Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Sven Yngve Ekstrand (22 February 1888 – 30 March 1951) was a

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 ...

officer. He was Chief of the Naval Staff from 1939 to 1942, Commander-in-Chief of the

Coastal Fleet The Coastal Fleet (, Kfl) was until 1994 a Swedish Navy authority with the main task of training the naval ships commanders and crews. After the formation of the authority Swedish Armed Forces in 1994, the Coastal Fleet remained as a unit until ...

from 1942 to 1945 and the East Coast Naval District from 1945 to 1951.

Early life

Ekstrand was born on 22 February 1888 in

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

, Sweden, the son of senior engineer Åke Gerhard Ekstrand and Hulda (née Mellgren). He had four siblings, three brothers and one sister. Ekstrand attended

Norra Latin Norra Latin is the familiar Swedish name of a historic Stockholm school more properly known as ''Högre allmänna läroverket för gossar å Norrmalm'' ("public senior secondary school for boys at Norrmalm"). Completed in 1880, for over a hun ...

and, from 1900,

Norra Real Norra Real ("Northern Real") is an upper-secondary school, located on Roslagsgatan 1 in Stockholm, Sweden. The school is the oldest upper-secondary school in Stockholm and one of the most difficult to get accepted into. A number of prominent re ...

Career

He became a sea cadet in 1902 and received his naval officer exam and was commissioned into the

as an acting sub lieutenant in 1908. Ekstrand was promoted to sub-lieutenant in 1910 and was a cadet officer at the

Royal Swedish Naval Academy The Royal Swedish Naval Academy (, KSS) was a school for officer training for the Swedish Navy, which operated in various forms between the years 1756 and 1987. History 1683–1791 In 1683, when the charter was issued that "those who were propo ...

from 1915 to 1918 and was a teacher at the

Royal Swedish Naval Staff College The Royal Swedish Naval Staff College (, KSHS) was a Swedish Navy training establishment between 1898 and 1961, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Swedish Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for office ...

from 1918 to 1920. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1917 and was

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

to the corps commanding officer in

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to ...

in 1923 and was first flag lieutenant () in the staff of the Commander-in-Chief of the

from 1926 to 1930. Ekstrand was the adjutant to His Majesty the King in 1929 and was a teacher at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1929 to 1935. Ekstrand was a teacher at the Finnish War College in 1929 and was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1930. He was secretary of the 1930 Defense Commission and a teacher at 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 ...

in Stockholm from 1930 to 1934. Ekstrand was also a teacher in courses for senior naval officers in 1926 and 1932. He was head of the Communications Department of the Naval Staff in 1931 and head of the Operations Department of the Naval Staff from 1932 to 1936. Ekstrand was promoted to commander in 1936 and was captain of from 1936 to 1937. As captain of ''Drottning Victoria'' he represented the Swedish Navy at the Coronation Fleet Review at

Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...

in connection with King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

's coronation in May 1937. He became senior adjutant to His Majesty the King in 1937. Ekstrand was promoted to captain in 1937 and was

flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a " captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "Firs ...

the same year. He was Chief of the Naval Staff from 1939 to 1942 when he was promoted to rear admiral. Ekstrand was Commander-in-Chief of the Coastal Fleet from 1942 to 1945 when took command of the East Coast Naval District. Ekstrand was a vociferous proponent of

Moral Re-Armament Moral Re-Armament (MRA) was an international moral and spiritual movement that, in 1938, developed from American minister Frank Buchman's Oxford Group. Buchman headed MRA for 23 years until his death in 1961. In 2001, the movement was renamed I ...

, both in Sweden and overseas. He died suddenly while still serving as commanding officer of the East Coast in the spring of 1951 and was given a state funeral.

Personal life

In 1915 he married Lisa Burman (born 1892), the daughter of the banker Bernhard Burman and Tora Tjäder. He was the father of four daughters, one of whom was Brita (1918–2007) who in 1945 married the managing director Gunnar Nittzell (1916–2004).

Death

Ekstrand died on Friday evening, 30 March 1951. He had suffered a heart attack while attending the annual meeting of the Naval Reserve Officers' Association (''Flottans reservofficersförbund''). Shortly after the meeting ended, he fell unconscious, and was pronounced dead at Serafimerlasarettet in Stockholm, where he had been taken by ambulance. The funeral service took place on 6 April 1951 at

Skeppsholmen Church The Skeppsholmen Church () is a former church on the islet of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, Sweden. History Named after its location, the church was built 1823-1849 to replace a minor wooden church on Blasieholmen destroyed in the devastat ...

. Cremation at the Chapel of the Holy Cross (''Heliga Korsets kapell''). Ekstrand was buried on 11 April 1951 at

Galärvarvskyrkogården Galärvarvskyrkogården (literally Galley Shipyard Cemetery) is a cemetery on the island of Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It has about 1,300 burial sites and an area of approximately 0.9 hectares. History Galärvarvskyrkogården in Djurgår ...

in Stockholm.

Dates of rank

*1908 – Acting sub-lieutenant *1910 – Sub-lieutenant *1917 –

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 ...

*1930 – Lieutenant commander *1936 –

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

*1937 –

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 ...

*1942 –

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1948) * 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 ...

* Knight of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

SWE_Order_of_Vasa_-_Knight_2nd_Class_BAR

Knight of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

Swedish Auxiliary Naval Corps The National Association of Naval Volunteer Corps (, SVK RF), commonly known as the Swedish Auxiliary Naval Corps (, SVK) is a Swedish auxiliary defence organization that cooperate with the Swedish Armed Forces. Task The task of SNV is to giv ...

' gold medal * Sports badge in gold (1908) * Shooting badge in gold (1912)

Foreign

* Grand Officer of the Order of Naval Merit * Grand Officer of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

Commander 2nd Class of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

Finland Cross of Liberty 2nd Class Military Peacetime

2nd Class of the

Order of the Cross of Liberty The Order of the Cross of Liberty (; ) is one of three official state Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The awards of the Order of the Cross of Liberty ...

with swords * 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 ...

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 ...

1st Class * Officer of the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* Knight 3rd Class of the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

* 1st Class of the

Crosses of Naval Merit The Cross of Naval Merit () is a Spanish List of military decorations, military award for gallantry or merit in war or peace. Awarded to members of the Spanish Navy, Spanish Naval Forces, Guardia Civil or civilians. History and Attribution Es ...

, White Decoration (22 August 1929) *

King's Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom The King's Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom is a British medal instituted by King George VI on 23 August 1945. It was awarded to civilian foreign nationals, mainly of allied countries, who had given meritorious service to further the int ...

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 ...

*Honorary member of the

Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences The Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (, KÖMS), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. The Society is an independent organization and a forum for navy and defence issues. Fellowship is limited to 120 ...

(1942)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ekstrand, Yngve 1888 births 1951 deaths Swedish Navy rear admirals Military personnel from Uppsala Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Recipients of the Order of Vasa Recipients of the King's Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom Burials at Galärvarvskyrkogården