief of defence, c ...

, General Bengt Gustafsson, proposed Tornberg for the job, but Defence Minister

Roine Carlsson Roine Carlsson (10 December 1937 – 25 August 2020) was a Swedish social democratic politician. Carlsson was appointed Minister of Defence in 1985 and was a member of the Swedish parliament The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliame ...

preferred Senior Colonel . Despite all authorities except Gustafsson supporting Lyth, the appointment of Tornberg came as a surprise on 27 July 1990, during vacation time, with Carlsson absent. The decision was signed by and

Bengt Göransson Bengt Göransson (25 July 1932 – 17 June 2021) was a Swedish educator and social democrat politician who held different cabinet posts, including minister of culture and minister of education. He also served in the Parliament for two terms betwe ...

as acting Prime Minister and Defence Minister, respectively. This was one of several feuds between General Gustafsson and Defence Minister Carlsson. When the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College was amalgamated with the Swedish National Defence College on 1 January 1997, Tornberg became its head. He retired on 31 March 1998. Tornberg was a board member of the from 1999.

Personal life

Tornberg got engaged on 31 December 1958 to Ann-Charlotte von Hofsten (born 1937) at in

Töreboda Municipality Töreboda Municipality () is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Töreboda and it includes the population centers of Älgarås and Moholm. The present municipality was formed in 1971 ...

. She was the daughter of county council director Erland von Hofsten and his wife Ebba Sörensen. The

banns The banns of marriage, commonly known simply as the "banns" or "bans" (from a Middle English word meaning "proclamation", rooted in Frankish and thence in Old French), are the public announcement in a Christian parish church, or in the town cou ...

were issued on 7 June 1959 and the wedding took place in on 19 June 1959. The wedding officiant was court chaplain . Their daughter was born on 23 September 1962 at Allmänna BB in Stockholm and a second daughter was born on 31 December 1963 at Allmänna BB. He also has two sons.

Dates of rank

*1958 – Acting sub-lieutenant *1960 – Sub-lieutenant *1966 –

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 ...

*1971 – Lieutenant commander *1972 –

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

*1979 – ' *25 June 1981 –

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 ...

*1 October 1985 –

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Awards and decorations

* H. M. The King's Medal, 12th size gold (silver-gilt) medal worn around the neck on a blue ribbon (2007) *

Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences The Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (, KÖMS), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. The Society is an independent organization and a forum for navy and defence issues. Fellowship is limited to 120 ...

Medal of Merit in Gold (1999)

Honours

*Member of the

(1977) *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 ...

(1983) *President of the

(1991)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tornberg, Claes 1936 births Living people Swedish Navy rear admirals People from Västerås Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences