Jonny Lindfors

Major General Dan Jonny Mattias Lindfors (born 25 February 1975) is a Swedish Army officer. Lindfors has served as commander of the Kings Guards Battalion in the Life Guards, of Norrbotten Regiment, and as Assistant Chief of Armed Forces Training & Procurement. He assumed the position of Chief of Army on 18 June 2023.

Early life
Lindfors was born on 25 February 1975 in Jukkasjärvi Parish in Jukkasjärvi, Norrbotten County, Sweden. He grew up in Kiruna in a family of miners. Lindfors wanted to be a fire engineer, sports teacher or architect as a youngster. He chose the military after his mandatory military service in Västernorrland Regiment (I 21) in Sollefteå.

Career
Lindfors was commissioned as an officer in 1998 and was assigned a second lieutenant to Västerbotten Regiment (I 20) in Umeå but was transferred to Lapland Ranger Regiment (I 22) in Kiruna in connection with the Defence Act of 1997 which meant that I 20 was disbanded. He served in the Kosovo Force (KFOR) in Kosovo in 2001 and during the early 2010s, Lindfors served as major and commander of the 14th Military Police Company in the Life Guards in Kungsängen. He served in Afghanistan in 2011. Lindfors has undergone higher staff training at the Swedish National Defence College, has a master's degree in military science, and has attended the Danish Defence Chief's Security Policy Course. Lindfors served in the Training & Procurement Staff at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters in Stockholm and in the role was responsible for the planning of the war units' organization and growth until 1 October 2016 when he, as a lieutenant colonel, took up the post as commander of the Kings Guards Battalion (Livbataljonen) in the Life Guards. He left this post on 5 June 2017.

Lindfors then attended the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States for a year. On his return home in 2018, he was promoted to colonel and appointed commander of the Norrbotten Regiment from 1 October 2018. He was then at the disposal of the Chief of Armed Forces Training & Procurement at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters from 18 January 2021. He was promoted in 2021 to brigadier general and was appointed Assistant Chief of Armed Forces Training & Procurement in the Training & Procurement Staff in the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters from 16 March 2021. As Assistant Chief of Armed Forces Training & Procurement, his task was to distribute both resources and assignments to military branchs and units. Since 1 January 2023, Lindfors is at the disposal of the Chief of the Defence Staff. Lindfors succeeded Major General Karl Engelbrektson as Chief of Army on 18 June 2023. At the same time, he was promoted to major general. 48 years old when he took office, he is the youngest person to hold the post of army chief in Sweden.

Personal life
Lindfors is married and has two children.

Dates of rank

 * 1998 – Second lieutenant
 * ???? – Lieutenant
 * ???? – Captain
 * ???? – Major
 * ???? – Lieutenant colonel
 * 2018 – Colonel
 * 16 March 2021 – Brigadier general
 * 1 July 2023 – Major general

Swedish

 * FMGUSM - Försvarsmaktens grundutbildningsmedalj (Sverige).png 🇸🇪 Swedish Armed Forces Conscript Medal
 * FMintBM_bar_-_no_2.svg 🇸🇪 Swedish Armed Forces International Service Medal
 * Norrbottens regementes förtjänstmedalj.svg 🇸🇪 Norrbotten Regiment Medal of Merit
 * Lapplands jägarregementes minnesmedalj.svg 🇸🇪 Lapland Ranger Regiment Commemorative Medal

Foreign

 * NATO medal for Kosovo ribbon.svg NATO Medal for Kosovo
 * NATO_Medal_ISAF_ribbon_bar_v2.svg NATO Non-Article 5 medal for ISAF

Honours

 * Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (2022)