Sverker Göranson

General Sverker John Olof Göranson (born 3 May 1954) is a retired Swedish Army officer. Sverkerson was commissioned as an officer in 1977. During the 1990s, Göranson embarked on an international career. He completed the Swedish National Defence College's Command Course and attended several courses in international humanitarian law before relocating to the United States Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1994, he also completed the United Nations Staff Officers Course. Notably, Göranson served as the Chief of Staff in Nordbat 2/BA 05 within the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Bosnia from 1995 to 1996 and later as the Deputy Battalion Commander in Swebat within the Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996. Upon his return to Sweden, Göranson assumed the position of Deputy Brigade Commander at the Scanian Brigade and later became the Brigade Commander of the Life Guards Brigade before taking up the role of Military Attaché and Assistant Defence Attaché in Washington, D.C. He assumed the position of Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces in 2009.

Göranson's tenure as Supreme Commander, like his predecessors, was marked by budget cuts and the transition from a focus on territorial defence to an expeditionary defence strategy. On multiple occasions, Göranson voiced his criticism of this transition and the financial constraints facing the Swedish Armed Forces. He even went so far as to suggest that an entire branch of the military might have to be disbanded unless additional funds were allocated, emphasizing the necessity of increased budgetary allocations starting from 2015.

Career Göranson was born in Lund, Sweden, the son of Sven-Eric Göranson, a Natural science teacher, school leader and principal at Komvux, and Margit, a language teacher (1921–2005). Göranson passed the UN Staff Officer Course in 1994 and was a senior teacher of army tactics at the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1994 to 1995. Göranson was then chief of staff of the Nordic Battalion 2 (Nordbat 2)/BA 05 in the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina late 1995. In early 1996 he was deputy battalion commander of Swebat in the Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Back in Sweden, he was deputy brigade commander of Southern Scania Brigade (Södra skånska brigaden, MekB 7) from 1996 to 1997 when he was promoted to colonel. Göranson was Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces for 6 years before he was succeeded by Micael Bydén on 1 October 2015.

Post-retirement From 1 April 2016 Göranson worked with a group of advisors to the Saab Group in the United States and on 18 May 2016 he became a board member of Invidzonen, an organization for relatives of Swedish personnel employed by the Swedish Armed Forces and the police force serving abroad. On 1 March 2017 he became chairman of the board of the Nordic Travel Group. On 9 March 2017 Göranson, together with Ari Puheloinen, was awarded the "2017 Promoter of the Year of Relations Between Sweden and Finland" by the Sweden-Finland Society (Samfundet Sverige-Finland). On 27 March 2017 Göranson was elected chairman of the Swedish Veterans Association (Sveriges Veteranförbund). He is also a board member of the chemical intelligence company Serstech AB. In 2018, Göranson was elected president of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences.

Personal life In 1976 he married Ann (born 1955) and they have two children (daughter born 1983, son born 1985).

Dates of rank Göranson's promotions:

Foreign

Member of the International Hall of Fame at the United States Army Command and General Staff College (2008) Honorary Subaltern of the Life Guards (2008)