Lars-Eric Wahlgren

Lieutenant General Lars-Eric Malcom Wahlgren (14 May 1929 – 10 October 1999) was a Swedish Army officer.[2] Wahlgren served as commanding officer of Gotland Military Command, as Chief of Home Guard and as Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR)

Lars-Eric Wahlgren
Wahlgren as battalion commander during UNEF II (1974-75).
Birth name	Lars-Eric Malcom Wahlgren
Nickname(s)	Lappen[1]
Born	14 May 1929 Åsele, Sweden
Died	10 October 1999 (aged 70) Halmstad, Sweden
Allegiance	Sweden
Service/branch	Swedish Army
Years of service	1953–1993
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	56M Battalion, UNEF II Gotland Regiment Gotland Military Command Chief of Home Guard UNIFIL UNPROFOR
Battles/wars	Arab–Israeli conflict (1974–75) Israeli–Lebanese conflict (1988–93) Yugoslav Wars (1993)
Awards	Illis quorum

Career

Wahlgren was born on 14 May 1929 in Åsele, Västerbotten, Sweden, the son of Eric Wahlgren, a forester, and his wife Ruth (née Ellung).[3] In 1953, Wahlgren was commissioned as an officer in the Swedish Armoured Troops and in the Scanian Dragoon Regiment (Skånska dragonregementet, P 2) in Hässleholm with the rank of Fänrik.[4] He completed the staff course at the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1963 to 1965 and was appointed Captain of the General Staff Corps. Over the next few years, he alternated between various staff and squad postings. During the years 1967-1968 he was educated at the United States Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth.[4] From 1970 to 1975 he served in the Southern Military District Staff and studied at the Swedish National Defence College.[5]

Wahlgren received his first position in the United Nations in 1974-1975 as battalion commander of the Swedish Battalion 56M in the Middle East, which was part of the Second United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF II).[4] He was head of course for UN education from 1976 to 1979 and served in North Scanian Regiment (P 6) from 1975 to 1977.[3] Wahlgren was promoted to Colonel in 1977 and served in the years 1977-1980 as a defence attaché in Oslo and during that same year also as head of the UN Staff Officers Course in Strängnäs.[4] In 1980, Wahlgren began an era as commanding officer of Gotland Regiment (P 18) and this for a longer period. In 1983 he was promoted to Major General and commander of Gotland Military Command. Wahlgren established himself well in the Gotlandian environment and became an esteemed interpreter for Gotlandian defence and voluntary movement. He had at the same time gained a good international experience.[4]

In 1988, however, it was time to leave Gotland. Wahlgren served as Chief of Home Guard from 1 April 1988 to 30 September 1988[6] but the posting was short-lived as he was promoted to Lieutenant General, and appointed Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).[4] Wahlgren succeeded Lieutenant General Gustav Hägglund on 1 July 1988.[7] Wahlgren led UNIFIL at the time when the Lebanese Civil War finally ended after fifteen long years with a peace agreement signed in the Saudi Arabian city of Ta'if in August 1990.[4]

Wahlgren succeeded General Satish Nambiar as Force Commander of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) on 3 March 1993.[8] From the headquarters in Zagreb, he came to command one of the largest and most expensive and most complex UN missions ever. The force numbered about 14,000 men from 21 nations. He made a remarkable effort there in a worrying situation. A difficult job, he faced questions of political significance, which had to do with national considerations in the UN mission. On Wednesday, 23 June 1993, however, Wahlgren's time in Yugoslavia ended after a game at a high political level where he was replaced by the French general Jean Cot. However, Wahlgren received strong praise from UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali for his efforts in Yugoslavia.[4]

Wahlgren, who throughout his career carried with him a clear West Bothnian dialect, became one of Sweden's most internationally oriented officers. He reached the high positions and was involved in various assignments even after his retirement. From 1995, he was one of the eight senior officers from various countries who were members of the International Defence Advisory Board, created at the request of the Defence Ministers of the three Baltic states to provide independent expert advice on defence matters. He was also engaged by UNESCO on issues that had to do with the protection of cultural heritage in war situations, an issue that had been extensively raised during the Bosnian War. He presented his visions of the possibilities of the United Nations in his publication FN:s insatser för fred mot år 2000 (1994).[4]

Personal life

In 1957, Wahlgren married Gunilla Margaretha Granlind (born 1933), the daughter of banker Harald Granlind and Hildur (née Anderfelt).[3] They had two daughters, Susanne and Monica.[1]

Dates of rank

• 1953 – Fänrik
• 1955 – Lieutenant
• 1964 – Captain
• 1969 – Major
• 1972 – Lieutenant Colonel
• 1977 – Colonel
• 1983 – Major General
• 1988 – Lieutenant General

Awards and decorations

• Illis quorum (1993)[9]

Honours

• Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1983)[4]

Bibliography

• Wahlgren, Lars-Eric (1994). FNs insatser för fred mot år 2000. TFF konfliktläkning ; [8] (in Swedish). Lund: Transnationella stift. för freds- och framtidsforskning (TFF). SELIBR 1925136.

References

1. Welin, Gustaf; Jansson, Sven Åke (5 November 1999). "Lars-Eric Wahlgren". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. E1. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
2. Olsson, Kjell (8 April 2011). "Lars-Erik Malcom Wahlgren". www.tjelvar.se (in Swedish). Gotlands försvarshistoria och Gotlands trupper. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
3. Salander Mortensen, Jill, ed. (1996). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1997 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1997] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 1153. ISBN 91-1-960852-7. SELIBR 3681533.
4. Lennartsson, Per (2013). "En general, väl värd att minnas..." (PDF). Fredsbaskern: Fredsbaskrarna Sveriges Medlemstidning (in Swedish). Jönköping: Fredsbaskrarna Sverige (2): 26. SELIBR 10933227.
5. Åkerstedt, Therese, ed. (2015). "Ledning" (PDF). Hemvärnet: Folk och Försvar (in Swedish). Stockholm: Centralkommittén för det frivilliga försvarsarbetet (2): 36. SELIBR 3413536.
6. Åkerstedt, Therese, ed. (2010). Hemvärnet 70 år (in Swedish). Stockholm: Balkong. p. 61. ISBN 9789185581412. SELIBR 11881232.
7. Chandra, Satish; Chandra, Mala (2006). Soldiers of Diplomacy: The United Nations, Peacekeeping, and the New World Order. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. pp. 107–108. ISBN 81-8324-166-2.
8. Coulon, Jocelyn (1998). International Conflicts and Peace Making Processs: Role of the United Nations. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 159. ISBN 0-8020-0899-2.
9. Widman, Allan (8 November 2012). "Regeringens belöningsmedalj för särskilt berömvärda internationella insatser" (in Swedish). Riksdag. Retrieved 25 September 2019.