# Chief of Air Force (Sweden)

Chief of Air Force (Swedish: Flygvapenchef, FVC) is the most senior appointment in the Swedish Air Force. The position Chief of Air Force was introduced in 1926 and the current form in 2014.

## History

The position and the staff agency "Chief of the Air Force" (Swedish: Chefen för flygvapnet, C FV) was created for a central leadership of the Air Force in peacetime through the formation of the Swedish Air Force as an independent military branch which took place on 1 July 1926. Following a larger reorganization of the Swedish Armed Forces in 1994, the staff agency Chief of the Air Force ceased to exist as an independent agency. Instead, the post Chief of Air Force Command (Swedish: Chefen för flygvapenledningen, C FVL) was created at the then newly instituted Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters. In 1998, the Swedish Armed Forces was again reorganized. Most of the duties of the Chief of Air Force Command were transferred to the newly instituted post of "Inspector General of the Air Force" (Swedish: Generalinspektören för flygvapnet, GI FV). The post is similar to that of the "Inspector General of the Army" (Swedish: Generalinspektören för armén) and the "Inspector General of the Navy" (Swedish: Generalinspektören för marinen).
The Inspector General had two roles, partly to be head of the Air Force Center, and partly to be the main representative of the Air Force. The meaning of the latter task was that the Inspector General was the air force's figurehead both towards the air force personnel and within the Swedish Armed Forces in general and towards society and the outside world. As commander, he would represent everyone who has their work in the air force. To be able to solve this task, the Inspector General was part of the Swedish Armed Forces' senior command – the Military Command (Militärledningen). In this he represented the air force but also had an important role as an "independent" adviser to the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces. The Inspector General also played an important representative role in connection with the then increasing international operations. He represented the air force in connection with various forms of high-level visits within and outside the country. He also served as host when other nations' air force commanders visited Sweden.
The Inspector General was later renamed "Inspector of the Air Force" (Swedish: Flygvapeninspektören, FVI). On 1 January 2014, the "Chief of Air Force" (Swedish: Flygvapenchefen, FVC) position was reinstated in the Swedish Armed Forces. The position has not the same duties as before.

## Tasks

Tasks of the Chief of Air Force:
* Lead the units which the Chief of Swedish Armed Forces Training and Development has distributed
* To the Chief of Swedish Armed Forces Training and Development propose the development of the units' abilities
* Being the foremost representative of the units
* Represent the units and the area of ability in international contacts

## Heraldry

The command flag of the Chief of Air Force is drawn by Brita Grep and embroidered by hand by the company Libraria. Blazon: "Fessed in yellow and blue; on yellow two blue batons of command with sets of open yellow crowns placed two and one in saltire, on blue a winged two-bladed yellow propeller."

## List of chiefs

| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
| Chief of the Air Force (Chefen för flygvapnet, C FV) |||||||
| 1 | Amundson, KarlMajor general Karl Amundson (1873–1938) | 1 July 1926 | 25 February 1931 | 4 years, 239 days | - |
| 2 | Virgin, EricMajor general Eric Virgin (1876–1950) | 26 February 1931 | 30 June 1934 | 3 years, 124 days | - |
| 3 | Friis, TorstenMajor general Torsten Friis (1882–1967) | 1 July 1934 | 30 June 1942 | 7 years, 364 days | - |
| 4 | Nordenskiöld, BengtLieutenant general Bengt Nordenskiöld (1891–1983) | 1 July 1942 | 30 June 1954 | 11 years, 364 days | |
| 5 | Ljungdahl, AxelLieutenant general Axel Ljungdahl (1897–1995) | 1 July 1954 | 30 June 1960 | 5 years, 365 days | - |
| 6 | Rapp, TorstenLieutenant general Torsten Rapp (1905–1993) | 1 July 1960 | 30 September 1961 | 1 year, 91 days | |
| 7 | Thunberg, LageLieutenant general Lage Thunberg (1905–1977) | 1 October 1961 | 30 September 1968 | 6 years, 273 days | |
| - | Nordenskiöld, Claës-HenrikMajor general Claës-Henrik Nordenskiöld (1917–2003) Acting | 1 July 1968 | 30 September 1968 | 91 days | - |
| 8 | Norén, StigLieutenant general Stig Norén (1908–1996) | 1 October 1968 | 30 September 1973 | 4 years, 364 days | - |
| 9 | Stenberg, DickLieutenant general Dick Stenberg (1921–2004) | 1 October 1973 | 30 September 1982 | 8 years, 364 days | |
| 10 | Olson, Sven-OlofLieutenant general Sven-Olof Olson (1926–2021) | 1 October 1982 | 30 September 1988 | 5 years, 365 days | |
| 11 | Englund, Lars-ErikLieutenant general Lars-Erik Englund (1934–2010) | 1 October 1988 | 30 June 1994 | 5 years, 272 days | |
| Chief of Air Force Command (Chef för flygvapenledningen, C FVL) |||||||
| 11 | Englund, Lars-ErikLieutenant general Lars-Erik Englund (1934–2010) | 1 July 1994 | 30 September 1994 | 91 days | |
| 12 | Harrskog, KentLieutenant general Kent Harrskog (born 1944) | 1 October 1994 | 30 June 1998 | 3 years, 364 days | |
| Inspector General of the Air Force (Generalinspektör för flygvapnet, GI FV) |||||||
| 13 | Jonsson, JanMajor general Jan Jonsson (1952–2021) | 1 July 1998 | 30 June 2000 | 1 year, 365 days | |
| 14 | Nilsson, MatsMajor general Mats Nilsson (born 1956) | 1 July 2000 | 1 December 2002 | 2 years, 153 days | |
| Inspector of the Air Force (Flygvapeninspektör, FVI) |||||||
| 15 | Andersson, JanMajor general Jan Andersson (born 1955) | 1 January 2003 | 29 February 2008 | 5 years, 59 days | |
| 16 | Silwer, AndersMajor general Anders Silwer (born 1959) | 1 March 2008 | 31 December 2011 | 3 years, 305 days | |
| 17 | Bydén, MicaelMajor general Micael Bydén (born 1964) | 1 January 2012 | 2014 | 1–2 years | |
| Chief of Air Force (Flygvapenchef, FVC) |||||||
| 17 | Bydén, MicaelMajor general Micael Bydén (born 1964) | 2014 | 30 September 2015 | 0–1 years | - |
| 18 | Helgesson, MatsMajor general Mats Helgesson (born 1964) | 1 October 2015 | 1 October 2019 | 4 years, 0 days | |
| 19 | Edström, Carl-JohanMajor general Carl-Johan Edström (born 1967) | 1 October 2019 | 13 December 2022 | 3 years, 73 days | |
| 20 | Wikman, JonasMajor general Jonas Wikman (born 1972) | 14 December 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 58 days | |

## List of deputy chiefs

| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
| Deputy Inspector General of Air Force (Ställföreträdande generalinspektör för flygvapnet) ||||||
| | Wagermark, OweSenior colonel Owe Wagermark (born 1951) | 1998 | 31 December 2000 | 1–2 years |
| | Andersson, JanBrigadier general Jan Andersson (born 1955) | 1 April 2001 | 31 December 2002 | 1–2 years |
| Deputy Chief of Air Force (Ställföreträdande flygvapenchef) ||||||
| | Edström, Carl-JohanBrigadier general Carl-Johan Edström (born 1967) | 1 January 2019 | 30 September 2019 | 272 days |
| | Persson, AndersBrigadier general Anders Persson (born 1968) | 1 October 2019 | August 2022 | 2–3 years |
| | Petersson, TommyBrigadier general Tommy Petersson [sv] (born 1970) | 1 August 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 193 days |