Dennis Gyllensporre


Tage Dennis Gyllensporre, né Öztürkmen is a Swedish Army officer. Gyllensporre has served as Director Joint Staff, head of the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters, head of the Swedish Armed Forces Special Forces and as the Commandant General in Stockholm. In August 2018 he was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as Force Commander of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali.

Career

Gyllensporre was born in Skellefteå, Sweden, the son of school counselor Güray Öztürkmen and his first wife Irene Johansson. He and two brothers took the name Gyllensporre. He attended the Royal Institute of Technology from 1985 to 1991 when he received a Master of Science in Computer Science. He became an officer in the Swedish Armed Forces in 1987 and served as platoon leader and company commander in the Norrland Signal Regiment in Boden from 1987 to 1995. During this time Gyllensporre also studied at the Swedish National Defence College from 1993 to 1994 and from 1995 to 1997 and he attended the University of Warwick from 1994 to 1997 when he received a Master of Business Administration in Corporate Strategy. He then served as a Nordic-Polish Brigade Liaison Officer to the US Division Headquarters in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1997 to 1998. Back in Sweden, Gyllensporre served as a Desk Officer for National and NATO/PfP Defence in the Planning Staff at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters in Stockholm from 1998 to 2000.
He then attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in the United States from 2000 to 2001 when he received a Master of Military Arts and Science and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Award as the top international graduate. Back in Sweden, Gyllensporre served as battalion commander, Headquarters Battalion, in the Norrbotten Regiment in Boden from 2001 to 2002 and was then military advisor in Department for International and Security Affairs of the Ministry of Defence from 2001 to 2003. Gyllensporre served as Chief Operations Officer of the Joint Military Mission in Nuba Mountains, Sudan from 2003 to 2004 before returning to the Ministry of Defence in Stockholm the same year. In 2005 Gyllensporre passed the Joint and Combined Warfighting School at the Joint Forces Staff College, National Defense University in the United States. The same year he also served as Chief of Staff in the Joint Forces Command in Uppsala. Gyllensporre then served as Chief of Doctrine and Concepts Branch, Policy & Plans Division, European Union Military Staff in Brussels, Belgium from 2005 to 2008.
From January 2007 to November 2010, he attended the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance in Maastricht, Netherlands where he received a PhD in Policy Analysis and Governance. During this time Gyllensporre also served as Chief of Staff of the Regional Command North Headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan in 2008. Also in 2008, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff in the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters in Stockholm. In 2010 he left the position and was appointed Director Future Capabilities in the Joint Staff in the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters, Stockholm. In 2011, he attended the Defense Resources Management Institute at the Naval Postgraduate School in the United States. From 2012 to 2014, Gyllensporre served as military advisor in the Swedish Parliamentary Defence Commission as well as head of Plans and Policy Department in the Joint Staff in the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters in Stockholm. On 27 November 2014, Gyllensporre was appointed Director Joint Staff In this position he is also the head of the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters, head of the Swedish Armed Forces Special Forces and the Commandant General in Stockholm. In 2017 Gyllensporre was introduced to the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Hall of Fame. In August 2018 he was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as Force Commander of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali. Gyllensporre assumed the position on 1 October 2018. In 2019 the UN Secretary-General extended the appointment one more year, until October 2020.

Personal life

In 1992 he married Helena Nordgren. They have three children.

Dates of rank

Articles