General Johan Ivar Hederstedt (born 26 August 1943) is a senior Swedish Army officer. Hederstedt was commissioned as an officer in 1966 and served in Älvsborg Regiment (I 15) and Northern Småland Regiment (I 12) in the 1960s and 1970s. Hederstedt served with UNFICYP in Cyprus and UNIFIL in Lebanon before becoming commanding officer of the Life Guards Brigade (MekIB 1) in 1988. He was commanding officer of the Western Army Division from 1993 to 1996 and was International Operations Commander at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters. Hederstedt was then Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces from 2000 to 2003. Early life Hederstedt was born on 26 August 1943 in Nässjö Parish, Jönköping County, Sweden the son of lieutenant colonel Johan Hederstedt and his wife Hillevi (née Sandstedt). He attended Norra Latin in Stockholm between 1957 and 1962. He did his military service in Älvsborg Regiment (I 15) in Borås in 1963. He was educated at the Swedish Infantry Cadet and Officer Candidate School and became second lieutenant in Älvsborg Regiment after graduating from the Royal Military Academy in 1966. Career Hederstedt was commissioned as an officer in 1966 and was assigned to Älvsborg Regiment (I 15) in Borås, until 1969, and then again from 1973 to 1976. He attended the Swedish Infantry Cadet School from 1969 to 1972 and underwent the Higher Staff Course at the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1974 to 1976 and held aspirant positions in the central staffs and troop service at Älvsborg Regiment and Northern Småland Regiment (I 12) in Eksjö. Hederstedt was serving at the Defense Staff's Operations Department, responsible of operational planning, from 1976 to 1981. He served as chief of staff of the Swedish UN Battalion of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in Cyprus in 1981. From 1981 to 1982 he was company commander in the Northern Småland Regiment and from 1982 to 1986 he served as the head of the Defense Staff's Quartermaster Department. Hederstedt was battalion commander at Bohuslän Regiment (I 17) in Uddevalla from 1986 to 1988 when he was promoted to colonel. Hederstedt was appointed battalion commander of the Swedish UN Battalion of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Lebanon in 1988. In Lebanon, Hederstedt conducted many negotiations on various levels with several of the factions (e.g., PLO, PFLP, Hezbollah, Black September, Amal, etc. and Israeli supported Christian guerrilla