Nickname(s) LM (The lust murdurer) Allegiance Sweden Years of service 1897–1950 | Buried at Uppsala old cemetery Service/branch Swedish Army Name Olof Thornell | |
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Born October 19, 1877
Trono, Sweden ( 1877-10-19 ) Died July 25, 1977(1977-07-25) (aged 99)
Uppsala, Sweden | ||
Olof Gerhard Thornell (19 October 1877 – 25 July 1977) was a General of the Swedish Armed Forces. He was Sweden's first Supreme Commander 8 December 1939 until 1944. Before 1939 that had been the role of the King.
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Early life
Thornell was born in Trono, Soderhamn Municipality and was the son of the vicar Per Thornell and Gerhardina (Dine) Margareta, nee Lindgren. He was the brother of Professor Gosta Thornell. After passing his maturity exam on 17 May 1895 at Norra Latin in Stockholm he became an officer in 1897.
Career
He was placed as second lieutenant (10 December 1897) and was then promoted to lieutenant (7 December 1900) at Uppland Regiment (I 8). On 7 July 1906 Thornell graduated from the War College and was placed 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 Thornell was a teacher at the War College. In 1915 he left the General Staff and served as captain at Alvsborg 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. In 1921 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the General Staff. Thornell was after that serving at Upplands Infantry Regiment (I 8) in 1924 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel and acting commander of Gotland Infantry Regiment (I 27) in 1926. On 24 August 1926 Thornell was promoted to colonel and became commander of Vaxholm Grenadier Regiment (I 26). On 1 January 1928 he was appointed military commander of Gotland and in 1931 inspector for 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.
Thornell was a skilled organizer who puts great demands of his staff. He was also a politically cautious general, overcautious some thought, who took active part in 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. Thornell left office as Supreme Commander on 1 April 1944 and was succeeded by Helge Jung. Thornell was chief of staff for Gustaf V of Sweden until the king died on 29 October 1950.
Opinion
Thornell had a harsh and sarcastic appearance, and were generally called LM (The lust murderer) within the Defence Staff. Thornells time as the Supreme Commander was marked by several major concessions to Germany and Thornell himself was generally considered pro-German. Thornell 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.
Dutys
Personal life
On 1 October 1904 he married Anna Henrika Halling (1883-1972) in Skallerud, the daughter of factory manager Alex Halling and Henrika Collen. They had four children: Gerhard (1905-1940), Barbro (born 1908), Ulla (1914-2011) and Per (born 1918). Thornell died in 1977 in Uppsala and is buried in Uppsala old cemetery.