Arne Francke

Arne Eduard Francke (6 May 1904 – 11 March 1973) was a Swedish Army officer and horse rider. Francke had a military career that began in 1924 as a second lieutenant and progressed to lieutenant colonel by 1946. He served as Adjutant to the King, Chief of Staff for the VII Military District, and defence and military attaché in London, The Hague, and Brussels. In 1953–1954, he led the Swedish contingent in the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission in Korea.

He was active in several organizations related to equestrian sports, including the Swedish Equestrian Federation and the committee for the 1956 Olympic equestrian events. As a rider, he trained in Italy and competed internationally, winning in Lucerne in 1929 and Aachen in 1930 with his horse Urfé. From 1925 to 1938, he won 58 show jumping events and placed in more than 130, and he also competed in eventing and steeplechase. Francke took part in the 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics, with a best result of 25th place in individual jumping in 1936.

Early life Francke was born on 6 May 1904 in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of Eduard Francke, a wholesaler, and his wife Hedvig Möller.

Career

Military career Francke was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Scanian Hussar Regiment in 1924. He became a lieutenant in the Life Regiment of Horse in 1932, a captain in the General Staff Corps in 1937, and a major in the Swedish Armoured Troops in 1942. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the General Staff Corps in 1946 and transferred to the reserve in 1950.

Equestrian career Francke’s most notable international victories came in Lucerne in 1929 on Fridolin and in Aachen in 1930 on Urfé. He also earned significant wins riding Kornett, a horse from the Vittskövle Stud Farm. Having trained at the prestigious Italian riding school in Pinerolo, Francke was regarded in the early 1930s as one of Europe’s finest equestrians. His elegant pairing with Urfé was particularly admired—and feared—on the international competition circuit.