Jens Nykvist

Rear Admiral Jens Gunnar Peter Nykvist (born 23 August 1968) is a Swedish Navy officer. He currently serves as Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff from 1 July 2023. Prior to that, he served as commanding officer of the 1st Submarine Flotilla and the Maritime Component Command as well as Chief of Navy from 2016 to 2020.

Early life Nykvist was born on 23 August 1968 in Katarina Parish, Stockholm, Sweden. Nykvist did his military service at Berga Naval Base south of Stockholm in 1987 and began his career on the submarine in 1988.

Career Nykvist was commissioned as a naval officer in the Swedish Navy in 1991. From 1991 to 1994, Nykvist served as a command control officer on a Västergötland-class submarine and between 1994 and 1995 he served as a navigator on a submarine of the same class. Nykvist was stationed at the Naval Base Point Loma from 2005 to 2007 when the submarine HSwMS Gotland was leased by the United States Navy. There he served as Swedish liaison officer with the United States Third Fleet and commanding officer of HMS Gotland during the first year and as commander of the Swedish contingent in the United States during the second year. He also attended the Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, USA between 2013 and 2014, receiving an MA in international relations. Nykvist was then the EU Naval Force Chief of Staff during Operation Atalanta in the Gulf of Aden from April until September 2015 and back in Sweden he continued being the commander of the 1st Submarine Flotilla until 2016. On 4 May 2016, Nykvist was appointed Chief of Navy From September 2020, Nykvist serves as Swedish Military Representative to the EU and NATO in Brussels. In March 2022, Nykvist was appointed co-chair of the NATO Partner Interoperability Advocacy Group. Nykvist was placed as Sweden's military representative to NATO and the EU from 1 April 2023. Nykvist was appointed Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff from 1 July 2023.

Personal life Nykvist is married to Ulrika and together they have two children.

Honours Member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (2014)