General Michael Claesson is currently holding the position Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces. A role to which he was appointed in October 2024.
General Claesson started his military career 1984 in the Armor branch. Since then he has commanded the Norrbotten Armor Battalion, and also served as Deputy Brigade Commander of the Norrbotten Mechanized Brigade. He later on commanded the Armed Forces Land Warfare Centre in Skövde. Furthermore, he has gained substantial experience from the political, and policy making levels when working as Military Advisor within the Ministries of Defence, and Foreign Affairs.
He spent four years as Deputy Military Representative in the Swedish Mission to NATO in Brussels. During 2012–2013 he commanded the Swedish Contingent to ISAF Regional Command North, and also served as an operations planner in the early phases of the KFOR Mission in Kosovo. He has also held the position as Head of the Policy and Strategic Plans Department of the Swedish Armed Forces HQ in Stockholm. Before his present assignment, he held the position of Chief of Defence Staff of the Swedish Armed Forces.
General Michael Claesson is married to Åsa since 1988, and they have a daughter and two sons. In his free time he likes to play the guitar, read a good book, and tries to avoid hurting himself in the gym.