Oscar Osterman

Lieutenant General Oscar Fredrik Osterman (5 September 1874 – 3 November 1956) was a senior Swedish Army officer. Osterman, a graduate of the Military Academy Karlberg in 1894, held various high-ranking positions within the Swedish Army. He served notably in artillery roles, becoming head of the Artillery Department's Construction Section from 1908 to 1912 and again from 1914 to 1915. Later, he assumed significant responsibilities as Acting Deputy Chief of Ordnance and subsequently as Deputy Chief of Ordnance until 1926. Promoted through the ranks, he eventually commanded the Boden Artillery Regiment in 1926 and the Göta Artillery Regiment in 1930 before becoming a major general in 1933. His career culminated in appointments such as Master-General of the Ordnance and chief of the Swedish Army Ordnance Corps in 1934, leading to his retirement as a lieutenant general in 1939. Osterman also played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Swedish Association of Army, Navy, and Air Force Officers and served as its first chairman from 1932 to 1936.

Early life Osterman was born on 5 September 1874 in in Östersund Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden, the son of Major Tell Justus Jacob Christopher Osterman and his wife Hedvig (Hedda) Maria Glas. He passed mogenhetsexamen in Östersund in 1892. Osterman was commissioned as an officer in 1894 and was assigned as a underlöjtnant to the Jämtland Ranger Regiment in Östersund. He transferred to the Norrland Artillery Regiment in Östersund in 1895, He attended the Artillery and Engineering College's advanced course from 1898 to 1900 Osterman, who was an artillery specialist, held key positions within the artillery. As an artillery staff officer, he was the head of the Artillery Department's Construction Section in the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration from 1908 to 1912 and from 1914 to 1915. Immediately thereafter, he served as the Acting Deputy Chief of Ordnance and held the position of Deputy Chief of Ordnance from 1915 to 1926. He was promoted to major in 1915, to lieutenant colonel in 1918, and to colonel in 1922.

Osterman was a judicious and skilled technician and a prominent organizer, by nature objective, factual, and thoughtful. When the Swedish Association of Army, Navy and Air Force Officers (Svenska officersförbundet) was formed in 1932 with the task of safeguarding the interests of the officer corps, especially in financial matters, Osterman was elected as its first chairman and remained in that position until 1936.

Osterman became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences in 1911 and served as its vice president from 1935 to 1937. They had been engaged two years before, in December 1903.

They had three children; Märta, Carl-Göran, and Stig Osterman (1905–1950), who worked as an assessor in the Swedish Fiscal Court of Appeal (Kammarrätten).

Osterman became board deputy in Norrland Guild (Norrlands Gille) in April 1915. He was chairman of the Osterman Family Association (Ostermanska släktföreningen) from its inception on 3 December 1949. He declined reelection due to age reasons at the family meeting at Berns salonger in Stockholm in April 1952 and was appointed as the first honorary chairman. He was succeeded by the former vice chairman, chief physician .

Death Osterman died on 3 November 1956 in in Stockholm.

Dates of rank 1894 – Underlöjtnant 1898 – Lieutenant 1904 – Captain 1915 – Major 1918 – Lieutenant colonel 1922 – Colonel 1933 – Major general 1939 – Lieutenant general

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Foreign

Honours Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1911)