Carl von Horn
Major von Horn in 1943
Birth nameCarl C:son von Horn
Born(1903-07-15)15 July 1903
Vittskövle, Sweden
Died13 March 1989(1989-03-13) (aged 85)
Buried
Källstorp cemetery, Trelleborg Municipality
Service/branchSwedish Army
Years of service1923–1963
RankMajor General
Commands held
Battles/warsCongo Crisis

Major General Carl C:son von Horn (15 July 1903 – 13 March 1989) was a Swedish Army officer known for his service in various UN missions. He was the chief of United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in Palestine, the Supreme Commander of the United Nations Operation in the Congo during the Congo Crisis, and commander of United Nations Yemen Observation Mission in Yemen.

Early life

von Horn was born on 15 July 1903 in Vittskövle, Sweden, the son of Ryttmästare Carl von Horn and his wife Martha (née Stjernswärd). His younger brother, Jan von Horn, also chose a military career and eventually became a colonel and military attaché in London and The Hague.[1]

Career

Swedish Army

von Horn was commissioned as an officer in 1923 and was assigned to the Life Guards of Horse (K 1). He was promoted to captain of the General Staff in 1935 and served in the Swedish Army Service Troops in 1939. von Horn was promoted to major of the General Staff and the Defence Staff in 1942 and was director (byråchef) of the Royal Railway Board's military bureau.[1]

During World War II he helped organizing prisoner exchange between the Germans and the Allies, but also had to work with the Swedish extradition of Baltic soldiers. As a military man with a strong Anglo-Saxon ethos he called this "the most humiliating moment in modern Swedish history."[2] von Horn was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1945 when he also became head of the Defence Staff's Communication Department. In 1947, von Horn was appointed military attaché in Oslo, and the following year he moved to Copenhagen where he had received a similar appointment. In 1949 he returned to Sweden and took a position at the Northern Småland Regiment (I 12) and the following year he was promoted to colonel and commander of Kronoberg Regiment (I 11) in Växjö. He stayed there for seven years; in 1957, he was appointed commander of Malmö Defence District (Fo 11).[1]

UN career

In early 1958, von Horn was appointed chief of United Nations Truce Supervision Organization[3] in Palestine by Dag Hammarskjöld, and was then promoted to major general. At first he allowed himself "to be optimistic" and he wrote in his memoirs that "instead of fully armed troops, tanks and artillery or even the threat of sanctions, Dag's moral support and my own determination was everything I had."[2] In 1960 he became with short notice the Supreme Commander of the UN Force in the Congo during the beginning of what was to develop into the Congo Crisis, a mission, however, he was dismissed from six months later.[4] von Horn then returned to work for the UN in Palestine. In 1963 he was sent to lead the UN observatory group United Nations Yemen Observation Mission in Yemen where fighting continued between government troops and rebels.[5]

von Horn has been described as an arrogant leader,[4] and also during the mission in Yemen, he quarreled with his superiors. von Horn suddenly resigned in protest and accused the UN not to provide enough resources for the mission, accusations that the Secretary-General U Thant described as "irresponsible and reckless".[6] von Horn had refused to abide by the UN organization's demands for policy adjustments and opposed when politicians wanted to aggravate the situation in the field.[2]

Personal life

von Horn was married three times. In the first marriage 1925–1944 he was married to baroness Maud von Otter (1904–1974), the daughter of major, baron Carl-Gustaf von Otter and Elisabeth (née Krook). He married a second time in 1945 to Britt (Bibi) Englund (1919–1962), the daughter of the wholesaler Ernst Englund and Ebba (née Wistrand). He married a third time in 1964 to Elisabeth Liljeroth (born 1932).[7]

Death

von Horn died on 13 March 1989 and was interred at Källstorp cemetery in Trelleborg Municipality.[8]

Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Foreign

Bibliography

  • Horn, Carl von; Barklund, Gunnar (1966). Fredens soldater [Soldiering for Peace] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. SELIBR 8081113.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ von Horn became major general when he was appointed commander of United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in 1958, but he did not become major general in the Swedish Army until 1963.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1977 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1977] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. 1976. p. 457. ISBN 91-1-766022-X.
  2. 1 2 3 Lindén, David (29 June 2015). "Carl von Horns varningar gäller ännu" [Carl von Horn's warnings still apply]. Smålandsposten (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  3. ↑ Levitan, Nir. "Statecraft and international intervention: Israeli diplomacy and UN peacekeeping forces in the 1960s".
  4. 1 2 Löfgren, Claes J. B. (1990). Fredsknektarna: FN-svenskarna i Kongo 1960-64 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fischer. ISBN 9170546509. SELIBR 7596424.
  5. ↑ "Yemen - UNYOM: Facts and Figures". United Nations. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "The Mess in Yemen". Time. 13 September 1963. Archived from the original on December 22, 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2009. (subscription required)
  7. ↑ Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1985 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1985] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. 1984. p. 505. ISBN 91-1-843222-0.
  8. ↑ "Carl Von Horn" (in Swedish). Gravar.se. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  9. ↑ Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1969). Sveriges statskalender. 1969 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. p. 96. SELIBR 3682754.
  10. 1 2 Sveriges statskalender. 1963 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1963. p. 343.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1962). Vem är vem? 1, Stor-Stockholm [Who is who? 1, Greater Stockholm] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem. p. 594.
  12. ↑ "Tildelinger av ordener og medaljer" [Awards of medals and medals] (in Norwegian). Royal Court of Norway. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
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