Ulf Henricsson

Ulf Henricsson
Birth name Ulf Hugo Henricsson
Nickname(s) "Sheriff of Vareš"[1][2]
Born (1942-02-01) 1 February 1942
Service/branch Swedish Army
Years of service 1969–2002
Rank Brigadier[3] (Överste 1.gr)
Commands held Södermanland Brigade (1994–95)
East Army Division (1994–2000)
Other work Head of SLMM

Ulf Hugo Henricsson (born 1 February 1942) is a former Swedish officer. He is best known for his achievements in the Bosnian War as commander of the peacekeeping operations from September 1993 to April 1994.[4] There he commanded the Nordic battalion (Nordbat 2) which was a part of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR).

Military career

Early career

Henricsson became an officer in the Swedish Army in 1969 and worked as general staff officer for six years. He was then promoted to battalion commander. Henricsson worked with the Swedish tank programme for several years before being promoted to brigade commander in 1991.[5]

Bosnian War

During September 1993 to April 1994 he served as commanding officer of the Nordic battalion (Nordbat 2), part of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), which consisted of the first Swedish battalion (BA01) to be deployed in Yugoslavia during the Bosnian War. The battalion consisted of 840 soldiers[6] in three mechanized infantry companies and one staff and tross company. Together with a Danish tank company (DANSQN) and a Norwegian field hospital (NORMEDCOY), it formed the battalion Nordbat 2. The battalion headquarters was in Živinice outside Tuzla. Its area of responsibility started north in the Posavina corridor 10 kilometres south of Brčko, to some 10 kilometres south of Vareš in central Bosnia.[7]

Henricsson and his soldiers became known for redrawing the rules of international peacekeeping by aggressively protecting civilians, tactics not popular among U.N. officials.[2] His robust approach impressed his UNPROFOR commander Michael Rose, the press corps, his Danish colleagues in Nordbat 2 and the local parties.[8] At home, his robust approach did not go down well with the traditionalists, who accused the Swedish contingent of being trigger-happy and too aggressive.[8] The result on the gound proved the critics wrong, however, and Henricsson's approach was eventually codified in the Swedish peace support operations doctrine published in 1997.[8]

In Vareš, Henricsson and his soldiers saved the lives of 200 men and boys detained in a school. After his deployment in Bosnia, Henricsson got a school in Vareš named after him because of his actions.[9] On 2 April 1996, Henricsson testified against Ivica Rajić in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for his involvement in the Stupni Do massacre.[7]

Later career

Henricsson commanded the Södermanland Brigade from 1995 to 1996 and was commander of the Eastern Army Division from 1994 to 2000. He was head of the OSSE Department for Regional Stabilisation in Sarajevo from 1999 to 2001.[10] Since 2002, brigadier Henricsson has been head of the Department of Leadership and Management at the Swedish Defence University.[4] On 22 February 2006, Henricsson was appointed as the new head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission effective from 1 April 2006, replacing Brigadier Hagrup Haukland.[3] He left the position on 1 September 2006.

Other work

Henricsson has appeared in TV3's television programme Grannfejden as mediator[11] as well as in TV8's Nyhetsfajten.[12]

Henricsson became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences in 1996.[13] He is also a board member of Södertälje Hospital.[14]

Awards and decorations

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Johnsson, Fredrik (18 April 2010). "Svenskarna i Bosnienkriget" [The Swedes in the Bosnian War]. P3 Dokumentär (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio P3. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Assertive Swedes Play Tough Guy In Bosnia -- Most U.N. Troops Use Other Tactics". The Seattle Times. Vareš, Bosnia. AP. 6 November 1993. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Brigadier Ulf Henricsson of Sweden, the new SLMM Chief". Asian Tribune. 2006-02-22. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 Askelin, Jan-Ivar (2002). "Jag hör till dem som vägrat lyda order" [I belong to those who refused to obey orders] (PDF). Framsyn (in Swedish). Swedish Defence Research Agency (5): 6–7, 9.
  5. ↑ "Veteran Swedish peacekeeper to take over SLMM". The Sunday Times. 2006. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  6. ↑ Arnö, Sophie (1998-08-12). ""Våld var nödvändigt". Ulf Henricsson, överste. Många soldater ringer fortfarande för att de behöver prata om vad de upplevde i Bosnien." ["Violence was necessary." Ulf Henriksson, Colonel. Many soldiers still call for the need to talk about what they experienced in Bosnia.]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  7. 1 2 "THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL CASE NO. IT-95-12-R61 FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER". International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. 2 April 1996. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 Jakobsen, Peter Viggo (2006). Nordic Approaches to Peace Operations: A New Model in the Making. Routledge. p. 194. ISBN 978-0415544917.
  9. ↑ Demir, Shamiram (12 July 2005). "FN-soldater minns maktlöshet i Bosnien" [UN soldiers remember powerlessness in Bosnia] (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  10. ↑ Henricsson, Ulf (29 July 2008). "Srebrenicas tragik hade kunnat undvikas" [Srebrenica tragedy could have been prevented]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  11. ↑ Karlsson, Anton; Majlard, Jan (5 December 2014). "Medlare: "Nu får ni bli vuxna"" [Mediator "Now you have to become adults"]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  12. ↑ Julander, Oscar (14 December 2008). "Bah och Henricsson segrade i Nyhetsfajten" [Bah and Henricsson won Nyhetsfajten]. Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "Akademiens ledamöter" [Members of the Academy] (in Swedish). Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  14. 1 2 3 "Jag ger råd och utför dåd" [I give advice and perform deeds] (in Swedish). Svarttorp.se. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  15. ↑ Sjöstrand, Carl, ed. (2006). Utlandsstyrkan i fredens tjänst: försvarsmaktens internationella insatser [The International Forc in the service of peace: The Swedish Armed Forces' international operations] (in Swedish). Malmö: Arena. p. 227. ISBN 91-7843-225-1.
Military offices
Preceded by
Hagrup Haukland		 Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission
1 April 2006–1 September 2006 		Succeeded by
Lars Johan Sølvberg
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