# Chief of Navy (Sweden)

The Chief of Navy (Swedish: marinchef, MC) is the most senior appointment in the Swedish Navy. The position Chief of Navy was introduced in 1936 and the current form in 2014.

## History

Until 1936 the Swedish monarch was the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces and had formally maintained the Chief of the Navy position together with the Chief of the Military Office of the Minister of Defence in the Ministry of Defence, which is in fact maintained the position. The position of a single professional "Chief of the Navy" (Swedish: Chefen för marinen, CM) was established in 1936 in accordance with the Defence Act of 1936. The position of Chief of the Navy existed from 1936 to 1994 and during this time it was his responsibility to lead the navy units production and development. During the period 1936 to 1961 the Chief of the Navy also had an operational commanding responsibility for the naval forces.
Following a larger reorganization of the Swedish Armed Forces in 1994, the staff agency Chief of the Navy ceased to exist as an independent agency. Instead, the post Chief of Navy Command (Swedish: Chefen för marinledningen) 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 Navy Command were transferred to the newly instituted post of "Inspector General of the Navy" (Swedish: Generalinspektören för marinen). The post is similar to that of the "Inspector General of the Swedish Army" (Swedish: Generalinspektören för armén) and the "Inspector General of the Swedish Air Force" (Swedish: Generalinspektören för flygvapnet). It was later renamed to "Inspector of the Navy" (Swedish: Marininspektören) on 1 January 2003.
On 1 January 2014, the "Chief of Navy" (Swedish: Marinchefen, MC) position was reinstated in the Swedish Armed Forces. The position has not the same duties as before.

## Tasks

Tasks of the Chief of Navy:
* 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

A command flag of the Chief of Navy, drawn by Brita Grep and embroidered by hand by the company Libraria, was introduced during the reign of Gustaf VI Adolf (1950–1973). Blazon: "Fessed in yellow and blue; on yellow two blue batons of command with sets of yellow crowns placed two and one in saltire, on blue an anchor erect cabled over two gun barrels of older pattern in saltire, all yellow."
A new command flag manufactured by Handarbetets Vänner Ateljé, which is a subcontractor to the Swedish Army Museum, was completed in 2020. The flag is embroidered by Jennie Jakobsson and Katarina Öberg. Parts of the preparatory work were done by Anna Eriksson and printed by Marie-Louise Sjöblom. The model drawing was made by Henrik Dahlström, who previously served at the National Archives of Sweden and who is now a heraldic artist and graphic designer at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters. The new command flag was nailed in solemn forms at the Maritime Museum in Stockholm on 10 September 2021 with six former Chiefs of Navy: Vice Admiral Dick Börjesson (1990–1994), Vice Admiral Peter Nordbeck (1994–1998), Rear Admiral Anders Grenstad (2005–2011), Vice Admiral Jan Thörnqvist (2011–2016), Rear Admiral Jens Nykvist (2016–2020), and the then Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Ewa Skoog Haslum (2020–2024).
* Command flag of the Chief of Navy.
* Command sign of the Chief of Navy.

## List of chiefs

| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
| Chief of the Navy (Chefen för marinen) |||||||
| 1 | de Champs, CharlesVice admiral Charles de Champs (1873–1959) | 1936 | 1 April 1939 | 2–3 years |
| 2 | Tamm, FabianVice admiral Fabian Tamm (1879–1955) | 1 April 1939 | 31 March 1945 | 5 years, 364 days |
| 3 | Strömbäck, HelgeVice admiral Helge Strömbäck (1889–1960) | 1 April 1945 | 30 September 1953 | 8 years, 182 days |
| 4 | H:son Ericson, StigVice admiral Stig H:son Ericson (1897–1985) | 1 October 1953 | 1961 | 7–8 years |
| 5 | Lindemalm, ÅkeVice admiral Åke Lindemalm (1910–2004) | 1 October 1961 | 30 September 1970 | 8–9 years |
| 6 | Lundvall, BengtVice admiral Bengt Lundvall (1915–2010) | 1 October 1970 | 30 September 1978 | 7 years, 364 days |
| 7 | Rudberg, PerVice admiral Per Rudberg (1922–2010) | 1 October 1978 | 30 September 1984 | 5 years, 365 days |
| 8 | Schuback, BengtVice admiral Bengt Schuback (1928–2015) | 1 October 1984 | 30 September 1990 | 5 years, 364 days |
| 9 | Börjesson, DickVice admiral Dick Börjesson (born 1938) | 1 October 1990 | 30 June 1994 | 3 years, 272 days |
| Chief of Navy Command (Chef för marinledningen) |||||||
| 10 | Nordbeck, PeterVice admiral Peter Nordbeck (born 1938) | 1 July 1994 | 1 July 1998 | 4 years, 0 days |
| Inspector General of the Navy (Generalinspektör för marinen) |||||||
| 11 | Lindh, TorstenRear admiral Torsten Lindh (1941–2020) | 1 July 1998 | 2001 | 2–3 years |
| 12 | Ericsson, JörgenRear admiral Jörgen Ericsson (born 1953) | 1 October 2001 | 31 December 2002 | 1 year, 91 days |
| Inspector of the Navy (Marininspektör) |||||||
| 12 | Ericsson, JörgenRear admiral Jörgen Ericsson (born 1953) | 1 January 2003 | 2005 | 1–2 years |
| 13 | Grenstad, AndersRear admiral Anders Grenstad (born 1958) | 1 July 2005 | 2011 | 5–6 years |
| 14 | Thörnqvist, JanRear admiral Jan Thörnqvist (born 1959) | 1 March 2011 | 2013 | 1–2 years |
| Chief of Navy (Marinchef) |||||||
| 14 | Thörnqvist, JanRear admiral Jan Thörnqvist (born 1959) | 1 January 2014 | 18 April 2016 | 2 years, 108 days |
| 15 | Nykvist, JensRear admiral Jens Nykvist (born 1968) | 4 May 2016 | 21 January 2020 | 3 years, 262 days |
| 16 | Skoog Haslum, EwaRear admiral Ewa Skoog Haslum (born 1968) | 21 January 2020 | 14 November 2024 | 4 years, 298 days |
| 17 | Norlén, JohanRear admiral Johan Norlén (born 1971) | 14 November 2024 | Incumbent | 110 days |

## List of deputy chiefs

| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
| Deputy Inspector General of the Navy (Ställföreträdande generalinspektör för marinen) |||||||
| | Fagrell, StellanSenior colonel Stellan Fagrell (1943–2022) | 1998 | 2001 | 2–3 years | Navy (Amphibious Corps) |
| | Vacant | 2001 | 2003 | 1–2 years | - |
| Deputy Chief of Navy (Ställföreträdande marinchef) |||||||
| | Olovsson, AndersRear admiral (lower half) Anders Olovsson (born 1967) | ? | ? | - | Navy |
| | Ohlsson, PederBrigadier general Peder Ohlsson (born 1962) | 20 March 2020 | August 2022 | 1–2 years | Navy (Amphibious Corps) |
| | Gardesten, PatrikBrigadier general Patrik Gardesten (born 1967) | 1 September 2022 | Incumbent | - | Navy (Amphibious Corps) |