Olof Thörnell

Olof Thörnell
Birth name Olof Gerhard Thörnell
Nickname(s) LM (The lust murdurer)[1]
Born (1877-10-19)19 October 1877
Trönö, Sweden
Died 25 July 1977(1977-07-25) (aged 99)
Uppsala, Sweden
Buried Uppsala old cemetery
Allegiance Sweden
Service/branch Swedish Army
Years of service 1897–1950
Rank General
Commands held Chief of Defence Staff
Supreme Commander
Other work Chief of staff for Gustaf V of Sweden

Olof Gerhard Thörnell (19 October 1877 – 25 July 1977) was a Swedish Army general. He was Sweden's first Supreme Commander from 8 December 1939 until 1944. Before 1939 that had been the role of the King.

Early life

Thörnell was born in Trönö, Söderhamn Municipality, the son of the vicar Per Thörnell and Gerhardina "Dine" Margareta (née Lindgren).[2] He was the brother of Professor Gösta Thörnell. After passing studentexamen on 17 May 1895 at Norra Latin in Stockholm he became an officer in 1897.[3]

Career

He was commissioned as second lieutenant on 10 December 1897 and was then promoted to lieutenant on 7 December 1900 in Uppland Regiment (I 8). On 7 July 1906 Thörnell graduated from the Royal Swedish Army Staff College and was commissioned as an officer cadet at the General Staff. He was promoted to captain of the General Staff on 10 June 1910. From 1911 to 1915 Thörnell was a teacher at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College.[3] In 1915 he left the General Staff and served as captain at Älvsborg Regiment (I 15). After a few years in the field, he returned to the General Staff, where he quickly rose through the ranks. On 27 November 1917, he was promoted to major and on 19 August lieutenant colonel.

He was promoted to major at the General Staff in 1917 and became head of the Central Department of the General Staff in 1918.[4] In 1921 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the General Staff. Thörnell was after that serving at Upplands Infantry Regiment (I 8) in 1924 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel and acting commanding officer of Gotland Infantry Regiment (I 27) in 1926. On 24 August 1926 Thörnell was promoted to colonel and became commanding officer of Vaxholm Grenadier Regiment (I 26). On 1 January 1928 he was appointed military commander of Gotland and in 1931 inspector of the train. On 28 December 1933 he was promoted to major general and was appointed inspector of the infantry. On 1 July 1936 he was promoted to lieutenant-general and chief of the Defence Staff. On 8 December 1939 he was appointed Supreme Commander and on 1 January he was promoted to general.

Thörnell was a skilled organizer who put high demands on his staff. He was also a politically cautious general, overcautious some thought, who took active part in the intricate game about the Swedish neutrality during the first dangerous war years. He tried to safeguard the country for as many possible chain of events as possible.[5] Thörnell left office as Supreme Commander on 1 April 1944 and was succeeded by Helge Jung. Thörnell was chief of staff for Gustaf V of Sweden until the king died on 29 October 1950.

Opinion

Thörnell had a harsh and sarcastic appearance, and were generally called LM (The lust murderer) within the Defence Staff.[1] Thörnell's time as the Supreme Commander was marked by several major concessions to Germany and Thörnell himself was generally considered pro-German.[6] Thörnell was criticized by Torgny Segerstedt among other, because he, on 7 October 1940, received the Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle by the hands of the Prince of Wied with a letter signed by Adolf Hitler.[7]

Duties

Personal life

On 1 October 1904 he married Anna Henrika Halling (1883–1972) in Skållerud, the daughter of factory manager Alex Halling and Henrika Gustafva (née Collén).[4] They had four children: Gerhard (1905–1940), Barbro (born 1908), Ulla (1914–2011) and Per (born 1918).[8] Thörnell died in 1977 in Uppsala and is buried in Uppsala old cemetery.[9]

Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

Olof Thörnell's grave in Uppsala old cemetery.

References

  1. 1 2 Andolf, Göran; Hugemark, Bo, eds. (1992). I orkanens öga: 1941 - osäker neutralitet [In eye of the hurricane: 1941 - uncertain neutrality] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Probus. p. 275. ISBN 91-87184-14-1.
  2. ↑ Kjellander, Bo, ed. (2005). Gotlands nationalbeväring och regemente. Bd 2, Personer och traditioner (in Swedish). Stockholm: Probus. p. 22. ISBN 91-87184-80-X. LIBRIS 10002196.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Lagerström, Sten, ed. (1968). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1969 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1969] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 959.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1964). Vem är vem?. 2, Svealand utom Stor-Stockholm [Who is Who?. 2, Svealand excluding Greater Stockholm] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Bokförlaget Vem är vem. p. 813.
  5. ↑ Dahlberg, Hans (1983). I Sverige under 2:a världskriget [In Sweden during World War II] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Bonnier fakta. p. 91. ISBN 91-34-50308-0.
  6. ↑ Frick, Lennart W.; Rosander, Lars (2004). Bakom hemligstämpeln: hemlig verksamhet i Sverige i vår tid (in Swedish). Lund: Historiska media. p. 138. ISBN 91-85057-11-8.
  7. 1 2 Andolf, Göran; Hugemark, Bo, eds. (1992). I orkanens öga: 1941 - osäker neutralitet [In eye of the hurricane: 1941 - uncertain neutrality] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Probus. p. 243. ISBN 91-87184-14-1.
  8. 1 2 "Olof Thörnell – Sveriges överbefälhavare under krigsåren – föddes i Trönö" [Olof Thörnell - Sweden's supreme commander during the war years - was born in Trönö]. Alir-anor: medlemsblad för Forskarföreningen Alir (in Swedish). Söderhamn: Forskarföreningen Alir (2). 1999. LIBRIS 2019069.
  9. ↑ "Thörnell, Olof Gerhard" (in Swedish). Svenskagravar.se. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 Sveriges statskalender för året 1955 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1955. p. 352.
  11. ↑ "Minnesmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  12. ↑ "Minnesmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  13. ↑ "Minnesmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  14. ↑ "Vasaorden m/1772" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  15. ↑ Berghman, Arvid (1949). Nordiska riddareordnar och dekorationer [Nordic knight orders and decorations]. Skrifter / utgivna av Riksheraldikerämbetet, 99-2298099-1 ; 2 (in Swedish). Malmö: J. Kroon, Malmö ljustrycksanst. p. 107.
  16. ↑ "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  17. ↑ "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  18. ↑ "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  19. ↑ "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  20. ↑ "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  21. ↑ "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  22. ↑ "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  23. ↑ "Förtjänstmedalj" (in Swedish). Digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
Military offices
Preceded by
None		 Chief of Defence Staff
1936–1939 		Succeeded by
Axel Rappe
Preceded by
None, the King was Supreme Commander		 Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces
1939–1944 		Succeeded by
Helge Jung
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