Nils-Olof Hederén

Nils-Olof "Olle" Hederén (13 April 1908 – 1976) was a Swedish Army officer. He served as commanding officer of the South Scanian Infantry Regiment and Jämtland Ranger Regiment. Hederén also served as battalion commander in Congo during the Congo Crisis.

Nils-Olof Hederén
Birth nameNils-Olof Hederén
Nickname(s)Olle
Born(1908-04-13)13 April 1908
Stockholm, Sweden
Died9 January 1976(1976-01-09) (aged 67)
Buried
Norra begravningsplatsen
AllegianceSweden
Service/branchSwedish Army
Years of service1931–1964
RankColonel
UnitSouth Scanian Infantry Regiment
ONUC
Jämtland Ranger Regiment
Commands heldBattalion XVIII K & XX K in Congo
Battles/warsCongo Crisis

Career

Early life and career

Hederén was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of Anton Hederén, an engineer, and his wife Agnes Ohlsson.[1] He passed studentexamen in 1928 and became fänrik in the South Scanian Infantry Regiment (I 7) in 1931. Hederén was a teacher at the Swedish Infantry Combat School from 1936 to 1939 and attended the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1940 to 1942 and was again a teacher at the Infantry Combat School from 1942 to 1946. He became major in the staff of the I Military Area in 1949 and served in the British Army in 1951 and in 1952. Hederén served in the Jämtland Ranger Regiment (I 5) in 1953 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel there in 1957. In 1958 Hederén served in the French Army and in 1959 he served at the Army Staff. Hederén was appointed Inspector of the Infantry in the Army Staff in 1959.[1] Beside his military career, Hederén was also chairman of the I 5's Shooting Association (I 5:s skytteförening) from 1954 to 1959, secretary in the Swedish Shooting Sport Federation from 1945 to 1947 and Secretary General of the 1947 ISSF World Shooting Championships. He was also a board member of Jämtland County Shooting Association from 1954 to 1959, Swedish Military Sports Federation in 1958 and of the International Modern Pentathlon Union in 1960.[1]

Congo Crisis

He was commander of the Swedish Battalion XVIII K from October 1962 to April 1963 and commander of the Swedish Battalion XX K from April 1963 to December 1963.[2] He was the military chief of the Kamina Base and Sector Kamina in the State of Katanga. During this time, the Katangan resistance against Congo's central government was definitively crushed and the breakaway province of Katanga was integrated back into the Congolese government formation. Hederén experienced the final stage of the UN's mandate at the Kamina Base, since it had been maintained and guarded by UN staff for nearly four years. He was the initiator of the reconstruction of the Bukama Bridge and of a major medicine collection for the benefit of the population of Sector Kamina.[3]

Business career

Hederén retired from the military in 1964 and was hired by Sveriges Kreditbank as security manager. He stayed in this position until 1973.[4]

Personal life

On 22 October 1938 he married Gunilla Breitholtz (1915–1995), the daughter of captain Gösta Breitholtz and Eva Breitholtz.[1] He was the father of Eva Hederén Flygt (born 1941) and Suzanne Hederén Hultberg (born 1945).[5] Hederén died on 9 January 1976 and was buried at Norra begravningsplatsen in Stockholm.[6]

Awards and decorations

Hederén's awards:[1]

Swedish
  • Knight of the Order of the Sword
  • Jämtland County Schooting Association's Gold Medal (Jämtlands läns skytteförbunds guldmedalj)
  • National Federation of Swedish Women’s Auxiliary Defence Services' Siler Medal (Riksförbundet Sveriges lottakårers silvermedalj)
  • Northern Scania Officers Union's Silver Medal (Norra skånska befälsförbundets silvermedalj)
  • Swedish Sport Shooting Association's Silver Medal (Svenska sportskytteförbundets silvermedalj)

Foreign

Bibliography
  • Hederén, Olle (1965). Afrikanskt mellanspel: en berättelse om händelserna på Kaminabasen 1960-1964 (in Swedish). Östra Ryd: L.G. Säflund. SELIBR 692014.

References
  1. Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1962). Vem är vem? 1, Stor-Stockholm [Who's Who? 1, Greater Stockholm] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem. p. 530. SELIBR 53509.
  2. Tullberg, Andreas (2012). "We are in the Congo now": Sweden and the trinity of peacekeeping during the Congo crisis 1960-1964 (PDF). [Studia historica Lundensia], 1650-755X. Lund: Lund University. p. 92. ISBN 978-91-7473-364-8. SELIBR 13520443.
  3. "Svensk FN-trupp". www.ointres.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  4. "Olle Hederén". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 13 January 1976. p. 25. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  5. "Personakt för Nils Olof Hederén". www.breitholtz.org (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  6. "Hederén, NILS OLOF" (in Swedish). Svenskagravar.se. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
Military offices
Preceded by
Sten-Eggert Nauclér		 Battalion Commander in the Congo
October 1962 – December 1963		 Succeeded by
Vollrath Tham
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