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Micael Bydén

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General
Micael Bydén
Bydén in 2024
Born (1964-06-13) 13 June 1964 (age 60)
Gnarp, Sweden
AllegianceSweden Sweden
Service / branchSwedish Air Force
Years of service1985–2024
RankGeneral
Commands

General Per Micael Bydén (born 13 June 1964) is a retired Swedish Air Force officer. Bydén served as Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces from 2015 to 2024. Prior to that, he served as the Chief of Air Force and commander of the Air Component Command from 2012 and 2015.

Early life

Bydén was born in Gnarp, Sweden, the son of Alvar and Gun Bydén. He did his mandatory military service in Älvsborg Coastal Artillery Regiment (KA 4) in Gothenburg in 1982 and then attended the Coastal Artillery and Navy Officers Academy in Gothenburg and Karlskrona from 1983 to 1985 and was commissioned as second lieutenant in the naval mine and boat service in Härnösand Coastal Artillery Regiment (KA 5) the same year.

Career

He completed the Air Force's basic pilot flight training at the Swedish Air Force Flying School in Ljungbyhed from 1986 to 1987 and was then a fighter pilot at Norrbotten Wing (F 21) from 1989 to 1996. He flew SK 61, SK 60, AJS/SF/SH/JA 37 as well as HKP 6 totaling 1,500 flight hours. Bydén completed the Royal Swedish Air Force Academy's (Flygvapnets krigsskola) general course in Uppsala from 1990 to 1991 and the higher course in 1992.

In 1991, Bydén was promoted to lieutenant and 1992 to captain and 1996 to major. He completed the Swedish National Defence College' tactical course in Stockholm from 1995 to 1996 and was Deputy Squadron Commander at Norrbotten Wing from 1996 to 1997. Bydén completed the Swedish National Defence College' advanced command course from 1997 to 1999 and served as Assistant Air Attaché at the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C. from 1999 to 2001. Bydén was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 2001 and served as Air Attaché at the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C. from 2001 to 2002 and then as staff officer at the Air Force Branch at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters in Stockholm from 2002 to 2003. Bydén was commanding officer of the Swedish Air Force Flying Training School (Flygvapnets flygskola) in Linköping from 2003 to 2005 and deputy commanding officer of the Swedish Armed Forces Helicopter Wing in Linköping from 2005 to 2008.

He was promoted to colonel in 2006 and served as commanding officer of the Helicopter Wing from 2008 to 2009. Bydén was promoted to brigadier general in 2009 and served as head of the Air Force Training and Development Staff at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters in Stockholm from 2009 to 2011. In 2010 he completed the civil/military command course at Solbacka. Bydén was Chief of Staff of the Regional Command North of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan in 2011 before becoming the Inspector of the Air Force (renamed Chief of Air Force in 2014) and head of the Air Component Command with the rank of major general in January 2012, a position he stayed in until being appointed Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces on 11 September 2015. Bydén was given a "jump-step" promotion which allowed him to advance two ranks, from major general to general, skipping lieutenant general. He took office and was promoted to general on 1 October 2015. In 2017 he said the Swedish army was seriously underfunded and understaffed. In response the Swedish government would increase the military budget by $331 million and reintroduce conscription by 2018.

Bydén served as Supreme Commander during Swedens historic entry into the NATO military alliance. He also attended Swedens formal flag raising ceremony at the NATO headquarters. Bydén retired in September 2024 and was succeeded by General Michael Claesson.

Personal life

Bydén and Linda Staaf in May 2024

On 9 April 1999, Bydén married to Anita Carlman and together they have three children. The couple lived in Södertälje. They divorced in 2022.

In January 2024, it was reported that Bydén got engaged to Linda Staaf, the former head of intelligence at the National Operations Department (NOA) within the Swedish Police Authority.

Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Foreign

Bydén awarded the Legion of Merit in May 2024

Honours

Footnotes

  1. Bydén was given a "jump-step" promotion which allowed him to advance two ranks, from major general to general, skipping lieutenant general, when he was appointed Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces from 1 October 2015.

References

  1. Tärnudd, Carole (2011-12-19). "Sunt Gnarpförnuft leder nye flygvapenchefen" [Common Gnarp sense leads the new Air Force Chief of Staff] (in Swedish). Helahalsingland.se. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  2. "Micael Bydén tillträder som Sveriges nya ÖB" [Micael Bydén take over as Sweden's new Supreme Commander] (in Swedish). Delegation of Sweden to NATO. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Supreme Commander General Micael Bydén" (PDF). Swedish Armed Forces. 2020-07-07. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021."Överbefälhavare General Micael Bydén" (PDF) (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 2016-11-04. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  4. "Micael Bydén ny ÖB" [Micael Bydén new Supreme Commander] (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  5. ^ A.S. (1 October 2017). "Why Swedish troops just finished their biggest war games in 23 years". The Economist. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  6. "Sveriges flagga hissad vid Natos högkvarter" (in Swedish). Government Offices of Sweden. 11 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  7. Lagerkvist, Stina (11 September 2015). "Nye ÖB refererar till Södertälje i jobbet" [New Supreme Commander Nye refers to Södertälje at work]. Länstidningen Södertälje (in Swedish). Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  8. Svensson, Niklas (13 May 2022). "Överbefälhavaren Micael Bydén skiljer sig efter 23 år". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  9. Friberg, Anna (16 January 2024). "ÖB Micael Bydén och Linda Staaf har förlovat sig". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  10. ^ "ÖVERBEFÄLHAVARE General Micael Bydén" (PDF) (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. February 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  11. "UTMÄRKELSETECKEN FÖRLÄNADE ÅT UTLÄNNINGAR 2020". www.ritarikunnat.fi (in Swedish). RIDDARORDNARNAS KANSLI. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  12. "Sveriges överbefälhavare besöker Finland". Hufvudstadsbladet (in Swedish). 9 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  13. "Tildelinger av ordener og medaljer" [Awards of medals and medals] (in Norwegian). Royal Court of Norway. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  14. The Joint Staff (2 May 2024). "Yesterday, @GenCQBrownJr presented Swedish Chief of Defence Gen. Micael Bydén the Legion of Merit. Gen. Bydén was recognized for his visionary leadership in championing Sweden's accession to NATO and transforming the Swedish Armed Forces" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 June 2024 – via Twitter.
  15. "Nya ledamöter i akademien 2016" [New members of the academy in 2016] (in Swedish). Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2021.

External links

Military offices
Preceded byJohan Svensson Swedish Armed Forces Helicopter Wing
2008–2009 		Succeeded byMagnus Westerlund
Preceded byAnders Silwer Air Component Command
2012–2013 		Succeeded byGabor Nagy
Preceded byAnders Silwer Chief of Air Force
2012–2015 		Succeeded byMats Helgesson
Preceded bySverker Göranson Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces
2015–2024 		Succeeded byMichael Claesson
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