Carl Björeman

Lieutenant General Karl (Carl) Erik Björeman (8 June 1924 – 10 September 2020) was a senior Swedish Army officer. Björeman served as Chief of Staff of the Southern Military District (1980–1984), and as Commanding General of the Southern Military District (1984–1988).

Early life[]

Björeman was born on 8 June 1924 in Östra Ryd Parish, Östergötland County, Sweden^[1] the son of Wiktor Johansson, a farmer, and his wife Anna (née Nilsson).^[2] Björeman became a volunteer at the Life Grenadier Regiment in Linköping in the autumn of 1941^[3] and he passed studentexamen in 1948.^[2]

Career[]

Björeman attended the Swedish Infantry Officer Candidate School from 1944 to 1945 and the Swedish Armed Forces School for Secondary Education in Uppsala from 1945 to 1948. From 1948 to 1949, he served as an officer candidate in Jämtland Ranger Regiment. In 1949, Björeman graduated from the Military Academy Karlberg and was commissioned as an officer with the rank of second lieutenant and assigned to Uppland Regiment, where in 1951 he was promoted to lieutenant. In 1957 he left Uppland Regiment to serve as an observer in Korea for a few months. He studied from 1957 to 1959 at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College, was promoted to captain in 1959 and served as deputy company commander in Jämtland Ranger Regiment from 1959 to 1960. He then served as an aspirant in the General Staff Corps between 1960 and 1962 and between 1961 and 1964 in Operation Management III in the Defence Staff. Björeman served as a teacher in the Army Program at the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1964 to 1966 and was company commander in Norrbotten Regiment in 1966.^[4][5]

After being promoted to major in 1966, he was head of department in the staff of Eastern Military District from 1966 to 1968. In 1968 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and he served from 1968 to 1971 at the Operations Command 2 in the Defence Staff, after which he was posted as battalion commander in Hälsinge Regiment from 1971 to 1973. In 1973, Björeman studied at Swedish National Defence College. In 1974, he was promoted to colonel and appointed commander of Jämtland Defence District (Jämtlands försvarsområde) before he served as brigade commander of Jämtland Brigade (Jämtlandsbrigaden) in Jämtland Ranger Regiment from 1974 to 1976. He was promoted to senior colonel in 1976 and was from 1976 to 1980 head of Operations Command 1 and 2 in the Defence Staff. In 1980, Björeman was promoted to major general and then served as Chief of Staff in the Southern Military District from 1980 to 1984, after which he was promoted to lieutenant general in 1984 and was appointed Commanding General, Southern Military District. He retired from active service in 1988 and transferred to the reserve.^[4][5]

Björeman was for a long time a diligent debater on defense issues.^[6] He was active as a writer in Vårt försvar from 1964 to 1980, in Dagens Nyheter from 1979 to 1988 and in Kristianstadsbladet from 1991 to 2003.^[5] He wrote eight books, including his memoirs Soldat och general under kalla kriget ("Soldier and general during the Cold War") (2005).

Personal life[]

In 1949, Björeman married Gunvor Carlsson (1920–2007), the daughter of Per Carlsson and Emy (née Nordberg).^[2] He had three daughters.^[7]

Death[]

Björeman died on 10 September 2020 in Djursholm. He was interred at Galärvarvskyrkogården in Stockholm on 21 October 2020.^[8]

Dates of rank[]

• 1949 – Second lieutenant
• 1951 – Lieutenant
• 1959 – Captain
• 1966 – Major
• 1968 – Lieutenant colonel
• 1974 – Colonel
• 1976 – Senior colonel
• 1980 – Major general
• 1984 – Lieutenant general

Awards and decorations[]

• Knight of the Order of the Sword (6 June 1967)^[9]

Honours[]

• Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1969)^[2]

Bibliography[]

• Björeman, Carl (1983). Säkerhetspolitisk vardag och militärt försvar. Försvar i nutid, 0046-4643 ; 1983:6 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Centralförb. Folk och försvar. SELIBR 409165.
• Björeman, Carl (1989). Landet under missilbanorna (in Swedish). Stockholm: Timbro. ISBN 9175661772. SELIBR 7648233.
• Beijer, Carl-Fredrik; Björeman, Carl (1991). Det försvarspolitiska vägvalet: handlingsfrihet och nytänkande inför FB 92 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Militärhistoriska förl. ISBN 9185266515. SELIBR 7747358.
• Björeman, Carl (2005). Soldat och general under kalla kriget: vi hade en gång en försvarsmakt (in Swedish). Hallstavik: Svenskt militärhistoriskt bibliotek. ISBN 9197531553. SELIBR 10034902.
• Björeman, Carl (2009). År av uppgång, år av nedgång: försvarets ödesväg under beredskapsåren och det kalla kriget. Publikation / Försvaret och det kalla kriget (FOKK), 1652-5388 ; 20 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Svenskt militärhistoriskt bibliotek. ISBN 9789185789580. SELIBR 11647610.
• Björeman, Carl (2011). Försvarets förfall: konsten att lägga ned försvaret utan att någon bryr sig. Försvaret och det kalla kriget (FOKK), 1652-5388 ; 29 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Santérus. ISBN 9789173590488. SELIBR 12300190.
• Björeman, Carl (2013). Var vi redo?: svenska armén under kalla kriget. Publikation / Försvaret och det kalla kriget (FOKK), 1652-5388 ; 43 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Svenskt militärhistoriskt bibliotek. ISBN 9789186837549. SELIBR 14935484.
• Björeman, Carl (2017). Sex överbefälhavare söker en roll: tvekampen mellan det territoriella och det teknologiska försvaret under det kalla kriget. Publikation / Försvaret och det kalla kriget (FOKK), 1652-5388 ; 53 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Forskningsprojektet Försvaret och det kalla kriget (FoKK). ISBN 9789198049831. SELIBR 22451794.

References[]

External links[]

• Interview with Björeman (in Swedish)