Laura Swaan Wrede

Major General Laura Maria Swaan Wrede, née Swaan (born 16 August 1964) is a Swedish Army officer. She currently serves as the Chief of Home Guard appointed on 30 September 2022. She previously served as regimental commander of the Life Guards between 2017 and 2020 (she was the first female commander of the Life Guards)[1] and as the Deputy Chief of Army from 2020 to 2022.

Laura Swaan Wrede
Swaan Wrede in 2015.
Birth nameLaura Maria Swaan
Born (1964-08-17) 17 August 1964
AllegianceSweden
Service/branchSwedish Army
Years of service1987–present
RankMajor General
Commands held
Battles/warsLebanese Civil War (UNIFIL)
Yugoslav Wars (UNPROFOR)

Career

Swaan Wrede did her military service in Luleå Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Lv 7) in Luleå,[2] where she trained to shoot down aircraft with different weapons systems: Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun, RBS 70 and the MIM-23 Hawk.[3] Swaan Wrede was commissioned as an officer in the Swedish Army in 1987.[4] She was the first woman in the Swedish Armed Forces to receive a scholarship from the Federation of Swedish Finnish Volunteers (Förbundet svenska finlandsfrivilliga) after completing officer training at the Military Academy Karlberg. In the early 1990s, she served in the Scanian Anti-Aircraft Corps (Lv 4) in Ystad.[5]

Swaan Wrede has been in charge of several units throughout her career, mainly at the Life Guards. She has also served several international operations outside Swedish territory, including as a UN observer in the Middle East (UNTSO). She has also served in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and Bosnia (UNPROFOR),[6] and has been involved in international operations in Mali, Somalia, Afghanistan and more.[3] From 2008 Swaan Wrede served as ADC to Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden.[7]

On 14 December 2014, Swaan Wrede was promoted to colonel and appointed head of department in the Land Component Command (INSS ATS) at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters in Stockholm.[8] On 1 November 2017, she assumed the position of regimental commander of the Life Guards,[9] and thus became the first woman regimental commander in Sweden.[1]

She was appointed Deputy Chief of Army on 1 April 2020 and promoted to brigadier general.[10] The Swedish Armed Forces terminated Swaan Wrede's appointment as ADC to Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden from 1 January 2021.[11]

On 1 October 2022, Swaan Wrede assumed the position of Chief of Home Guard and was simultaneously promoted to major general.[12]

Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Foreign

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Laura Swaan Wrede.
  1. Gabestad, Annika (8 November 2017). "Ett historiskt ögonblick" (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  2. Gummesson, Jonas (2018-02-24). "Hon är Livgardets första kvinnliga chef – på 497 år". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  3. Gummesson, Jonas (24 February 2018). "Livgardets chef vill att alla ska göra värnplikt". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 24. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  4. Swaan Wrede, Laura (2005-08-04). "KrV C:3 "krigsvetenskap,C-UPPSATS"" (in Swedish). Swedish Defence University. p. 5. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  5. "Kvinnlig officer på Finlandsbesök". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 9 December 1990. p. 23. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  6. Swaan Wrede, Laura (24 October 2021). "Den 24 oktober är FN-dagen[...]" (in Swedish). Swedish Army. Retrieved 16 March 2022 – via Facebook.
  7. Sandberg, Mattias; Petersson, Claes (21 September 2011). "Militärerna tar hand om gåvor & blommor". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  8. "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish). Stockholm: Försvarets forum (1): 9. 2015. SELIBR 4109339.
  9. "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish). Stockholm: Försvarets forum (5): 15. 2017. SELIBR 4109339.
  10. "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish). Stockholm: Försvarets forum (1): 8. 2020. SELIBR 4109339.
  11. "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish). Stockholm: Försvarets forum (5): 8. 2020. SELIBR 4109339.
  12. "PÅ NY POST" (PDF). Försvarets forum: Personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish). Stockholm: Försvarets forum (5): 9. 2022. SELIBR 4109339.
  13. "Sök ordens- och medaljförläningar" (in Swedish). Royal Court of Sweden. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  14. "Utdelade medaljer och plaketter under året" (PDF). Hemvärnsnytt (in Swedish). Stockholm: Livgardesgruppens hemvärnsråd/fo 44 hemvärnsråd (4): 5. 2019. SELIBR 18367957.
  15. Matikkala, Antti (2017). Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ja Suomen Leijonan ritarikunnat (in Finnish). Helsinki: Edita. p. 422. ISBN 978-951-37-7005-1.
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