Åke Sagrén

Swedish Army officer

Åke Sagrén

Sagrén in 2008.

Birth name| Karl Åke Sagrén
Born| (1935-01-26)26 January 1935
Motala, Sweden
Died| 12 December 2022(2022-12-12) (aged 87)
Täby, Sweden
Allegiance| Sweden
Service / branch| Swedish Army
Years of service| 1958–1996
Rank| Lieutenant General
Commands|

* Västernorrland Regiment
* Sollefteå Army Garrison
* Västernorrland Defence District
* Chief of Staff, Milo ÖN
* Upper Norrland Military District
* Chief of the Army
* Chief of Army Command

Lieutenant General Karl Åke Sagrén (26 January 1935 – 12 December 2022) was a Swedish Army officer. He was Chief of the Army from 1990 to 1994 and Chief of Army Command from 1994 to 1996.

## Early life

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Sagrén was born on 26 January 1935 in Motala, Sweden, the son of Karl Sagrén, an engineer, and his wife Annie (née Myrman).[1] His father joined the Home Guard, the first day it was established and at the age of 15, Sagrén knew that he wanted to become an officer.[2] Sagrén passed studentexamen in 1955 and became an officer in 1958.

## Career

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### Military career

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Sagrén served at the Life Grenadier Regiment (I 4) and the Army Ranger School from 1958 to 1967 and was completed the higher course of the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1967 to 1969. He then served at the Army Staff from 1969 to 1973 and the Eastern Military District (Milo Ö) from 1973 to 1976.[1] He served in the Defence Staff from 1976 to 1982 and was commanding officer of the Västernorrland Regiment (I 21) and Sollefteå Army Garrison from 1982 to 1983. Sagrén was commanding officer of the Västernorrland Regiment and was Defence District Commander of the Västernorrland Defense District (Fo 23) from 1983 to 1984.[1] On 1 April 1984, he became director and head of the Planning and Budget Secretariat (PBS) at the Ministry of Defence in Stockholm.[3] He was promoted to major general in 1985 and on 1 October 1986, he assumed the position of chief of staff of the Upper Norrland Military District (Milo ÖN).[4] On 1 October 1988, Sagrén assumed the position of military commander of the Upper Norrland Military District, succeeding lieutenant general Lars-Erik Englund.[5] On 1 April 1990, Sagrén succeeded lieutenant general Erik G. Bengtsson as Chief of the Army.[6] He held the post until 30 June 1994 and the post of Chief of Army Command from 1 July 1994 to 1996.[7][8]

### Other work

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Sagrén was secretary in the 1974 Defense Investigation and expert in 1978 Defense Committee as well as the 1984 Defense Committee.[7] He became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences in 1978.[9] Sagrén was chairman of the board of the Fältrittklubben from 1996 to 2001 (honorary member in 2001),[10] of the Army, Navy and Air Film (Föreningen Armé- Marin- och Flygfilm) from 1996 to 2001,[11] of the Försvarsfrämjandet from 2000[12] until its closure in 2004 and of the Swedish Fencing Federation (Svenska Fäktförbundet)[13] as well as the honorary general secretary of the Association of Home Guard Officers (Hemvärnsbefälets Riksförbund).[14] Sagrén was also deputy chairman of the board of the Karolinska förbundet.[15]

## Personal life

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In 1982 he married Yvonne Öström (born 1947).[1] He has three children.[2]

## Death

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Sagrén died on 12 December 2022 in Täby, Sweden.[16] The funeral service was held on 27 January 2023 in Täby Church.[17] Attendees, among others, where the former Chiefs of the Army, Lieutenant General Mertil Melin, Major General Paul Degerlund, General Sverker Göranson and Major General Berndt Grundevik.[18]

## Dates of rank

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* 1958 – Second lieutenant
* 19?? – Lieutenant
* 19?? – Captain
* 19?? – Major
* 19?? – Lieutenant colonel
* 19?? – Colonel
* 1982 – Senior colonel
* 1985 – Major general
* 1988 – Lieutenant general

## Awards and decorations

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* For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm
* Pro Musica Militare (1996)[19]

## References

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1. ^ a b c d Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1985 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1985] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. 1984. p. 958\. ISBN 91-1-843222-0.
2. ^ a b Skott, Staffan (1995-01-26). "En chef som pallar när det blåser hårt". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 March 2017.
3. ^ Hultman, Barbro, ed. (11 November 1983). "Åke Sagrén". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 19. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
4. ^ "Åke Sagrén". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 23 May 1986. p. (15) 19. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
5. ^ Lidén, Erik (13 February 1988). "Anonym flyggeneral tar över". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 17. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
6. ^ "Sagrén blev ny arméchef". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 30 June 1989. p. 6. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
7. ^ a b Salander Mortensen, Jill, ed. (1996). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1997 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1997] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 973\. ISBN 91-1-960852-7. SELIBR 3681533.
8. ^ "Sammanställning över utnämningar och nya befattningar" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish) (1). Stockholm: Flygstaben: 34. 1994. SELIBR 8257600.
9. ^ "Matrikel" [Membership record] (in Swedish). Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
10. ^ Dagerhamn, Tore. "Historik" [History] (PDF) (in Swedish). Fältrittklubben. pp. 22, 29–30. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
11. ^ "Föreningens styrelseordföranden" [The association's chairmen of the board]. www.amf-film.se (in Swedish). Föreningen Armé- Marin- och Flygfilm. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
12. ^ Wallin, Stig (2001). "Åke Sagrén ny ordförande" [Åke Sagrén new chairman]. www.forsvarsframjandet.org (in Swedish). Försvarsfrämjandet. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
13. ^ Sagrén, Åke (1997). "Fäktningens historia" [History of fencing] (PDF). Fäktning (in Swedish) (2). Farsta: Svenska fäktförbundet: 2. SELIBR 3620098.
14. ^ "Anslagstavlan" [Bulletin Board]. www.forsvarsutbildarna.se (in Swedish). Försvarsutbildarna. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
15. ^ "Vintersammankomsten den 28 februari 2001" [Winter gathering 28 February 2001] (in Swedish). Karolinska förbundet. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
16. ^ "Åke Sagrén" (in Swedish). Ratsit. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
17. ^ "Åke Sagrén". www.familjesidan.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 January 2023.
18. ^ "Till tonerna av Arméns tapto, framfört av en sextett ur Arméns musikkår, fördes idag förre arméchefen generallöjtnant Åke Sagrén till sin sista vil..." (in Swedish). Swedish Army. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023 - via Facebook.
19. ^ "Tidigare tilldelningar" [Previous awardings]. www.militarmusik.se (in Swedish). Militärmusiksamfundet. Retrieved 16 September 2016.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Åke Sagrén.

Military offices

Preceded by

Bengt Sjöberg

|  Västernorrland Regiment
1982–1983  | Succeeded by

Lennart Rönnberg

Preceded by

Bengt Sjöberg

|  Västernorrland Defence District
1982–1984  | Succeeded by

Göte Bergerbrant

Preceded by

None

|  Sollefteå Army Garrison
1983–1984  | Succeeded by

Göte Bergerbrant

Preceded by

Lars-Erik Englund

|  Chief of Staff of the Upper Norrland Military District
1986–1988  | Succeeded by

Carl-Johan Rundberg

Preceded by

Lars-Erik Englund

|  Upper Norrland Military District
1988–1990  | Succeeded by

Curt Sjöö

Preceded by

Erik G. Bengtsson

|  Chief of the Army
1990–1994  | Succeeded by

Himself

as Chief of Army Command
Preceded by

Himself

as Chief of the Army  |  Chief of Army Command
1994–1996  | Succeeded by

Mertil Melin