Richard Åkerman

Richard Åkerman
Birth name	Richard Oscar Roger Åkerman
Nickname(s)	Riri
Born	6 July 1898 Stockholm, Sweden
Died	23 June 1981 (aged 82)
Buried at	Norra begravningsplatsen
Service/branch	Swedish Army
Years of service	1919–1963
Rank	Lieutenant General (Swedish Army) Lieutenant Colonel (Finnish Army)
Commands held	War College (1942–46) Östgöta Air Defence Regiment (1946–48) Defence Staff (1951–57) III. Military Area (1957–63)
Battles/wars	Winter War
Relations	Joachim Åkerman (father) Oscar Åkerman (brother) Gustav Åkerman (brother)

Richard "Riri" Oscar Roger Åkerman (6 July 1898 – 23 June 1981) was a Swedish officer. He was Chief of the Defence Staff from 1951 to 1957 and military commander of the III. Military Area from 1957 to 1963 when he retired as a Lieutenant General.

Military career

Åkerman was born in Stockholm, Sweden and was the son of the lieutenant general and politician Joakim (Jockum) Åkerman and Martina Björnstjerna. After graduating in Stockholm in 1916, he became second lieutenant at the Svea Artillery Regiment (A 1) in 1919 and lieutenant in 1923. Åkerman became captain of the General Staff in 1931 and was General Staff officer of the Western Army Division from 1931 to 1933. Åkerman was then head of the Air Defense Detail of the General Staff from 1934 to 1937 and artillery battery commander of Svea Artillery Regiment from 1937 to 1939. Åkerman was major in the General Staff Corps in 1939 and teacher at the Swedish Air Force Staff College the same year.^[1]

He left the Swedish Army in 1939 and joined the Finnish Army during the Winter War as part of the Swedish Volunteer Corps. Åkerman was promoted to major in the Finnish Army and then lieutenant colonel in 1940. He was then again major of the Swedish General Staff Corps in 1940. Åkerman was again teacher at the Swedish Air Force Staff College from 1941 to 1942 and strategy teacher at the War College from 1940 to 1942. He became a lieutenant colonel in 1941 and colonel in 1943.^[1]

Åkerman was head of the War College from 1942 to 1946 and commander of the Östgöta Air Defence Regiment (Lv 2) from 1946 to 1948. He was promoted to colonel in the Swedish Air Force and inspector of the air surveillance in 1948. Åkerman was promoted to major general and Chief of the Defence Staff in 1951 and was military commander of the III. Military Area from 1957 to 1963 and was promoted to lieutenant general in 1963.^[2]

Other work

Åkerman was part of the 1930 Defense Commission in 1935 and the 1941 Defense Investigation.^[3] He was member and secretary of the Commission concerning the voluntary acquisition of air defense equipment in 1937, of the King in Council and was representative of Sweden's Landstorm Federations Central Association's committee (Sveriges Landstormsföreningars Centralförbunds verkstadsutskott) from 1938 to 1942. Åkerman became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences in 1942. He was chairman of the Bromma Air Protection Association (Bromma luftskyddsförening) from 1944.^[1] Åkerman was vice chairman of the central association Society and Defence from 1951 to 1957, chairman of the board of the insurance company Allmänna livförsäkringsbolaget Oden from 1958 to 1959 and the local board of the commercial bank Skaraborgs enskilda bank in Skövde from 1958 to 1969. Furthermore, he was board member of the insurance companies Svenska liv in 1960, Städernas försäkringsbolag in 1964 and Hansa from 1967 to 1969. Åkerman was also chairman of Skaraborg County's district of the Swedish Red Cross from 1964 to 1973.^[4]

Personal life

General Nils Swedlund (left) and Chief of Staff Richard Åkerman (right), 1 April 1951.

In 1920, Åkerman married Thyra Sellén (born 25 December 1899), the daughter of professor, lieutenant colonel Nils Sellén and Ragnhild Frisk.^[3] He was the father of Joachim (born 1921), Elsie (born 1923) and Thyra (born 1926).^[3] Åkerman died on 23 June 1981 and was buried 6 October 1981 in Norra begravningsplatsen in Stockholm.^[5]

Awards and decorations

• Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword^[6]
• Knight of the Order of the Polar Star^[6]
• Knight of the Order of Vasa^[6]
• Landstorm Gold Medal (Landstorm-guldmedalj)^[1]
• National Air Protection Association's Medal of Merit (Riksluftskyddsförbundet förtjänstmedalj)^[3]
• National Air Protection Association's Badge of Merit in gold (Riksluftskyddsförbundets förtjänsttecken i guld)^[1]
• Order of the Cross of Liberty, 3rd Class with swords^[1]
• Finnish War Memorial Medal^[1]

References

1. Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1945). Vem är vem?. D. 1, Stockholmsdelen [Who is Who?. D. 1, Stockholm part] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Vem är vem bokförlag. p. 1012.
2. Lagerström, Sten, ed. (1968). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1969 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1969] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 1070.
3. Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1948). Vem är vem?. D. 3, Götalandsdelen utom Skåne [Who is Who?. D. 3, Götaland part except Scania] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Vem är vem bokförlag. p. 1060.
4. Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1977 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1977] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. 1976. p. 1144. ISBN 91-1-766022-X.
5. "Norra begravningsplatsen, kvarter 21A, gravnummer 57" (in Swedish). Hittagraven.se. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
6. Sveriges statskalender. 1963 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1963. p. 342.