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Nils Björk

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Swedish Army officer (1898–1989)
Nils Björk
Birth nameNils Axel Hjalmar Björk
Born(1898-02-25)25 February 1898
Västerås, Sweden
Died15 April 1989(1989-04-15) (aged 91)
Flen, Sweden
AllegianceSweden
Service / branchSwedish Army
Years of service1918–1963
RankLieutenant General
Commands

Lieutenant General Nils Axel Hjalmar Björk (25 February 1898 – 15 April 1989) was a senior Swedish Army officer. He served as Commanding General of the VI Military District from 1951 to 1963.

Early life

Björk was born on 25 February 1898 in Västerås, Sweden, the son of Axel Björk, a master tailor, and his wife Anna (née Nilsson). He passed studentexamen in Västerås in 1916.

Career

Björk was commissioned as an officer in 1918 and was assigned as a second lieutenant to Västmanland Regiment (I 18). He was promoted to lieutenant in 1920 and attended the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1925 to 1927 and transferred to Västernorrland Regiment (I 21) in 1928 after I 18 was disbanded. Björk served as captain in the General Staff in 1931. Björk was military expert in the 1930 Defense Commission (1930 års försvarskommission) from 1933 to 1936. Björk was one of the contributors to Antingen – eller ("Either – Or"), which was of fundamental importance for the rearmament work and the Defence Act of 1936. He served in Svea Life Guards in 1937 and became major in the General Staff Corps in 1938. Björk succeeded lieutenant colonel Carl August Ehrensvärd as head of Army Operations Department in the Defence Staff in 1939 and in this position had the immediate responsibility for the planning of the extensive operational contingency measures for the Swedish Army during the war years 1939–1942. In 1940, Björk was a member of the Home Guard Investigation Committee. In 1941 he became lieutenant colonel in the General Staff Corps. During this time, Björk also served as a representative of the Swedish Armed Forces in the national board of the Swedish Red Cross from 1939 to 1942.

Björk served in Värmland Regiment (I 2) in 1942 and was promoted to colonel in 1942 and then served as commander of Norrbotten Regiment (I 19) from 1942 to 1946. In 1944, he served as chief of the Evacuation Staff during the evacuation from northern Finland in 1944. Björk served as commander of Skaraborg Regiment (P 4) from 1946 to 1948. He was then colonel in the General Staff Corps and head of Section 2 of the Army Staff from 1948 to 1951 when he was promoted to major general. Björk then served as Commanding General of the VI Military District from 1951 to 1963 when he retired and was promoted to lieutenant general on the reserve list.

Personal life

In 1922, Björk married Margit Borgman (1899–1970), the daughter of agronomist Gösta Borgman and Sigrid (née Rundberg). He was the father of the daughters Barbro (born 1924) and Hervor (born 1925).

Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

Foreign

  • Norway Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (1 July 1961)
  • Finland Commander of the Order of the White Rose of Finland
  • Finland 3rd Class of the Order of the Cross of Liberty with swords
  • Finland Finnish Population Protection Merit of Merit, 1st class with clasp (Finlands Befolkningsskydds förtjänstmedalj, 1:a klass med spänne)
  • Finland Finnish Commemorative Medal for Humanitarian Activities (Finsk minnesmedalj för humanitär verksamhet)

Honours

Bibliography

  • Björk, Nils (1938). Tre nordiska försvarsproblem: Nordskandinavien, Öresund, Åland : Orienterande synpunkter framlagda vid föredrag den 16 februari 1938 [Three Nordic defense problems: Northern Scandinavia, Öresund, Åland: Orienting views presented at lectures on 16 February 1938] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Militaria. SELIBR 1361718.
  • Björk, Nils; Swedlund, Nils (1936). Den nya infanteriorganisationen jämte exempel belysande förbandens taktiska användning [The new infantry organization along with examples illustrating the tactical use of the units]. Kungl. Krigsvetenskapsakademiens handlingar och tidskrift, 0023-5369 ; 1936:1 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Krigsvetenskaps-akad. SELIBR 1376929.

References

  1. ^ Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1985 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1985] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. 1984. pp. 132–133. ISBN 91-1-843222-0. SELIBR 3681527.
  2. ^ Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1948). Vem är vem?. D. 3, Götalandsdelen utom Skåne [Who's Who?. D. 3, Götaland part except Scania] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Vem är vem bokförlag. p. 126. SELIBR 8198271.
  3. ^ Bohman, Nils, ed. (1942). Svenska män och kvinnor: biografisk uppslagsbok. 1 A-B (in Swedish). Stockholm: Bonnier. p. 335. SELIBR 53800.
  4. Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1943 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1943] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. 1942. p. 90. SELIBR 10335454.
  5. ^ Davidsson, Åke, ed. (1968). Vem är vem?. 5, Norrland : supplement, register [Who's Who?. 5, Norrland : supplements, directory] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem. p. 525. SELIBR 53513.
  6. Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1968 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1968. p. 94. SELIBR 8261599.
  7. "Tildelinger av ordener og medaljer" [Awards of medals and medals]. www.kongehuset.no (in Norwegian). Royal Court of Norway. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
Military offices
Preceded byCarl August Ehrensvärd Army Operations Department, Defence Staff
1938–1941 		Succeeded byNone
Preceded bySven Ramström Norrbotten Regiment
1942–1946 		Succeeded byNils Swedlund
Preceded byBirger Pontén Skaraborg Regiment
1946–1948 		Succeeded byPer Ahlgren
Preceded byNone Section 2, Army Staff
1948–1951 		Succeeded byBert Carpelan
Preceded bySven Colliander Commanding General, VI Military District
1951–1963 		Succeeded byArne Mohlin
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