Åke Hök

Åke Karl Wilhelm Hök (17 June 1889 – 2 May 1963) was a Swedish Army officer and horse rider. He competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics and finished 22nd in the individual jumping event on the horse Mona.

Early life
Hök was born on 17 June 1889 in Järlåsa, Uppsala County, the son of lieutenant colonel Carl Hök and his wife Hilma Smitt. He passed mogenhetsexamen in Västerås in 1908.

Career
Hök was commissioned as an officer in 1910 and was assigned as an underlöjtnant in the Scanian Dragoon Regiment where he was promoted to lieutenant in 1912. He attended the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1917 to 1919 and was captain of the General Staff in 1923. Hök served in the Military Office of the Land Defence and in the French Army in 1927. He became ryttmästare in the Life Regiment of Horse in 1928.

Hök served as an expert in the Ministry of Defence in 1928, 1931 and 1936. He was chief of staff of the Cavalry Inspectorate (Kavalleriinspektionen) from 1932 to 1935 and in 1933 he became major of the General Staff. Hök was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assigned to Scanian Cavalry Regiment (Skånska kavalleriregementet) in 1936 where he became colonel and commanding officer in 1937. He was then appointed executive commander of the Life Regiment Hussars in 1942 and served as acting Inspector of the Local Defence within the III Military District from 1943 to 1944. Hök was commanding officer of the Scanian Cavalry Regiment from 1946.

Personal life
In 1920, Hök married Hattie Pauli. They had three children: Hans (born 1921), Margareta (born 1926) and Lenore (born 1935).

Dates of rank

 * 1910 – Underlöjtnant
 * 1912 – Lieutenant
 * 1923 – Captain
 * 1928 – Ryttmästare
 * 1933 – Major
 * 1936 – Lieutenant colonel
 * 1937 – Colonel

Awards and decaorations
Hök's awards:

Swedish

 * Royal Order of the Sword - Commander 1st Class BAR.svg 🇸🇪 Commander 1st Class of the Order of the Sword
 * SWE Order of Vasa - Knight 2nd Class BAR.png 🇸🇪 Knight of the Order of Vasa

Foreign

 * Ufficiale OCI Kingdom BAR.svg 🇮🇹 Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy
 * LVA Order of the Three Stars - Commander BAR.png 🇱🇻 Officer of the Order of the Three Stars
 * Order of Leopold (Belgium) Ribbon bar.svg 🇧🇪 Knight of the Order of Leopold
 * FIN Order of the White Rose Knight 1st Class BAR.png 🇫🇮 Knight 1st Class of the Order of the White Rose of Finland
 * Legion Honneur Chevalier ribbon.svg 🇫🇷 Knight of the Legion of Honour
 * ESP Cruz Merito Militar (Distintivo Blanco) pasador.svg 🇪🇸 Cross of Military Merit with White Decoration