Bror Stefenson
Stefenson in 1982.
Birth nameBror Per Harald Stefenson
Born(1929-09-04)4 September 1929
Stockholm, Sweden
Died3 October 2018(2018-10-03) (aged 89)
Stockholm, Sweden
Buried
Galärvarvskyrkogården
AllegianceSweden
Service/branchSwedish Navy
Years of service1951–1991
Rank Admiral
Commands held
Battles/warsHårsfjärden incident
Children2
RelationsJens Stefenson (father)
Other workChief of His Majesty's Military Staff

Admiral Bror Per Harald Stefenson (4 September 1929 – 3 October 2018) was a Swedish Navy officer. Stefenson's senior commands include Chief of the Defence Staff and military commander of the Eastern Military District (Milo Ö) as well as Commandant General in Stockholm. He also served as Chief of His Majesty's Military Staff. As of 2023, Stefenson remains the last appointed Swedish admiral (having been appointed in 1991).

Early life

Stefenson was born on 4 September 1929 in Stockholm, the son of naval captain Jens Stefenson and his wife Astrid (née Grönberg). He passed studentexamen at Norra Real in Vasastan, Stockholm in 1948.[1]

Career

Military career

In 1951, Stefenson was commissioned as an officer with the rank of acting sub-lieutenant (fänrik) and was promoted two years later to sub-lieutenant (löjtnant) before attending the Royal Swedish Naval Academy from 1954 to 1959.[1] Stefenson was the captain of the submarine HSwMS Draken in 1962 and in 1963,[2] and was also promoted to lieutenant in 1963. He attended the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College in 1964 and was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1967 and to commander in 1970.[1] He was promoted to captain in 1976 and was commanding officer of the 1st Submarine Flotilla from 1976 to 1978.[3]

He was promoted to rear admiral in 1978 was chief of staff of the Southern Military District (Milo S) from 1978 to 1979 and Commander-in-Chief of the Coastal Fleet from 1980 to 1982 when he was promoted to vice admiral and appointed Chief of the Defence Staff in 1982.[4][1] He was at the same time the head of the Joint Operations (Operationsledningen, OPL) in the Defence Staff.[5] Also in 1982, Stefenson was elected board member, by the Swedish government, of the East Economic Office (Öst Ekonomiska Byrån),[6] an agency which occupied a special position among the agencies engaged in the Swedish military intelligence.[7]

Stefenson took office as Chief of the Defence Staff on 1 October 1982, the same day the so-called Hårsfjärden incident occurred[8] when a foreign submarine was trapped by the Swedish Navy and a reported 44 depth charges and 4 naval mines where detonated, trying to sink the submarine, but it was later determined that it avoided the trap or fled at an early stage. Stefenson would later write Från periskop och brygga ("From periscope and bridge") with diary notes and memories from the submarine hunt 1–10 October 1982.[8] Stefenson has been criticized for hiding the truth behind the incident.[9][10]

He left the posts in the Defense Staff in 1987 and became head of the Swedish National Defence College. A year later he was appointed military commander of the Eastern Military District (Milo Ö) and at the same time to the post of Commandant General in Stockholm.[1] Stefenson retired in November 1991 and was promoted to full admiral.[11] Stefenson was the last naval officer in Sweden to be promoted to admiral in connection with retirement. Only the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces, if he came from the navy, as well as the king, can today hold the rank of admiral.

Later career

Stefenson var chief of His Majesty's Military Staff from 1990 to 1997 and during the years 1991–1994 was he also a project leader for Projekt Krishantering ("Project Crisis Management").[1] He was a special investigator regarding civilian use of defense resources from 1994 to 1995.[12]

Stefenson was elected into the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences in 1968 with number 908[13] and was its president from 1987 to 1992.[14] He was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences since 1979. He has been Inspector Emeriti of the naval academy association SjöLund.[15] Stefenson was a politician in the Christian Democrats and a member of the Stockholm City Council (Stockholms stadsfullmäktige)[16] and he was chairman of the Christian Democratic Senior League from 2002 to 2007.[17] He was also an honorary member of the Christian Democratic Senior League.[18] Stefenson was chairman of the Hovförsamlingen ("Parish of the Royal Court") for 15 years.[8] Stefenson was also on the board of the Fire Service and Rescue Board (Brand- och räddningsnämnden) and the Port of Stockholm Authority (Stockholms hamnstyrelse).[19]

Personal life

In 1953, Stefenson married the parish assistant Karin Östberg (born 1932),[1] the daughter of consul Gustaf Östberg and Margit von Stedingk.[12]

Death

Gravestone at Galärvarvskyrkogården.

Stefenson died on 3 October 2018 in his home at Slottsbacken 2 in Stockholm.[16] The funeral service was held on 2 November 2018 in the Royal Chapel.[20] He was interred at Galärvarvskyrkogården in Stockholm on 9 January 2019.[21]

Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

Bibliography

  • Stefenson, Bror, ed. (1992). U 137-krisen (in Swedish). Stockholm: Kungl. Krigsvetenskapsakad. SELIBR 1593762.
  • Stefenson, Bror, ed. (1993). Kan vi bli bättre? (in Swedish). Stockholm: Kungl. Krigsvetenskapsakad. SELIBR 1692293.
  • Jonasson, Kjell A.; Sondén, Jan; Stefenson, Bror, eds. (1994). När krisen kommer: slutredovisning från Projekt Krishantering (in Swedish). Stockholm: Kungl. Krigsvetenskapsakad. SELIBR 8225438.
  • Stefenson, Bror (2007). Från periskop och brygga: ubåtsman och amiral under kalla kriget minnesbilder från tiden 1948-1991 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Magnus Ullman. ISBN 978-91-633-1527-5. SELIBR 10618465.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kjellander, Rune (2007). Svenska marinens högre chefer 1700-2005: chefsbiografier och befattningsöversikter samt Kungl Örlogsmannasällskapets ämbetsmän och ledamöter 1771-2005 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Probus. p. 154. ISBN 978-91-87184-83-3. SELIBR 10452099.
  2. ↑ Klintebo, Roderick, ed. (2004). Det svenska ubåtsvapnet 1904-2004. Forum navales skriftserie, 1650-1837 ; 9 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Literatim. p. 305. ISBN 91-973075-3-X. SELIBR 9421249.
  3. ↑ Klintebo, Roderick, ed. (2004). Det svenska ubåtsvapnet 1904-2004. Forum navales skriftserie, 1650-1837 ; 9 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Literatim. p. 309. ISBN 91-973075-3-X. SELIBR 9421249.
  4. ↑ Bynander, Fredrik, ed. (2002). Ubåtsfrågan - ett symposium (PDF). A publication of the crisis management Europe research program, 1650-3856 ; 21 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Försvarshögsk. p. 16. ISBN 91-89683-07-2. SELIBR 8791351.
  5. ↑ Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (1984). Sveriges statskalender. 1984 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Liber. p. 102. ISBN 91-38-90400-4. SELIBR 3682782.
  6. ↑ Spiegelberg, Christina, ed. (1984). Sveriges statskalender. 1984 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Liber. p. 377. ISBN 91-38-90400-4. SELIBR 3682782.
  7. ↑ Geijer, Lennart (1975-01-03). "Regeringens skrivelse nr 4 år 1975 : Skr 1975:4" (in Swedish). Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  8. 1 2 3 Hultman, Barbro (28 November 2017). "Nyfiken på Bror Stefenson, ubåtsamiralen". www.nyfikengra.se (in Swedish). Nyfikengrå. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  9. ↑ Hansson, Lars (4 December 2007). "De döljer sanningen om ubåtsjakten". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  10. ↑ Tunander, Ola (2009). "Från "säker" kränkning till "fantasifull" observatör. Replik till Bror Stefenson och Göran Wallen" (PDF). Forum Navale: Skrifter (in Swedish). Stockholm: Sjöhistoriska samfundet (66): 85ff. SELIBR 3615255.
  11. ↑ "Unik amiral i smyg". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 1992-01-12. p. 15. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  12. 1 2 Salander Mortensen, Jill, ed. (1996). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1997 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1997] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 1041. ISBN 91-1-960852-7. SELIBR 3681533.
  13. ↑ Kjellander, Rune (2007). Svenska marinens högre chefer 1700-2005: chefsbiografier och befattningsöversikter samt Kungl Örlogsmannasällskapets ämbetsmän och ledamöter 1771-2005 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Probus. p. 261. ISBN 978-91-87184-83-3. SELIBR 10452099.
  14. ↑ Kjellander, Rune (2007). Svenska marinens högre chefer 1700-2005: chefsbiografier och befattningsöversikter samt Kungl Örlogsmannasällskapets ämbetsmän och ledamöter 1771-2005 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Probus. p. 224. ISBN 978-91-87184-83-3. SELIBR 10452099.
  15. ↑ "Inspector Emeriti". www.sjolund1964.wixsite.com (in Swedish). SjöLund. 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  16. 1 2 Hallberg, Leif (5 October 2018). "Bror Stefenson (1929 – 1988) till minne!" (in Swedish). Christian Democratic Senior League. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  17. ↑ "Seniorförbundet" [Senior League] (in Swedish). Christian Democratic Senior League. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  18. ↑ "Ett 60-tal glada KD Seniorer samlades i Stockholm för Seniorting 2013 och till att fira förbundets 20-årsjubileum" (in Swedish). Christian Democratic Senior League. 26 April 2013. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  19. ↑ Lidén, Erik (1999-09-02). "Amiralen föredrar färjor framför ubåtar". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 21. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  20. ↑ "Döda". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 14 October 2018. p. 36. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  21. ↑ "Stefenson, Bror Per Harald". www.svenskagravar.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  22. ↑ Kungl. Hovstaterna: Kungl. Maj:ts Ordens arkiv, Matriklar (D 1), vol. 13 (1960–1969), p. 141, digital imageing.
  23. ↑ "Tildelinger av ordener og medaljer" [Awards of medals and medals]. www.kongehuset.no (in Norwegian). Royal Court of Norway. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  24. ↑ "STEFENSON Vice Amm. Bror". www.quirinale.it (in Italian). President of Italy. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  25. ↑ "Bearers of decorations". Office of the President of the Republic. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
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