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 ...

''Friherre'' Samuel Lars Åkerhielm af Blombacka (23 October 1887 – 15 January 1976) was a senior

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. Åkerhielm had a distinguished military career in Sweden. He began as an officer in 1908, serving in various roles and attending military colleges. He rose through the ranks, becoming a lieutenant colonel and later a colonel. He held key positions, including heading the Royal Swedish Army Staff College and commanding the

Svea Artillery Regiment The Svea Artillery Regiment (), designation A 1, was a Swedish Army artillery regiment that traced its origins back to the 17th century. It was disbanded in 1997. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from Svealand, and it was also gar ...

. In 1941, he briefly served as

Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

. Åkerhielm was promoted to major general and became the military commander of the VII Military District and the Gotland Naval District in 1942. Despite challenges to his role, he remained in command for several years. He retired in 1953 as a lieutenant general and transitioned to the military reserve. Additionally, he played active roles in various organizations during his career.

Early life

Åkerhielm was born on 23 October 1887 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 ...

, Sweden, the son of the President of the , ''Friherre'' Lars Åkerhielm and his wife Hulda (née Nyström). He passed ''mogenhetsexamen'' in Stockholm on 26 May 1906 and became a volunteer in the

(A 1) on 29 May the same year.

Career

Military career

Åkerhielm was commissioned as an officer on 29 May 1908 and was assigned as ''

underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word '' Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 19 ...

'' to the Svea Artillery Regiment on 31 December the same year. Åkerhielm attended the Artillery and Engineering College from 1910 to 1911 and graduated from en Artillery Course at the Artillery and Engineering College in 1913 and he was promoted to lieutenant on 2 August the same year. He attended the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1913 to 1915 and he served as an officer candidate in 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 ...

from 1916 to 1919. He was appointed staff adjutant and promoted to captain in the General Staff on 19 December 1919 and to captain in the regiment on 24 November 1922. Åkerhielm then served as a teacher of general staff service at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1923 to 1927 and from 1928 to 1931. He was then appointed general staff officer in the staff of the IV Army Division on 15 October 1924 and then as captain in the regiment on 26 October 1926. Åkerhielm served as staff adjutant and captain in the General Staff from 27 June 1927 and chief adjutant and major in the General Staff from 21 December 1927. He was major and served as teacher at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College on 3 July 1930 and on 11 September 1931 he was appointed commander of the Norrbotten Artillery Corps (A 5). Åkerhielm was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 31 May 1934 and to colonel in the

on 13 November 1936. He then served as head of the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 30 April 1937 and as regimental commander of the Svea Artillery Regiment from 1940. Åkerhielm was acting Chief of the Defence Staff in 1941 and acting army division commander of the II Army Division (''II. arméfördelningen'') also in 1941. Åkerhielm was promoted to major general and military commander of the VII Military District and the Gotland Naval District in 1942. From Supreme Commander, General

Helge Jung General (Sweden), General Helge Victor Jung (23 March 1886 – 3 January 1978) was a Swedish Army officer. Helge Jung had a distinguished military career in the Swedish Army. He began as a volunteer in 1904, graduated from the Military Academy Kar ...

's diary, it appears that he had planned an action to remove Åkerhielm from the post of commander of the VII Military District, similar to those against General

Olof Thörnell General (Sweden), General Olof Gerhard Thörnell (19 October 1877 – 25 July 1977) was a senior Swedish Army officer. Thörnell's military career spanned several promotions and roles within the Swedish Army. He began as a lieutenant in the Uppla ...

, Major General Nils Rosenblad, Major General , and Colonel

Alf Meyerhöffer Alf Roar Dag Meyerhöffer (16 December 1891 – 29 April 1962) was a Swedish Army officer and politician, who represented Högerpartiet in Swedish parliament Riksdag from 1932 to 1936. Meyerhöffer is mostly known for the Meyerhöffer affair w ...

, who in his opinion were "pro-German" officers. Åkerhielm, however, remained in the post for 6 years before being appointed military commander of the I Military District. He left active service in 1953 and was promoted to lieutenant general and transferred to the military reserve.

Other work

Åkerhielm was chairman of the ''Gotlands skarpskytte och jägargille'' ("Gotland Sharpshooter and Hunter Guild") from 1946 to 1948. He was also chairman of the ''Högkvarterskommissionen'' ("Headquarters Commission") from 1946 to 1947, the ''Försvarets krigsutredningskommission'' ("Swedish Armed Forces War Investigation Commission") from 1947 to 1955. Åkerhielm was inspector of the Högre Allmänna Läroverket i Kristianstad from 1948 to 1953.

Personal life

On 14 May 1913 in Stockholm, he married Frances Anna ''Margareta'' Reuterswärd (born 6 November 1891), the daughter of lieutenant colonel Carl Fredrik Casper Reuterswärd and Baroness Rosa Elisabet von Ungern-Sternberg. They had one daughter, Margareta ''Elisabet'', born 12 February 1915 in Svea artilleriregemente Parish in Stockholm. She was married to editor Stig-Arne Öström de Boussard.

Death

Åkerhielm died on 15 January 1976 in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

and buried in Lovö Cemetery on 30 January 1976.

Dates of rank

*1908 – ''

Underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word '' Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 19 ...

'' *1913 –

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 ...

*1920 –

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 ...

*1929 –

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 ...

*1934 – Lieutenant colonel *1936 –

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 ...

*1942 – Major general *1953 –

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_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 ...

(4 June 1949) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

(14 November 1942) * Swedish Central Federation for Voluntary Military Training Medal of Merit in silver * Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization Royal Medal of Merit in Silver * King Gustaf V Olympic Commemorative Medal (''Konung Gustaf V:s olympiska minnesmedalj'') (1912) * Gotland Association for Volunteer Military Training's Gold Medal (''Gotlands befäls(utbildnings)förbunds guldmedalj'') * Gotland Sharpshooter and Hunter Guild Medal of Merit (''Gotlands skarpskytte och jägargilles förtjänstmedalj'')

Foreign

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 ...

1st Class of the

Order of the German Eagle The Order of Merit of the German Eagle () was an award of the German Nazi regime, predominantly to foreign diplomats. The Order was instituted on 1 May 1937 by Adolf Hitler. It ceased to be awarded following the collapse of Nazi Germany at the e ...

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 (1931)

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 ...

(1938)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akerhielm, Samuel 1887 births 1976 deaths Swedish Army lieutenant generals Military personnel from Stockholm Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences