Stig H:son Ericson

Stig (Hansson) H:son Ericson (12 July 1897 – 8 January 1985) was a Swedish Navy admiral. He was Chief of the Coastal Fleet from 1950 to 1953 and the Chief of the Navy from 1953 to 1961. After retiring from the Navy in 1961, Ericson held court offices in the Royal Court of Sweden. He was Marshal of the Realm from 1966 to 1976.

Career
Ericson was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of rear admiral Hans Ericson and his wife Elin (née Gadelius). He passed studentexamen in 1915 and became an naval officer and acting sub-lieutenant in the Swedish Navy in 1918. Ericson served at the Naval Staff from 1926 to 1932. Ericson was a teacher at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1928 to 1938 and served as a naval assistant at the Board of Telecommunications Services (Telegrafstyrelsen) from 1929 to 1932.

Ericson completed the staff course at the École Superieure de Guerre Navale in Paris from 1930 to 1931 when he was promoted to lieutenant and was then flag adjutant of the Chief of the Coastal Fleet from 1932 to 1936. He was commanding officer of the 3rd Destroyer Division (3. jagardivisionen) in 1936 and of HSWMS Stockholm (J6) from 1937 to 1938. During this time Ericson also served in the Naval Staff from 1936 to 1938 when he was promoted to commander. Ericson was head of Navy Operational Department at the Defence Staff from 1939 to 1942 and captain of the coastal defence ship HSWMS Drottning Victoria from 1942 to 1943 when he was promoted to captain and was appointed chief of staff.

He was appointed flag captain in 1943 and was head of the Weapons Department at the Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration from 1944 to 1945 when he was promoted to rear admiral and appointed vice chief there the same year. Ericson left the position in 1950 when he was appointed Chief of the Coastal Fleet which he was until 1953. He was promoted to vice admiral in 1953 when he was appointed Chief of the Navy. He left the position and retired from the navy in 1961 and was at the same time promoted to full admiral. Ericson had previously served within the Royal Court of Sweden as adjutant of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf in 1937 and as Chief Adjutant of His Majesty the King Gustaf VI Adolf from 1950 to 1973. After retiring from the navy in 1961, he became the First Marshal of the Court the year after. He served in that position until 1969 and as Marshal of the Realm from 1970 to 1976 (acting 1966 to 1969).

Other work
Ericson was an expert in 1930 and the 1945 Defense Commission, secretary of the 1936 Ship Class Investigation and the investigation into the Coast Guard in 1941. He was a member of the Council of the Factory Board (Fabrikstyrelsens råd) and the Defence Research Council (Försvarets forskningsnämnd) from 1943 to 1945. Ericson was a board member of the Swedish National Defence Research Institute from 1945 to 1950, chairman of the Swedish Board for Computing Machinery from 1948 to 1950, chairman of Vegetebolagen from 1949 to 1957 and vice chairman of the board of the Maritime Museum from 1948 to 1950.

Furthermore, Ericson was chairman of Svenska Dagbladet's Foundation from 1962 to 1967, of the Carnegiestiftelsen from 1967 to 1979 and of the Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde from 1966 to 1976. He was a board member of the AB Marabou from 1951 to 1975, of the AB Turitz & Co from 1958 to 1970 and of the Stockholms Enskilda Bank from 1968 to 1970. Ericson was chairman of the Council for Socioeconomic Issues (Rådet för samhällsekonomiska frågor) from 1970 to 1979.

Ericson became a member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences in 1932 (honorary member in 1945) and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences in 1942 (president 1953-1955). Ericson became an associate honorary member of the United States Naval Institute in 1959.

Personal life
In 1921 he married Barbro Almström (1901–1993), the daughter of factory manager Harald Almström and his wife Agda (née Norinder). He was the father of Barbro Stigsdotter (born 1922). Ericsson died in 1985 and was buried at Galärvarvskyrkogården in Stockholm.

Dates of rank

 * 1918 – Acting Sub-Lieutenant (Underlöjtnant)
 * 19?? – Sub-Lieutenant (Löjtnant)
 * 1931 – Lieutenant (Kapten)
 * 1938 – Commander (Kommendörkapten)
 * 1943 – Captain (Kommendör)
 * 1945 – Rear admiral
 * 1953 – Vice admiral
 * 1961 – Admiral

Awards and decorations
Ericson's awards:


 * Royal Order of the Seraphim
 * King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1948)
 * Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword
 * Knight of the Order of the Polar Star
 * Knight of the Order of Vasa
 * Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog
 * Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland
 * Commander Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav
 * Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
 * Grand Cross of the Orden del Quetzal
 * Grand Officer of the Order of Merit
 * Grand Officer First Class of the Order of Naval Merit Admiral Padilla
 * Commander First Class of the Legion of Merit
 * Commander of the Legion of Honour
 * Commander of the Order of the German Eagle
 * Third Class of the Order of the Cross of Liberty with swords
 * Officer of the Order of Polonia Restituta
 * Knight of the Crosses of Naval Merit
 * Lingiad Anniversary Medal (Lingiadens jubileumsmedalj)
 * Shooting Gold Medal (Skytteguldmedalj)
 * Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences' Gold Medal