Mertil Melin

Lieutenant General Mertil Börje Melin (born 17 July 1945) is a retired Swedish Army officer. Melin started his military career as a ranger at Norrland's Dragoons (K 4) in Umeå and after several position and courses he became Chief of Army Staff (1996–1998) and military commander of the Northern Military District (1998–2000) in Boden. After some time at the European Union Military Committee in Brussels he finished his career as the Crown Equerry of the Royal Court of Sweden.

Mertil Melin
Melin as Crown Equerry in 2015.
Birth name	Mertil Börje Melin
Born	17 July 1945 Stånga, Sweden
Allegiance	Sweden
Service/branch	Swedish Army
Years of service	1968–2000
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	Norrland Dragoon Regiment Chief of Army Staff Northern Military District
Other work	Crown Equerry

Early life

Melin was born on 17 July 1945 in Stånga, Sweden, the son of Sven Erik Olof Melin (1909–1987) and Dagny Gertrud Emilia Ulmstedt (1913–2004).[1] His interest in horses started in the mid-1950s at the farm in Stånga where his neighbor had three Ardennes horses and a Gotland Pony.[2] He left Gotland and the farm in Stånga in 1963 to his military conscription at the cavalry regiment Norrland's Dragoons (K 4) in Umeå. Melin interest in horses came in handy there too as the regiment had 400 horses in its stable.[2]

Career

He attended Military Academy Karlberg in 1968 and became second lieutenant in the same year. Melin attended the Infantry and Cavalry Officer School from 1970 to 1971 and became a captain in the Norrland's Dragoons (K 4) in 1972. He completed Ranger School at Fort Benning in Georgia in 1977, the first Swedish officer to do that.[3][4] After that he did the Higher Staff Course at the Military Academy Karlberg from 1977 to 1979.[1] Melin was a major at the Defence Staff in 1979 and the General Staff in 1981 and was section head at Gotland Military Command from 1982 to 1987.[1] He was also adjutant of His Majesty the King from 1980 to 1988.[5]

Melin was appointed lieutenant colonel in 1984 and was the battalion commander at Norrland Dragoon Regiment (K 4) from 1987 to 1989. He was a colonel and commander of Norrland Dragoon Regiment (K 4) from 1989 to 1992 and senior colonel and head of operation at the Northern Military District (Milo N) in Boden from 1992 to 1995.[1] Melin was promoted to major general and was deputy Chief of Army Staff at Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters from 1995 to 1996. On 1 April 1996, Melin was promoted to lieutenant general and was appointed Chief of Army Staff.[6] He was after that military commander of the Northern Military District from 1998 to 2000 and the Sweden's member of the European Union Military Committee and the NATO military committee for partner countries.[1]

He was the Crown Equerry of the Royal Court of Sweden from 2003 to 2015.[5]

Membership

Melin is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences since 1995[7] and a board member of the Association for the Mounted Guard (Föreningen för den Beridna Högvakten).[8] He is also an honorary member of the Cavalry and Ranger Officers Association (Kavalleri- och Jägarbefälsföreningen).[9]

Personal life

In 1968 he married Gurli Margaretha Åberg (born 1944 in Umeå). He is the father of Stig Magnus (born 1969 in Umeå) and Anna Margareta (born 1976 in Umeå).[1]

Dates of rank

• 1968 – Fänrik
• 19?? – Lieutenant
• 1972 – Captain
• 1979 – Major
• 1984 – Lieutenant Colonel
• 1989 – Colonel
• 1992 – Senior Colonel
• 15 October 1995 – Major General[6]
• 1 April 1996 – Lieutenant General[6]

Awards

• H. M. The King's Medal, 12th size gold (silver-gilt) medal worn around the neck on the Order of the Seraphim ribbon (2009)[10]
• H. M. The King's Medal, 8th size gold (silver-gilt) medal worn on the chest suspended by the Order of the Seraphim ribbon (1987)[11]
• 2nd Class of the Order of the Cross of the Eagle (12 January 2011)[12]

References

1. Olsson, Kjell. "Mertil Börje Melin". www.tjelvar.se (in Swedish). Gotlands Militärhistoria och Gotlands Trupper. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
2. Nilsson, Christer (2010-06-19). "Mertil - en av de viktigaste" [Mertil - one of the most important] (in Swedish). Helagotland.se. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
3. Andersson, Jonny (2013). "Utveckling av jägartjänst vid Fort Benning, USA" (PDF). Arménytt (in Swedish). Stockholm: Arméledningen (1): 15. SELIBR 3404334. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
4. Larsson, Roger (2011-07-14). "61 dagar av tuffa utmaningar och minimal sömn" [61 days of tough challenges and minimal sleep]. Norrbottens-Kuriren (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 April 2016.
5. Andersson, Birgitta (26 October 2002). "Hallå där...Mertil Melin" [Hello there...Mertil Melin]. Gotlands Tidningar (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 26 October 2002. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
6. "Vår nye armechef" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish). Stockholm: Flygstaben (4): 2. 1995. ISSN 0015-4792. SELIBR 8257600.
7. "Denna lista omfattar alla Kungl Krigsvetenskapsakademiens valda ledamöter i alfabetisk ordning, sammanlagt 416 st" [This list includes all the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences elected members in alphabetical order, a total of 416] (in Swedish). Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences. Archived from the original on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
8. "Organisation". www.beridnahogvakten.se (in Swedish). Association for the Mounted Guard. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
9. Eckered, Thomas (2010). "Förbundets medlemmar i kortegevakt" [Association members as procession guards]. Slagfjädern: medlemsblad för Stockholms befälsutbildningsförbund (in Swedish). Stockholm: Stockholms befälsutbildningsförbund. 92 (3): 8. SELIBR 1855497. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
10. "Mertil Melin" (in Swedish). Royal Court of Sweden. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
11. "Mertil Melin" (in Swedish). Royal Court of Sweden. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
12. "Mertil Melin". Office of the President of the Republic. 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2020.

External links

• Film clip from a talk by Mertil Melin (1996) (in Swedish)