Sverker Göranson
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General Sverker John Olof Göranson (born 3 May 1954)[1][2] is a retired Swedish Army officer. Sverkerson was commissioned as an officer in 1977. During the 1990s, Göranson embarked on an international career. He completed the Swedish National Defence College's Command Course and attended several courses in international humanitarian law before relocating to the United States Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1994, he also completed the United Nations Staff Officers Course. Notably, Göranson served as the Chief of Staff in Nordbat 2/BA 05 within the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Bosnia from 1995 to 1996 and later as the Deputy Battalion Commander in Swebat within the Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996. Upon his return to Sweden, Göranson assumed the position of Deputy Brigade Commander at the Scanian Brigade and later became the Brigade Commander of the Life Guards Brigade before taking up the role of Military Attaché and Assistant Defence Attaché in Washington, D.C. He assumed the position of Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces in 2009.
Sverker Göranson | |
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Birth name | Sverker John Olof Göranson |
Born | (1954-05-03) 3 May 1954 (age 70) Lund, Sweden |
Allegiance | Sweden |
Service/ | Swedish Army |
Years of service | 1975–2015 |
Rank | General |
Commands held | |
Battles/wars | Yugoslav Wars |
Awards | Legion of Merit, United Nations Medal, NATO Medal etc |
Göranson's tenure as Supreme Commander, like his predecessors, was marked by budget cuts and the transition from a focus on territorial defence to an expeditionary defence strategy. On multiple occasions, Göranson voiced his criticism of this transition and the financial constraints facing the Swedish Armed Forces. He even went so far as to suggest that an entire branch of the military might have to be disbanded unless additional funds were allocated, emphasizing the necessity of increased budgetary allocations starting from 2015.