''Friherre'' Ebbe Gyllenstierna af Lundholm (12 November 1911 – 14 May 2003) 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 and a

modern pentathlete The modern pentathlon is an Olympic multisport that consists of five events: fencing (one-touch épée followed by direct elimination), freestyle swimming, obstacle course racing, laser pistol shooting, and cross country running. The sport wa ...

. He competed at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

and finished 16th.

Early life

Gyllenstierna was born on 12 November 1911 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden, the son of major general, ''friherre'', Göran Gyllenstierna and his wife Anna (née Neijber).

Career

He was commissioned as an officer in the Life Regiment of Horse (K 1) with the rank of ''

fänrik ''Fänrik'' () ( in the Swedish Army/Air Force, Acting sub-lieutenant in the Navy) is a company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above sergeant and below lieutenant. In the navy, it ranks above sergeant and below sub-lieutenan ...

'' in 1932. He represented Sweden in modern pentathlon in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

1935-1936 and competed at the

. Gyllenstierna served as military attaché in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

from 1936 to 1937 and was promoted to ''

ryttmästare ''Ryttmästare'' (from the German word ''Rittmeister'') was a military rank in the Swedish cavalry in the Swedish Army. The rank corresponded to the rank of captain in other service branches. The rank was abolished in 1972. History The military ...

'' (cavalry captain) in 1941. The same year, Gyllenstierna was promoted to captain in the

Swedish Armoured Troops The Swedish Armoured Troops (, P) is the Armoured warfare, armoured branch of the Swedish Army. Since 2005, the Armoured Troops include the South Scanian Regiment (P 7) in Revingehed, Skaraborg Regiment (armoured), Skaraborg Regiment (P 4) in Sk� ...

. In 1943, he was promoted to captain of 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 ...

, and he served as '' aide-de-camp'' to the Chief of Army, lieutenant general

Ivar Holmquist Lieutenant General Carl Axel Fredrik ''Ivar'' Holmquist (22 February 1879 – 24 September 1954) was a senior Swedish Army officer and sports official. He was president of the International Ski Federation from 1924 to 1934 and served as Chief of t ...

from 1943 to 1944. Gyllenstierna then served as a general staff officer (mobilization officer) of the III Military District in 1944 and as a teacher at the

Royal Swedish Army Staff College The Royal Swedish Army Staff College (, KHS) was a Swedish Army training establishment between 1866 and 1961, providing courses for army officers. It was the home of the Swedish Army's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers ...

from 1945 to 1948 and from 1953 to 1957. He was ''ryttmästare'' in the cavalry from 1948, was promoted to major in the General Staff Corps in 1952, and served on the Medical Board of the Swedish Armed Forces from 1952. Gyllenstierna was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1955 and served as battalion commander in the

Västerbotten Regiment The Västerbotten Regiment (), designations I 19, I XIX, I 20 and I 20/Fo 61, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province of Västerbott ...

(I 20) from 1957 and served as commanding officer of the Swedish Battalion VI in

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

from April to October 1959. He was promoted to colonel in Västerbotten Regiment in 1960 and served as military attaché in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

from 1960 to 1965. From 1966 until his retirement in 1972, Gyllenstierna served as regimental commander of the

Life Regiment Grenadiers Life Regiment Grenadiers (), also I 3, was a Swedish Army infantry unit that was active in various forms 1815–2000. The unit was based in Örebro Garrison in Örebro and belonged to the King's Life and Household Troops (''Kungl. Maj:ts Liv- och ...

(I 3). He was also a board member of the Swedish Military Sports Association (''Sveriges militära idrottsförbund'') from 1943 to 1944 and secretary of the

Royal Patriotic Society The Royal Patriotic Society () is a Sweden, Swedish royal family, royal society founded in 1772 in Stockholm, Sweden, by royal charter of King Gustav III of Sweden. The original aim was to improve agriculture, mining and the textile industry. The ...

from 1973 to 1987.

Personal life

In October 1936, he married Eva Svennilson (1915–1966), the daughter of Sven Nilson, a court chaplain, and Auga (née Andersson), in

Solna Church Solna Church () is a so-called round church in Solna Municipality near Stockholm, Sweden. It is part of Solna Parish in the Diocese of Stockholm. The church is located on the headland between Brunnsviken and Ulvsundasjön, at the southern end of ...

. They had three children: Nils (born 1938), Christofer (born 1942) and Tove (born 1951). His son Christofer Gyllenstierna is a Swedish ambassador. In 1970, he married Maj Dalén (1908–1983), the daughter of professor Albin Dalén and Maja (née Svedin). He later married Else Bengtson-Muusfeldt (1921–1998), an artist.

Death

Gyllenstierna died on 14 May 2003 in Stockholm and was buried in

Skogskyrkogården (; ) is a cemetery located in the Gamla Enskede district south of central Stockholm, Sweden. It was inaugurated in 1920 and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. Its design, by Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz, reflects th ...

on 29 August 2003.

Dates of rank

*1932 – Second lieutenant *1936 –

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 ...

*1941 – ''

Ryttmästare ''Ryttmästare'' (from the German word ''Rittmeister'') was a military rank in the Swedish cavalry in the Swedish Army. The rank corresponded to the rank of captain in other service branches. The rank was abolished in 1972. History The military ...

'' *1941 –

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 ...

*1952 –

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 ...

*1955 – Lieutenant colonel *1960 –

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 ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

Commander 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 1966) * RyttOl Medal of Merit

Foreign

* Commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* Commander of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

* Knight of the Order of the Crown *

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 ...

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 ...

(1956)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gyllenstierna, Ebbe 1911 births 2003 deaths Swedish Army colonels Swedish male modern pentathletes Olympic modern pentathletes for Sweden Modern pentathletes at the 1936 Summer Olympics Military personnel from Stockholm Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders of the Order of the Sword 20th-century Swedish sportsmen