Robert Lugn

Major General Per Erik Robert Lugn (12 February 1923 – 16 April 2016) was a Swedish Army officer. His senior commands include Chief of the Army Staff and the General Staff Corps (1979–1983) and the Chief of Home Guard (1983–1988).

Early life Lugn was born on 12 February 1923 in Uppsala, Sweden, the son of the museum curators Pehr Lugn and Gunhild (née Henschen). He passed studentexamen in 1947 and attended the Military Academy Karlberg in 1948 and was commissioned as an officer the same year and assigned as a second lieutenant in Skaraborg Regiment (P 4). and conducted military studies in Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands in 1956. He became captain of the General Staff Corps in 1960 and was appointed section chief in the Organisation Department of the Army Staff. Lugn conducted military studies in Norway in 1961.

In 1965, Lugn served in the Swedish Battalion in Cyprus, part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) and in 1966 he was promoted to major of the General Staff Corps. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the General Staff Corps in 1968 and served in Göta Life Guards (P 1) in 1970. In 1972, Lugn was promoted to colonel of the General Staff Corps and appointed section chief in the Army Staff. From 1975 to 1977, he served as acting regimental commander of Hälsinge Regiment (I 14) and Gävleborg Defence District (Gävleborgs försvarsområde, Fo 49) when he was promoted to senior colonel and was appointed Chief of Staff of the Western Military District.

As Chief of Home Guard, Lugn made radical changes to the Home Guard. He got the servicemen to accept that they belonged to an army unit and introduced military training to all servicemen. It was revolutionary for the Home Guard, which until then admittedly received weapons training but very little unit training. Now the servicemen were trained in groups and also in working platoons and the training included all the elements that a soldier needs to be able to have. He also made sure that the platoons got heavier weapons such as machine guns and recoilless rifles. Lugn also took hold of the higher education of the commander and introduced a higher education of circuit Home Guard commanders, which led to competence as battalion commander. Lugn was chairman of the Swedish Pistol Shooting Association (Svenska pistolskytteförbundet) from 1979 to 1985 and of the Swedish Defence Automobile Association (Försvarets motorklubb) from 1983 to 1986. He was also secretary in the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences from 1988 to 1990.

Dates of rank 1948 – Second lieutenant 1950 – Lieutenant 1960 – Captain 1966 – Major 1968 – Lieutenant colonel 1975 – Colonel 1977 – Senior colonel 1979 – Major general

Awards and decorations

Swedish