Chief of Army (Sweden)

Chief of Army (Arméchef, AC) is the most senior appointment in the Swedish Army.

History
Until 1975 the Swedish monarch was the formal head of the army. In 1937, the staff agency "Chief of the Army" (chefen för armén, CA) was created to lead the army in peace time. The CA would under the King in Council exercise the highest military leadership of the Land-defense Ministry (Lantförsvaret). At his side, the CA had an army staff to assist the CA in his duties.

Following a larger reorganization of the Swedish Armed Forces in 1994, CA ceased to exist as an independent agency. Instead, the post Chief of Army Staff (chefen för arméledningen) was created at the then newly instituted Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters (Högkvarteret, HKV). In 1998, the Swedish Armed Forces was again reorganized. Most of the duties of the Chief of Army Staff were transferred to the newly instituted post of "Inspector General of the Army" (generalinspektören för armén). The post is similar to that of the "Inspector General of the Swedish Navy" (generalinspektören för marinen) and the "Inspector General of the Swedish Air Force" (generalinspektören för flygvapnet).

On 1 January 2014, the "Chief of Army" (arméchefen, AC) position was reinstated in the Swedish Armed Forces. The position has not the same duties as before 1994, but has the duties to lead troops in the army, and to be their principal representative by taking care of the traditions of the Swedish Armed Forces.