Olihn was born on 5 November 1908 in Ronneby, Sweden, the son of Nils Olihn, a teacher, and his wife Elna. He was educated at the Artillery and Engineering College in 1930 and was the same year commissioned as an officer in Halland Regiment with the rank of fänrik. Olihn attended the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1938 to 1940. He then served in the Swedish Volunteer Corps in Finland during the Winter War in 1940. Olihn became captain of the General Staff Corps in 1943. In 1946, a cadet school was established in the Ethiopian Imperial Guard, commanded by Olihn. The army group, "Group Olihn" trained officers in the Imperial Guard until 1948 when it was replaced by "Group Nilsson", commanded by lieutenant colonelRickard Nilsson. Back in Sweden in 1948, he was promoted to major in the Svea Life Guards. Olihn became major of the General Staff Corps in 1950 and served as head of the Education Department in the Army Staff from 1950 to 1953. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1952 and attended the Swedish National Defence College in 1953. Olihn was appointed military attaché in Washington, D.C. and Ottawa in 1954 and was promoted to colonel in 1955. He then served as a military adviser in Abyssinia from 1956 to 1959. There he commanded a group of 12 Swedish General Staff Corps officers who served as military advisors training Ethiopian staff officers. Back in Sweden, he was appointed regimental commander of Halland Regiment in 1959. After a year, Olihn was appointed Inspector of the Swedish Armoured Troops. In 1963, he was promoted to major general and appointed military commander of the I Military District. Three years later, he was appointed to military commander of the Lower Norrland Military District. Olihn served in this position until 1973 when he was promoted to lieutenant general and retired from the military. Olihn was a member of the Swedish-Ethiopian Association, succeeding Carl Gustaf von Rosen as chairman in 1960. He was also an honorary member of the Friends of the Halland Regiment Association.
Personal life
In 1940 he married Charlotte Ankarcrona, the daughter of major Sten Ankarcrona and Ellen Kjellberg. They had three children: Nils, Ulla and Ann-Charlotte. Olihn died on 16 April 1996 in Söndrum parish in Halland County.
