Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Carl Holger Holter Henning (30 July 1905 – 4 February 1981) was a

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. Henning served as Chief of the

Military Office of the Ministry of Defence Military Office of the oyal SwedishMinistry of Defence (, FKE), previously the Military Office of the wedishMinister of Defence (, FKE), was an office in the Royal Chancery from 1945 to 1974 and in the Government Offices from 1975 to 1979, where ...

from 1961 to 1970.

Early life

Henning was born on 30 July 1905 in

Härnösand Härnösand () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Härnösand Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 25,012 inhabitants in 2023. It is called "the gate to the High Coast" because of the world heritage landscape just ...

Parish, Sweden, the son of Carl Henning and his wife Caroline Holter-Hedström. 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

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 ...

in 1924.

Career

Henning was commissioned as an officer in the

in 1927 with the rank of acting sub-lieutenant and then served aboard different

coastal defence ship Coastal defence ships (sometimes called coastal battleships or coast defence ships) were warships built for the purpose of coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized warships that sacrifi ...

s. He studied at the

Royal Swedish Naval Staff College The Royal Swedish Naval Staff College (, KSHS) was a Swedish Navy training establishment between 1898 and 1961, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Swedish Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for office ...

from 1933 to 1935 and served in the Naval Staff from 1935 to 1936, 1938 to 1939 and from 1942 to 1944. During the war years he served as an artillery officer on and executive officer on the cruiser . Henning was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1944 and then served as a teacher at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1946 to 1947. In 1949, Henning was promoted to commander and he served as head of the Operations Department in the Naval Staff from 1949 to 1952. From January to March 1953, Henning captained HSwMS ''Gotland'' on a trip to

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. He was promoted to captain in 1953 and served as head of Section II in the Defence Staff from 1953 to 1960. In 1960, Henning was promoted to rear admiral and he served as Acting Chief of the

from 1960 to 1961 and then as Chief of the same from 1961 to 1970. He 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 vice admiral on 1 October 1970. Henning became

ADC ADC may refer to: Aviation * ADC Aircraft, a British firm established in 1920 * ADC Airlines, based in Ikeja, Nigeria * Aerospace Defense Command, of the U.S. Air Force * Air data computer, an essential avionics component found in modern glass coc ...

to Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf in 1943 and served him until he became king

Gustaf VI Adolf Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf ...

in 1953. He then served the king as senior ADC from 1953 to 1973. He was an expert in the 1941 Defense Inquiry and in the 1945 Defense Committee.

Personal life

In 1931, Henning married Dagmar Örnberg (1910–2000), the daughter of Major General Arthur Örnberg (1883–1967) and Carmen Hagander (1888–1982). He was the father of Birgitta (born 1933), Catharina (born 1936) and Per (born 1942).

Death

Henning died on 4 February 1981 in Oscar Parish in

. The funeral was held on 12 February 1981 in

Hedvig Eleonora Church Hedvig Eleonora Church () is a church (building), church in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located at Östermalm and belongs to the Church of Sweden and is parish church for Hedvig Eleonora Parish in the Diocese of Stockholm (Church of Sweden), ...

in Stockholm. He was interred 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 on 27 April 1981.

Dates of rank

*1927 – Acting sub-lieutenant *19?? – Sub-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 ...

*1944 – Lieutenant commander *1949 –

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 ...

*1953 –

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 –

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 ...

*1 October 1970 –

Vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1948) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_Grand_Cross_BAR

Commander 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 1969) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

(6 June 1961) * Order_of_the_Vasa_-_Ribbon_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 ...

(1942)

Foreign

* Commander with Star 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 1961) * FIN_Order_of_the_White_Rose_Commander_BAR

Commander of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...

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 ...

Officer of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

with Swords * NLD_Inauguration_Medal_1948

(8 June 1949) * AUT Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria - 5th Class BAR

Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria (1962)

Honours

*Member of the

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 ...

(1943; honorary member in 1960) *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 ...

(1955)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henning, Holger 1905 births 1981 deaths Swedish Navy vice admirals People from Härnösand Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of Vasa Burials at Galärvarvskyrkogården