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 ...

Erik Olof Rosengren (1 February 190822 February 1988) 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. He served as head of the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1959 to 1961 and as head of the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1961 to 1973.

Early life

Rosengren was born on 1 February 1908 in Kalmar City Parish (''Kalmar stadsförsamling''),

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 41,388 inhabitants in 2020 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

, Sweden, the son of Elander Rosengren and his wife Ruth (née Österberg). 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 1926.

Career

Rosengren was commissioned as an officer in 1929 and was assigned as a second lieutenant in Jönköping-Kalmar Regiment (I 12). He was promoted to lieutenant in 1933 and attended the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1935 to 1937. Rosengren was an aspirant in the General Staff Corps from 1937 to 1939 and he became captain of the General Staff Corps in 1939. He served in the Army Staff from 1939 to 1942 and in the staff of the III Military District from 1942 to 1943. Rosengren served as a teacher at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1943 to 1945 and he was appointed captain in the Life Regiment Grenadiers (I 3) in 1945. Rosengren was promoted to major in 1947 and he served in the Army Staff from 1947 to 1948 and in

Svea Life Guards The Svea Life Guards (), also I 1, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that was active in various forms 1521–2000. The unit was based in the Stockholm Garrison in Stockholm and belonged to the King's Life and Household Troops (''Kungl. Maj: ...

(I 1) in 1948. He then served as a teacher at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1948 to 1953, and he became lieutenant colonel of the General Staff Corps in 1951 and attended the Swedish National Defence College in 1951. He Rosengren was assigned to

Gotland Infantry Regiment The Gotland Infantry Regiment (), designations I 27 and I 18, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 19th century. It was reorganized into an Gotland_Regiment, armoured regiment in 1963. The regiment's soldiers we ...

(I 18) 1953 and was promoted to colonel and appointed commander of

Älvsborg Regiment The Älvsborg Regiment (), designation I 15 and I 15/Fo 34, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traces its origins back 1624. It was disbanded in 1998. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the provinces of Västergötland, ...

(I 15) in 1956. From 1957 to 1958, Rosengren served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the

United Nations Emergency Force The United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was a military and peacekeeping operation established by the United Nations General Assembly to secure an end to the Suez Crisis, Suez Crisis of 1956 through the establishment of international peacekeeper ...

(UNEF) in Gaza. In 1959, he was appointed head of the Royal Swedish Army Staff College. In 1961, Rosengren was appointed head of the newly created Swedish Armed Forces Staff College (MHS). Rosengren was also a pioneer in arranging as good a social situation as possible for teachers and students at the MHS. Through his energetic work, the housing foundation MHS-student could be formed. Rosengren was promoted to major general in 1965 and retired and was given a

tombstone promotion A tombstone promotion is an advance in rank awarded at retirement. It is often an honorary promotion that does not include any corresponding increase in retired pay, whose only benefit is the right to be addressed by the higher rank and have it en ...

to lieutenant general in 1973. Rosengren was also a member of the Voluntary Committee (''Frivilligkommittén''), which he became in 1951. He was chairman of the Officers' Association (''Officersföreningen'') and the delegation for military history research from 1962 to 1973. He was also a board member of the Military Literature Association (''Militärlitteraturföreningen'') from 1947 and of Hörsta förlag AB from 1958 to 1961. He was also a member of the

Swedish Order of Freemasons The Swedish Order of Freemasons () is a Swedish fraternal order of freemasonry, founded in 1735 as the oldest still active Swedish fraternal order. It is the native Swedish manifestation of Swedish Rite Freemasonry, recognised by the United Grand ...

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

, Order of Hvita Korset, Brunkeberg, FBD, and the friendship associations of I 15, I 3, I 18. He was also involved in the MHS Association (''Föreningen MHS''). Rosengren was a contributor of ''Det andra världskrigets historia'', wrote articles in the daily and trade press, and was a contributor of Radiotjänst between 1943 and 1954.

Personal life

In 1940, Rosengren married Mai-Gret Legerth (born 1918), the daughter of Ragnar Jansson and Anne (née Du Rietz). They had one child: Annette (born 1946).

Death

Rosengren died on 22 February 1988 in

Oscar Parish Oscar Parish () is a parish in Östermalm's church district (''kontrakt'') in the Diocese of Stockholm, Sweden. The parish is located in Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm County. The parish forms its own pastorship. History Oscar Parish was fo ...

, Stockholm. He was interred on 15 April 1988 at

Galärvarvskyrkogården Galärvarvskyrkogården (literally Galley Shipyard Cemetery) is a cemetery on the island of Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It has about 1,300 burial sites and an area of approximately 0.9 hectares. History Galärvarvskyrkogården in Djurgår ...

in Stockholm.

Dates of rank

*1929 – Second lieutenant *1933 –

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 ...

*1939 –

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 ...

*1947 –

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 ...

*1951 – Lieutenant colonel *1956 –

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 ...

*1965 – Major general *1973 –

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

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand Cross 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 1972) * SWE_Order_of_Vasa_-_Knight_2nd_Class_BAR

Knight of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

* Älvsborg Association for Volunteer Military Training's gold medal (''Älvsborgs befäls(utbildnings)förbunds guldmedalj'') * Älvsborg Shooting Association's gold medal (''Älvsborgs skytteförbunds guldmedalj'') * Army Shooting Medal (''Arméns skyttemedalj'')

Foreign

* 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 ...

(1 July 1960) * UN_Medal_UNEF_ribbon_bar

United Nations Emergency Force Medal

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 ...

(1951) *Honorary member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (1970)

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosengren, Erik 1908 births 1988 deaths Swedish Army lieutenant generals People from Kalmar Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of Vasa Burials at Galärvarvskyrkogården