Major General Karl Lorentz Engelbrekt Engelbrektson (born 12 February 1962) 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. He completed the Advanced Course at the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College in 1988 and later joined the

Värmland Regiment The Värmland Regiment (), designations I 22, I 2 and I 2/Fo 52, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traces its origins back to the 16th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province of Värmland, where the un ...

, where he rose to the rank of major. He furthered his education at the Swedish National Defence College and worked on arms control issues at the Ministry of Defence. Engelbrektson organized a joint training section within the

Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters The Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters (, HKV) is the highest level of command in the Swedish Armed Forces. Established in 1994, its primary task is to command operations, but is also involved in areas such as military strategy, the overall devel ...

from 1998 to 1999 and attended the

Geneva Centre for Security Policy The Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) is an international foundation that was established in 1995 under Swiss law to "promote the building and maintenance of peace, security and stability". The GCSP was founded by the Federal Departmen ...

. He held various leadership positions, including deputy brigade commander and commander of the 9th Swedish battalion in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. He also served in the German EU Force Headquarters. In 2005, he became the Force Commander of the

Nordic Battlegroup The Nordic Battlegroup (NBG) is one of eighteen European Union battlegroups. It consists of around 2,500 soldiers including officers, with manpower contributed from the seven participating Northern European countries, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Ire ...

and held several important roles in military education and leadership. He served as Chief of Army from June 2016 to June 2023 before retiring in June 2023, succeeded by Major General

Jonny Lindfors Generalmajor (Sweden), Major General Dan ''Jonny'' Mattias Lindfors (born 25 February 1975) is a Swedish Army officer. Lindfors has served as commander of the Kings Guards Battalion in the Life Guards (Sweden), Life Guards, of Norrbotten Regiment ...

Early life

Engelbrektson was born on 12 February 1962 in

Falkenberg Falkenberg is a locality and the seat of Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 27,813 inhabitants in 2019 (out of a municipal total of about 45,000). It is located at the mouth of river Ätran. The name consists of the Swedish ...

, Sweden, the son of Olle Engelbrektson and his wife Anneli. He grew up in Hunnebostrand. Engelbrektson attended Gullmarsskolan in

Lysekil Municipality Lysekil Municipality () is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Lysekil. The present municipality was formed in 1971, when the ''City of Lysekil'' (instituted as such in 1903) was amalg ...

from 1979 to 1981 and then did his military service at

Bohuslän Regiment The Bohuslän Regiment (), designation I 17, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traces its origins back 1661. It was disbanded in 1992. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the provinces of Bohuslän, and it was later gar ...

(I 17) in 1981. Engelbrektson attended the Swedish Infantry Officers' College from 1982 to 1984 when he was commissioned as an officer with the rank of second lieutenant.

Career

After becoming an officer, he returned to his old regiment. In 1985 his left hand was severely injured in an accident involving explosives. He passed the Advanced Course at the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1987 to 1988 and in connection with the disbandment of Bohuslän Regiment in 1991, Engelbrektson transferred to

(I 2) where he later was promoted to major. Engelbrektson passed the Staff Course at the Swedish National Defence College from 1991 to 1992 and attended the same college from 1994 to 1996. He then served at the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service and then the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

with arms control issues and became the first desk officer for

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU) military co-operation. From 1998 to 1999, Engelbrektson organized a new joint training section within the

. He attended the

focusing on International Relations and Conflict Management from 1999 to 2000. He was then tasked to organize and lead a new international manning section within the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters. In 2001, Engelbrektson was appointed deputy brigade commander of

Gotland Regiment The Gotland Regiment (, P 18) is a Swedish Army armoured warfare, armoured regiment which has been active in various forms between 1963–1994 and 2000–2005, when it was disbanded. The regiment was re-established on 1 January 2018. The regiment ...

(P 18) and from December 2003 until June 2004 he was commander of the 9th Swedish battalion (KS09), part of

Kosovo Force The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO-led international NATO peacekeeping, peacekeeping force and military of Kosovo. KFOR is the third security responder, after the Kosovo Police and the EU Rule of Law (European ...

(KFOR), in

, where he experienced the mid-March fights in Čaglavica. He also served as deputy commander in the German EU Force Headquarters (FHQ) in

Ulm Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...

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 ...

. In June 2004, he was appointed acting commanding officer of

Gotland Military District Gotland Military District (, MD G) was a military district within the Swedish Armed Forces active between 2000 and 2004. The staff was located within Gotland Garrison in Visby on Gotland. History Gotland Military District was formed on 1 July 200 ...

(MDG), a position he held until January 2005 when he was appointed Force Commander of the

(NBG). Engelbrektson left that position in July 2008. During this time, he also passed the Senior Course in National Security at the Swedish National Defence College from 2004 to 2006. From 2009 to 2010, Engelbrektson did the Strategic Leadership and International Relations Course at the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest leve ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and from January 2010 until August 2010 he served as Military Advisor, European Union and NATO Policy at the Ministry of Defence 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 ...

. From September 2010 he served as military representative to the European Union and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

in the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the European Union. From 2013 to 2014, Engelbrektson was chairman of the NATO Connecting Forces Initiative, Task Force; negotiating new partnerships on behalf of seven nations in view of the 2014 Wales summit. Engelbrektson served as

Assistant Chief of Armed Forces Training & Procurement The Assistant Chief of Armed Forces Training & Procurement (, C PROD FPE/C FÖRBPROD, sometimes as ''Chefen för förbandsproduktion'') or Chief of Training () was a Two-star rank, two-star role within the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters#Trainin ...

from 2014 to 2016 before being appointed Chief of Army starting from 1 June 2016. His appointment was prolonged from 1 January 2021 to 28 February 2023. On 1 January 2023, his appointment was prolonged again to 30 June 2023. He was succeeded by Major General

on 18 June 2023. Engelbrektson was placed at the disposal of the Chief of the Defence Staff from 18 June to 30 June 2023 when he retired.

Personal life

Engelbrektson is married to Sofi and they have two children.

Dates of rank

*1984 – 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 ...

*19?? –

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 ...

*1998 –

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 ...

*2000 – Lieutenant colonel *2003 –

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 ...

*2006 – Brigadier general *2014 – Major general

Awards and decorations

Swedish

For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm ribbon

For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm * Swedish Armed Forces Conscript Medal * FMintBM bar

Swedish Armed Forces International Service Medal * Älvsborg Group Medal of Merit (''Älvsborgsgruppens förtjänstmedalj'') * SWE_Home_Guard_Silver_Medal_ribbon

Home Guard Silver Medal *

and Värmland Brigade Commemorative Medal (''Värmlands regementes och Värmlandsbrigadens minnesmedalj'', VärmlregbrigMSM) * Eastern Army Division Commemorative Medal (''Östra arméfördelningens minnesmedalj'', ÖFördSMM) * Gotlands regementes minnesmedalj

Commemorative Medal (''Gotlands regementes minnesmedalj'', GotlregMSM) * Swedish Federation for Voluntary Defence Education and Training Merit Badge (2017) * Land Warfare Centre Medal of Merit in gold (''Markstridsskolans förtjänstmedalj i guld'') (March 2023)

Foreign

* Commander of the

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

(14 June 2022) * Ordre_national_du_Merite_Officier_ribbon

Officer of the

(January 2012) * US_Legion_of_Merit_Commander_ribbon

Commander of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

(19 December 2022) * GER_Bundeswehr_Honour_Cross_Gold_ribbon

Badge of Honour of the Bundeswehr The Decorations of Honour of the Bundeswehr () are the sole series of military decorations of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. These honours and awards were introduced in 1980 on the occasion of the 25th annive ...

, Cross of Honour in gold (15 November 2022) * NATO medal for Kosovo ribbon

NATO Medal The NATO Medal is an international military decoration which is awarded to various militaries of the world under the authority of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It is manufactured by Eekelers-Centini Intl, of Hemiksem, Belgium. Ba ...

for

(2004) *

Finnish Military Medal of Merit (2 September 2021)

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 ...

(2006) *Senior Fellow of New Westminster College,

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

, Canada (2013) *Member of the Swedish Institute for International Affairs (2015) *Grand Master of the Order of Innocence (''Innocenceorden'') (14 April 2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Engelbrektson, Karl 1962 births Living people Swedish Army major generals Chiefs of Army (Sweden) People from Falkenberg Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders of the Legion of Merit Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies