Ministry of Land Defence () was in a broad sense, one of the eight ministries, in which the

Swedish government The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and their cabinet ministers (). The Government is responsible for its actions ...

administration was divided into. Its head was called Minister of War. The Ministry of Land Defence Department was established on 16 May 1840 and was merged with the Ministry for Naval Affairs into the newly established

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 ...

on 30 June 1920.

History

The Ministry of Land Defence was established in connection with the ministry reform in 1840. The cases, previously handled by the War Office (''Krigsexpeditionen''), were now divided between the Ministry of Land Defence and the Ministry for Naval Affairs. The Ministry of Land Defence's first cabinet meeting day was on 19 May 1840. According to the Royal Decree concerning the distribution of cases between the ministries on 16 May 1840 ( SFS 1840 No. 14), the following cases sorted under the Ministry of Land Defence: Cases relating to the organization and maintenance of the land defence, as well as the staff, the disposition of funds and equipment to the land defence, the construction and maintenance of fortifications, educational institutions, church and medical affairs, pension and charity facilities for the land army and associated staff; the

Allotment system The allotment system (; ) was a system used in Sweden for keeping a trained army at all times. This system came into use in around 1640, and was replaced by the modern Swedish Armed Forces conscription system in 1901. Two different allotment sy ...

and ''Roteringsverket'' for the army; questions about commanding land troops for service or use for the necessary public works; the care of homes and buildings of the land defence, and The Crown's additional insight into the use of artillery foundry (''styckebruk''), the rifle factories and the gunpowder manufacturing; questions concerning telegraph arrangements (the telegraphic arrangements here means the military

optical telegraph An optical telegraph is a line of stations, typically towers, for the purpose of conveying textual information by means of visual signals (a form of optical communication). There are two main types of such systems; the semaphore telegraph whic ...

) in Sweden, with the exception of the individual needs of the

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 ...

. In addition came the so-called command matters (''kommandomålen''), i.e. those matters of generally less importance which were determined by the king as Supreme Commander of Sweden's military force. These cases were settled, in accordance with §15 of the

Instrument of Government The Instrument of Government was the first constitution of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and was also the first codified and written constitution in England. It was drafted by Major-General John Lambert in 1653. Anteced ...

for the Ministry of Land Defence's concern, by the King, following presentation by the head of the Ministry of Land Defence, and in attendance only by him. The command matters mainly concerned the

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 ...

's weapons exercises, schools, training courses, personnel accounts, service conditions, regulations, etc. During the period up to the issue of the renewed ministry statute in 1900, the ministry was liberated from some of the often complex cases relating to the gradual modifications of the

allotment system The allotment system (; ) was a system used in Sweden for keeping a trained army at all times. This system came into use in around 1640, and was replaced by the modern Swedish Armed Forces conscription system in 1901. Two different allotment sy ...

. Following the decommissioning of the allotment system by the new army order in 1901, only the cases relating to its decommissioning remained. Until the Ministry of Land Defence's merging into the

in 1920, some significant changes in the ministry's area of affairs did not take place. In 1920, the ministry's all cases were transferred to the new ministry. For preparing these cases, the head of the ministry had a department of the Royal Majesty's Chancery (''Kunglig Majestäts kansli''), which consisted of one permanent undersecretary, two deputy directors (''kansliråd'') and directors (''byråchef''), three office secretaries, one registrar and an unspecified number of extra officials (assistants). Under the Ministry of Land Defence sorted government agencies such as: the Military Office of the Ministry of Land Defence and the

Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration The Royal Swedish Army Material Administration (, KAF) was a Government agencies in Sweden, Swedish central government agency that replaced the War College (Sweden), War College in 1865. It was active between the years 1866 and 1954. History Th ...

. The ministry also belonged to the army with its ''Generalitet'',''Generalitet'' or ''Generalitetet'', the collective term for all the generals in an army. Also the term for (and an administrative corps) for all generals in active service and in the reserve in the Swedish Army. the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

, the regiments and the corps, the Commendant Staff (''Kommendantskapen''), 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 ...

, the

Artillery and Engineering College Artillery and Engineering College (, AIHS) was a Swedish Army training establishment active between 1878 and 1992, providing courses for artillery officers. It was located within the Stockholm Garrison in Stockholm, Sweden. History The Higher Art ...

, the Royal Military Academy, 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 ...

and other military education and training institutions, the subordinate ordnance, ammunition and rifle stores of the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration, the investigative offices 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 ...

and at

Karlsborg Karlsborg (, outdatedly ) is a locality and the seat of Karlsborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 3,551 inhabitants in 2010. This garrison town lies at the shore of lake Vättern in Västergötland Västergötland (), ...

, the Fortification Commissariat (''Fästningsintendenturen'') in Stockholm, the State Warehouse Agency (''Magasinsstaten'') in Stockholm with the Crown Bakery (''Kronobageriet''), the

Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori Carl Gustafs stads gevärsfaktori (English: Rifle Factory of Carl Gustaf's Town) was a Swedish firearms manufacturer based in Eskilstuna, Sweden. History Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori ("Rifle Factory of Carl Gustaf's Town") was founded in ...

, Marieberg's Ammunition Factory, Fortification Treasurers and custodians, the Potassium Nitrate Maker's School (''Salpetersjuderiskolan''), the Discipline Company at Karlsborg, the garrison hospitals in Stockholm and at Karlsborg, as well as all the foundations of the land defence. As a result of the act on the state ministries on 19 June 1919, the Ministry of Land Defence and the Ministry for Naval Affairs were merged into a new ministry, the Ministry of Defence, from 1 July 1920.

Location

During the years 1840–1851, the Ministry of Land Defence was, like the Ministry for Naval Affairs, located in the ''Stenbockska palatset'' at

Birger Jarls torg Birger Jarls torg is a public square on Riddarholmen in Gamla stan, the old town in Stockholm, Sweden. History The square used to be called ''Riddarholmstorget'', but was in the mid-19th century renamed ''Birger Jarls torg'' after Birger Jarl ...

4. During this time, however, the Military Office was located in the so-called ''Preisiska huset'' at

Drottninggatan Drottninggatan (''Queen Street'') in Stockholm, Sweden, is a major pedestrian street. It stretches north from the bridge Riksbron at Norrström, in the district of Norrmalm, to Observatorielunden in the district of Vasastaden. Composition Fo ...

36. In 1851, the ministry moved to ''Mynthuset'' (the predecessor of the current ''Kanslihuset''), where it remained until 1920.

Ministers

The head of the ministry had officially the title of "Council of State (''Statsråd'') and head of the Ministry of Land Defence", but was commonly referred to as the Minister of War. *1840–1840:

Bror Cederström Gustaf Albrecht Bror Cederström (21 September 1780 – 21 December 1877) was a Swedish baron and lieutenant general and Minister of War. Biography Cederström was born at Fornsigtuna, Sweden and was the only child of lieutenant general and later ...

*1840–1843:

Axel Otto Mörner Count Axel Otto Mörner (8 June 1774 – 20 October 1852) was a Swedish artist and general. Family Mörner was born in Lekaryd Parish in Jönköping County, Sweden and was the son of Lieutenant Colonel Count Carl Gustaf Mörner and Sofia Elisa ...

*1843–1844: Arfved Lovisin *1844–1848:

Gustaf Peyron Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

*1848–1853:

Carl Ludvig von Hohenhausen Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

*1853–1858: Nils Gyldenstolpe *1858–1862:

Magnus Björnstjerna Count Magnus Fredrik Ferdinand Björnstjerna, (10 October 1779 – 6 October 1847), was a Swedish count and military general, son of the envoy to Sachsen Magnus Olof Björnstjerna and his wife, countess Vilhelmina von Hagen. He was the grandso ...

*1862–1867: Alexander Reuterskiöld *1867–1871: Gustaf Abelin *1871–1877: Oscar Weidenhielm *1877–1880:

Henrik Rosensvärd Henrik is a male given name of Germanic origin, primarily used in Scandinavia, Finland, Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia. In Poland, the name is spelt Henryk but pronounced similarly. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Heiki (Estonia ...

*1880–1882: Otto Taube *1882–1887:

Axel Ryding Lieutenant General Knut ''Axel'' Ryding (28 August 1831 – 7 February 1897) was a Swedish Army officer. His senior commands include the post of Chief of the General Staff and commanding officer of the 3rd Military District and the 3rd Division. ...

*1887–1888: Gustaf Oscar Peyron *1888–1892: Hjalmar Palmstierna *1892–1899:

Axel Rappe ''Friherre'' General Axel Emil Rappe (2 October 1838 – 18 December 1918) was a Swedish Army officer and Minister of War from 1892 and 1899. Early life Rappe was born on 2 October 1838 in Christinelund manor in Arby, Kalmar County, the son of ...

*1899–1903: Jesper Crusebjörn *1903–1905: Otto Virgin *1905–1907:

Lars Tingsten General Lars Herman Tingsten (13 July 1857 – 10 September 1937) was a Swedish Army officer. He was Minister for War from 1905 to 1907 and Chief of the General Staff from 1919 to 1922. Early life Tingsten was born on 13 July 1857 in Ingatorp ...

*1907–1907:

Arvid Lindman Salomon Arvid Achates Lindman (19 September 1862 – 9 December 1936) was a Swedish rear admiral, industrialist and conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1906 to 1911 and again from 1928 to 1930. He has been des ...

*1907–1911:

Olof Malm Olov (or Olof) is a Swedish form of Olav/Olaf, meaning "ancestor's descendant". A common short form of the name is ''Olle''. The name may refer to: * Olle Åberg (1925–2013), Swedish middle-distance runner * Olle Åhlund (1920–1996), Swed ...

*1911–1914:

David Bergström David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

*1914–1914:

Hjalmar Hammarskjöld Knut Hjalmar Leonard Hammarskjöld (; 4 February 1862 – 12 October 1953) was a Swedish politician and scholar who served as the Prime Minister of Sweden from 1914 to 1917. He was a member of the Riksdag from 1923 to 1938 in the first chamber ...

*1914–1917: Emil Mörcke *1917–1917: Joachim Åkerman *1917–1920: Erik Nilson *1920–1920:

Per Albin Hansson Per Albin Hansson (28 October 1885 – 6 October 1946) was a Swedish politician, chairman of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, Social Democrats from 1925 and two-time Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister in four Government of Sweden, gov ...

Permanent Undersecretaries

*1840–1843: Carl David Forsberg *1843–1844: Carl Wilhelm Riben *1844–1855: Malcolm von Schantz *1855–1866: Carl Gustaf Årman *1866–1873: Nils Adolf Varenius *1873–1881: Alfred Sjöberg *1881–1886: Erik Elliot *1886–1895: Ehrenfried von der Lancken *1895–1898: Carl Edvard Cassel *1898–1899: Emil Sjöberg *1899–1904: Carl Herman Weidenheim *1904–1909: Fredrik Bergenholtz *1909–1916: Oscar Henry Arsell *1916–1917: Carl Malmroth (acting) *1917–1920: Knut Söderwall

State Secretaries

*1917–1920: Carl Malmroth

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry of Land Defence Land Defence

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Sweden, Land Defence Sweden, Land Defence 1840 establishments in Sweden 1920 disestablishments in Sweden