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 ...

Per-Ove Poul Ljung (18 May 1918 – 31 May 1997) 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. His senior commands include Chief of the Army Staff and the General Staff Corps,

Master-General of the Ordnance The Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) was a very senior British military position from 1415 to 2013 (except 1855–1895 and 1939–1958) with some changes to the name, usually held by a serving general. The Master-General of the Ordnance was ...

, head of the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration, military commander of the

Eastern Military District The Order of the Red Banner Eastern Military District ( Russian: Восточный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction wi ...

(Milo Ö) and Commandant General in Stockholm. Ljung retired from the military in 1974 and then served as Director General of the

Defence Materiel Administration The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (, FMV) is a Swedish government agency that reports to the Ministry of Defence. The agency is responsible for the supply of materiel to the Swedish defence organisation. It is located in Stockholm. D ...

from 1974 to 1982.

Early life

Ljung was born on 18 May 1918 in

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...

, Sweden, the son of Per Ljung, an accountant, and his wife Martha (née Jensen). 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 1937.

Career

Military career

Ljung was commissioned as an officer in 1939. He belonged to an officer course, which, due to the increasingly threatening world political situation, had a dramatic shortening of their education in order to join units and strengthen the Swedish

preparedness Preparedness is a set of actions that are taken as precautionary measures in the face of potential disasters. Being prepared helps in achieving goals and in avoiding and mitigating negative outcomes. There are different types of preparedness, su ...

. Ljung was commissioned into the Jönköping-Kalmar Regiment (I 12) 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 ...

as second lieutenant in 1940 and then attended the

Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (, GIH) in Stockholm is a Swedish institution offering higher education in the fields of teaching profession in Physical Education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools w ...

in 1942 and was promoted to lieutenant the same year. During the following years he held alternately troop, staff and teaching positions. Ljung attended the Royal Swedish Army Staff College in 1948 and was promoted to captain the same year. Ljung then served in the General Staff Corps in 1950 and in 1955 he served as captain in the Northern Scanian Infantry Regiment (I 6) in

Kristianstad Kristianstad ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 41,198 inhabitants in 2023. Since the 1990s, the city has gone from being a garrison town to a developed commercial city, ...

. He was promoted to major in 1957 and served again in the General Staff Corps and as chief of staff of the I Military District in Kristianstad. In 1959 Ljung attended the Swedish National Defence College and in 1960 he was appointed head of the Organization Department of the Army Staff. A year later he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 1963 he was promoted to colonel and was appointed head of Section I of the Army Staff. Ljung was appointed commanding officer of the Life Regiment Grenadiers (I 3) in 1964 and in 1966 he was promoted to major general and appointed Chief of the Army Staff and the General Staff Corps. He was also from 1966 serving as the

and acting head of the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration. Ljung was appointed head of the Army Materiel Administration (''Armématerielförvaltningen'', FMV-A) at the

in 1968, a position he held for one year before being appointed military commander of the

(Milo Ö) and Commandant General in Stockholm. Ljung held this post until 1974 when he retired from the military and was appointed Director General of the Defence Materiel Administration. He served as Director General until 1982.

Other work

Ljung was a member of the board of the Central Federation for Voluntary Military Training (''Centralförbundet för befälsutbildning'') and the National Board of the

Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization The Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization ( (''SLK'') communicatively, , and ''Riksförbundet Sveriges lottakårer'' juridically, ) is an independent auxiliary defence organization in Sweden. The organisation is part of the Swedish Total ...

(''Lottaöverstyrelsen''). He was also a member of the Administration Board of the Swedish Armed Forces and the board of the

Swedish National Defence Research Institute Swedish National Defence Research Institute (, FOA) was a Swedish government agency in defense research existing from 1945 to 31 December 2000. It was amalgamated with the National Aeronautical Research Institute (FFA) into the Swedish Defence ...

from 1966 to 1968. Ljung was chairman of the Central Joint Consultation Board of the Swedish Armed Forces (''Försvarets centrala företagsnämnd'') from 1968 to 1974 and a member of the board of the Idun Society (''Sällskapet Idun'') from 1968 to 1990 and chairman of the same from 1981 to 1990. Ljugn was a member of the State Administration's Central Cooperation Council for Human Resources (''Statsförvaltningens centrala samarbetsråd för personalfrågor'') from 1969 to 1974 and of the Industrial Council of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (, IVA), founded on 24 October 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the royal academies in Sweden. The academy is an independent organisation, which promotes contact and exchange between business, ...

from 1974. He was a member of the board of the Home Guard Fund (''Hemvärnsfonden'') from 1975 and vice chairman of the National Swedish Board of Economic Defence from 1975 to 1977. Ljung was a member of the board of the County Council's Fund for Technology Procurement and Product Development (''Landstingets fond för teknikupphandling och produktutveckling'') from 1982.

Personal life

In 1942 he married Inga-Maj Sjöholm (born 1918), the daughter of Ture Sjöholm and Gerda (née von Porat). He was the father of Per (born 1943) and Anders (born 1948).

Dates of rank

*1940 – Second lieutenant *1942 –

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 ...

*1948 –

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 ...

*1957 –

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 ...

*1961 – Lieutenant colonel *1963 –

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 ...

*1966 – Major general *1969 –

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_BAR

Commander 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 1966) * Order_of_the_Sword_-_Ribbon_bar

Knight of the

* Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization Royal Medal of Merit in silver

Foreign

Grand Cross 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 1979)

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 ...

in 1964, (president 1975–1977) *Member of the

in 1979, (chairman of Department XI 1982–1985) *Honorary member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences in 1975