Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

Curt Ove Leonard Sjöö (born 16 March 1937) is a retired

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. Sjöö's senior commands include Chief of the Army Staff (1988–1990) and military commander of the Upper Norrland Military District (1990–1992) and of the Northern Military District (1993–1996). He also served as Chief of His Majesty's Military Staff from 1997 to 2003.

Early life

Sjöö was born on 16 March 1937 in

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 ...

Parish,

Jönköping County Jönköping County () is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, Kalmar and Kronoberg. The total county population was 356,291 inhabitants in September 2017. The capita ...

, Sweden, the son of Ernst Sjöö and his wife Ester (née Isaksson). 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, ...

'' in Eksjö in 1955. He finished third is his class 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 ...

when he graduated in September 1958.

Career

Sjöö was commissioned as an officer in the Scanian Logistic Regiment (T 4) in 1958 with the rank of second lieutenant. He served in the Swedish Army School of Logistics (''Arméns underhållsskola'', US) and attended the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1966 to 1969 and then served in the Army Staff and the Defence Staff between 1969 and 1978. Between 1973 and 1974 he served in the Swedish UN 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 ...

, part of the

United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

(UNFICYP). He served in the Norrland Logistic Regiment in

Sollefteå Sollefteå () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Sollefteå Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. History The earliest written account on Sollefteå is found in a script dating back to 1270. During this time the name ...

when he was appointed as a regimental officer in Ar 29 in the Defence Staff and from 1 May 1974 appointed as a major in the General Staff Corps. On 1 October 1974, he was appointed lieutenant colonel in the General Staff Corps. During April 1975, he served as ADC on duty to His Majesty the King

Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. Having reigned since 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandfather, K ...

, including during his visit to Denmark. On 25 April 1975, Sjöö was ordered to be available as an expert in the commission ''Kvinnan och försvarets yrken'' ("Women and military professions") ( SOU 1977:26). During November 1978, he served as ADC of duty to His Majesty the King. Sjöö served as battalion commander in the Svea Logistic Regiment (T 1) in

Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

from 1978 to 1980. On 1 April 1980 he was promoted to colonel and assumed the position as head of the

. In March 1983, Sjöö was elected chairman of the ''Trängklubben'', an association of military logistic officers in active service and in the reserve. On 1 April 1983, Sjöö was promoted to senior colonel and assumed the position of Inspector of the Swedish Army Service Troops. In May 1983, Sjöö became a board member of the National Society for Road Safety. Sjöö was section chief in the staff of the

Western Military District The Western Military District () was a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia, in existence from 2010 until its abolishment as a unitary military command on February 26, 2024, succeeded by the newly reconstituted Moscow Mil ...

(Milo V) from 1987 to 1988 and on 1 October 1988, Sjöö was promoted to major general and assumed the position of Chief of the Army Staff. On 1 April 1990, Sjöö was promoted to lieutenant general and assumed the position of military commander of the Upper Norrland Military District, succeeding lieutenant general Åke Sagrén on the post. In 1993, the Upper Norrland Military District (Milo ÖN) and the Lower Norrland Military District (Milo NN) amalgamated and created the Northern Military District (Milo N) of which Sjöö became commander. His appointment was prolonged on 1 July 1994. He left the position and retired in 1996. On 1 April 1997, Sjöö took office as Chief of His Majesty's Military Staff. He served in this position until 2003.

Personal life

On 14 June 1958, Sjöö got engaged to Birgitta Sköld. In 1960, he married Birgitta Sköld (born 1936), the daughter of major Nils Sköld and Karin (née Fredriksson).

Dates of rank

*1958 – Second lieutenant *19?? –

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 ...

*1966 –

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 ...

*1972 –

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 ...

*1 October 1974 – Lieutenant colonel *1 April 1980 –

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 ...

*1 April 1983 –

Senior colonel __NOTOC__ Senior colonel is an officer rank usually placed between a regular colonel and a British brigadier or American brigadier general. Use Most western militaries tend to equate a senior colonel as being on the level of a "brigadier general ...

*1 October 1988 – Major general *1 April 1990 –

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

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

Royal Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim (; '' Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Ord ...

ribbon (28 January 2002)

Foreign

ISL_Icelandic_Order_of_the_Falcon_-_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand Cross of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

(24 November 1998) * Cordone_di_gran_Croce_OMRI_BAR

1st Class / Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

(5 May 1998) * ARG_Order_of_May_-_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand Cross of the

Order of May Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

(4 June 1998) * AUT Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria - 3rd Class BAR

Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria (25 September 1997) * UNFICYP_Medal_bar

United Nations Medal A United Nations Medal is an international decoration awarded by the United Nations (UN) to the various world countries members for participation in joint international military and police operations such as peacekeeping, humanitarian efforts, a ...

( UNFICYP) (1974)

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 ...

(1983) *Honorary member of the Swedish Pistol Shooting Association (''Svenska pistolskytteförbundet'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sjoo, Curt 1937 births Living people Swedish Army lieutenant generals People from Eksjö Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences