Major General Klas Carl Gunnar Eksell (born 6 October 1960) 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 served as the Director of Human Resource at 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 2016 to 2022.

Early life

Eksell was born on 6 October 1960 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, Sweden, and grew up in

Uddevalla Uddevalla is a Stad (Sweden), town in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It’s the seat of Uddevalla Municipality. In 2015, it had a population of 34,781, making it the largest town fully in Bohuslän. Uddevalla is located where the river Bäveån ...

. He did his military service in

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) and became an officer aspirant in 1978.

Career

Eksell attended 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 ...

from 1980 to 1982 when he was commissioned as an officer. Eksell attended the

Swedish Armed Forces Staff College The oyalSwedish Armed Forces Staff College (, MHS) was from 1961 to 1996 the Swedish Armed Forces highest institution for officers training, for staff and senior executive education and was located in Stockholm. In 1997 it was merged with the S ...

's General Course from 1988 to 1989 and the higher course from 1993 to 1995. In 1995, Eksell became staff officer at the Swedish National Defence College and in 1996 he served as a staff officer in the Human Resources Staff (''Personalstaben'', PERSS) at the

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 1997 to 1999, Eksell was head of Brigade Development at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters. In 2000, Eksell served as head of training of the Baltic Battalion Training Team in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. He was then assigned as Course Director of the Swedish National Defence College's Advanced Staff Course from 2001 to 2003 and as brigade commander in

Norrbotten Regiment The Norrbotten Regiment (), designation I 19, is a Swedish Army arctic armoured, light infantry and commando regiment that traces its origins back to the 19th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province of Norrb ...

(I 19) from 2003 to 2005. In 2005, Eksell was promoted to colonel as appointed Chief Operating Officer at the

Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service The Military Intelligence and Security Service (, MUST) is a division of the Swedish Armed Forces Central Command. MUST is both a foreign intelligence and a military security/counterintelligence agency. In its intelligence role, MUST is respon ...

. Two years later, he was appointed commanding officer of the Land Warfare Centre in

Skövde Skövde () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and urban centre in Skövde Municipality and Västra Götaland County, in the Västergötland, Västergötland (Western Gothland region) in central southern Sweden. Skövde is situated around 150 k ...

. He held that position for three years and in 2011 Eksell served as Senior Mentor to the 1st Brigade,

Afghan National Army The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the army, land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when th ...

in the RC North, as part of the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team 1 (OMLT 1). Eksell was appointed head of the Security Office (''Säkerhetskontoret'') at the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service in 2012. In 2013, Eksell was promoted to brigadier general and served as Deputy Director of Human Resource at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters from 1 January 2013 to 31 October 2016. From 1 July 2016 to 31 October 2016, Eksell served as Acting Director of Human Resource. Eksell was promoted to major general and took office as Director of Human Resource on 1 November 2016. He was succeeded by Kim-Lena Ekvall Svedenblad on 1 January 2023.

Personal life

Eksell is married to Elisabeth with whom he has two children. He lives in

Strängnäs Strängnäs is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 15,363 inhabitants in 2020. It is located by Lake Mälaren and is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Strängnäs, one of t ...

Dates of rank

*19?? – Second lieutenant *1982 –

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 ...

*1983 –

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 ...

*19?? –

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 ...

*20?? – Lieutenant colonel *2005 –

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 ...

*2013 – Brigadier general *2016 – Major general

Awards and decorations

Swedish

* Swedish Armed Forces Conscript Medal * FMintBM bar - no 2

Swedish Armed Forces International Service Medal The Swedish Armed Forces International Service Medal (, FMintBM) is a Swedish reward medal instituted by the Swedish Armed Forces in 1991. The medal regulations has been revised twice, in 1994 and 2012. The medal is awarded after at least 30 days ...

(2000 and 2010) * Land Warfare Centre Medal of Merit (''Markstridsskolans förtjänstmedalj'') * Småland Brigade Commemorative Medal (''Smålandsbrigadens minnesmedalj'') * Dala Brigade Medal of Merit (''Dalabrigadens förtjänstmedalj'') * Norrlands_artilleribataljons_minnesmedalj

Norrland Artillery Battalion Commemorative Medal (''Norrlands artilleribataljons minnesmedalj'') * Norrlands signalbataljons minnesmedalj

Norrland Signal Battalion The Norrland Signal Battalion (), designated Signbat/I 19, originally Norrland Signal Corps (), designated S 3, was a Swedish Army signal unit, one of the few new formations raised in the 20th century. It was disbanded in 2005. The unit was garris ...

Commemorative Medal (''Norrlands signalbataljons minnesmedalj'') *

Medaljen till minne av Nobels fredspris till FNs fredsbevarande styrkor - NobelFNMSM1

Commemorative Medal of the Nobel Prize to the UN Peacekeeping Forces (''Medaljen till minne av Nobels fredspris till FNs fredsbevarande styrkor'', NobelFNSMM) (1988) * 1st Army Division Commemorative Medal (''1.fördelningen minnesmedalj'')

Foreign

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), Cyprus * NATO_Medal_ISAF_ribbon_bar_v2

NATO Non-Article 5 medal for ISAF (2010) * Latvian Defense Chief of Medal Merit (2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eksell, Klas 1960 births Living people Swedish Army major generals People from Eksjö