SWEDEN APPOINTS U.S.-FRIENDLY SUPREME COMMANDER

UNCLAS STOCKHOLM 000162 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MARR PGOV PINR PREL SW SUBJECT: SWEDEN APPOINTS U.S.-FRIENDLY SUPREME COMMANDER ¶1. On March 6, Lieutenant General Sverker Goranson was appointed the next Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces. Currently, the 54-year-old Goranson is Director of the Joint Staff, making him in principle the chief aide of current Supreme Commander Hakan Syrn. Goranson will take over March 25. Syrn leaves his post to be the new chair of the European Union Military Committee (EUMC) in December 2009. Goranson's experience serving abroad was an important factor for his appointment. He was head of the Swedish force in Bosnia in the 90's, and Deputy Defense Attach at the Swedish Embassy in Washington D.C. 2000-2003. Goranson has a degree in engineering and a BA in psychology and sociology. He studied at the Military Academy in Karlberg, at the Armed Forces Staff and War College, and the National Defense College. He also studied at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and took the UN Staff Officer Course. ¶2. The government's final choice stood between Goranson and Lieutenant General Mats Nilsson, who has served in the Ministry of Defense since 2007 as head of military affairs. The post has previously been seen as the last step on the road to becoming Supreme Commander, and was the position held by Syrn before he became Sweden's highest ranking military official. But unlike Nilsson, Goranson had experience serving abroad, something which has grown in importance as the Swedish military has taken on more foreign missions. SILVERMAN