Jens Nykvist

Rear Admiral Jens Gunnar Peter Nykvist (born 23 August 1968) is a Swedish Navy officer. Nykvist senior commands include commanding officer of the 1st Submarine Flotilla and the Maritime Component Command. He served as the Chief of Navy from 2016 to 2020. Nykvist currently serves in the Ministry of Defence.

Jens Nykvist
Birth name	Jens Gunnar Peter Nykvist
Born	23 August 1968 Stockholm, Sweden
Allegiance	Sweden
Service/branch	Swedish Navy
Years of service	1987–present
Rank	Rear Admiral
Commands held	HSwMS Halland HSwMS Gotland 1st Submarine Flotilla Maritime Component Command Chief of Navy

Career

Nykvist was born in Stockholm, Sweden.[1] Nykvist enlisted at Berga Naval Base south of Stockholm in 1987 and began his career on the submarine HSwMS Sjöhästen in 1988. He has served aboard three different submarine classes: Sjöormen, Västergötland and Gotland.[2] Nykvist has been commanding officer of the submarines HSwMS Halland and HSwMS Gotland.[3] Nykvist was stationed at the Naval Base Point Loma from 2005 to 2007 when the submarine HSwMS Gotland was leased by the United States Navy.[4] Back in Sweden, Nykvist studied at the Swedish National Defence College in Stockholm from 2007 to 2009 and then served as Chief of Staff at the Submarine Flotilla. In 2011 he served in the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters as Assistant Chief of Staff at the Joint Strategy and Operational Staff.[1]

In 2013 he graduated from the Naval Command College at the Naval War College in the United States.[5] Nykvist then became head of naval operations at the J3 Department of the Joint Strategy and Operational Staff. On 1 December 2013 he was promoted to captain and was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Submarine Flotilla.[6] Nykvist was then the EU Naval Force Chief of Staff during Operation Atalanta in the Gulf of Aden from April until September 2015[1][7] and back in Sweden he continued being the commander of the 1st Submarine Flotilla until 2016. On 4 May 2016, Nykvist was appointed Chief of Navy[3] and was promoted to rear admiral.[1] He held the position for almost four years when he was succeeded by Rear Admiral Ewa Skoog Haslum on 1 February 2020. Nykvist is from 1 February 2020 posted to the Ministry of Defence.[8] From September 2020, Nykvist serves as Swedish Military Representative to the EU and NATO in Brussels.[9]

Nykvist became a member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences in 2014.[10] Nykvist also holds an MA in international relations from Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, USA.[1]

Personal life

Nykvist is married to Ulrika and together they have two children.[1]

Dates of rank

• 2013 – Captain
• 2016 – Rear Admiral

Awards and decorations

• Swedish Armed Forces Conscript Medal
• Swedish Armed Forces International Service Medal
• European Security and Defence Policy Service Medal – EUNAVFOR ATALANTA

References

1. "Rear Admiral Jens Nykvist, Chief of Staff Swedish Armed Forces". www.dev.chens.eu. Chiefs of European Navies. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
2. Gummesson, Jonas (10 August 2016). "Marinchefen: "Nya korvetter viktigare än fler ubåtar"" [Chief of Navy: "New corvettes more important than more submarines"]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 August 2016.
3. "Jens Nykvist ny marinchef" [Jens Nykvist becomes new Chief of Navy] (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
4. Reid, Chipp (7 June 2007). "Swedish submarine wows U.S. Navy" (PDF). Nordstjernan. 135 (23). Retrieved 14 July 2016.
5. "CLASS OF 2013 NAVAL COMMAND COLLEGE CLASS OFFICERS". Naval War College. 2013. p. 45. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
6. "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish). Stockholm: Försvarets forum (9): 5. 2013. SELIBR 4109339.
7. "Operation Atalanta Force Headquarters Staff Visit Japanese Detachment in Djibouti". European External Action Service. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
8. "Ewa Skoog Haslum blir ny marinchef" (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
9. "Jens Nykvist". LinkedIn. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
10. "Ordinarie ledamöter" [Regular members] (in Swedish). Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.