Ljung was born on 18 May 1918 in Jönköping, Sweden, the son of Per Ljung, an accountant, and his wife Martha. He passed studentexamen in 1937 and was commissioned as an officer in 1939. He belonged to an officer course, which, due to the increasingly threatening world political situation, had a dramatic shortening of their education in order to join units and strengthen the Swedish preparedness. Ljung was commissioned into the Jönköping-Kalmar Regiment in Eksjö as fänrik in 1940 and then attended the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in 1942 and was promoted to lieutenant the same year. During the following years he held alternately troop, staff and teaching positions. Ljung attended the Royal Swedish Army Staff College in 1948 and was promoted to captain the same year. Ljung then served in the General Staff Corps in 1950 and in 1955 he served as captain in the Northern Scanian Infantry Regiment in Kristianstad. He was promoted to major in 1957 and served again in the General Staff Corps and as chief of staff of the I Military District in Kristianstad. In 1959 Ljung attended the Swedish National Defence College and in 1960 he was appointed head of the Organization Department of the Army Staff. A year later he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 1963 he was promoted to colonel and was appointed head of Section I of the Army Staff. Ljung was appointed commanding officer of the Life Regiment Grenadiers in 1964 and in 1966 he was promoted to major general and appointed Chief of the Army Staff and the General Staff Corps. He was also from 1966 serving as the Master-General of the Ordnance and acting head of the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration. Ljung was appointed head of the Army Materiel Administration at the Defence Materiel Administration in 1968, a position he held for one year before being appointed military commander of the Eastern Military District and Commandant General in Stockholm. Ljung held this post until 1974 when he retired from the military and was appointed Director General of the Defence Materiel Administration. He served as Director General until 1982.
Other work
Ljung was a member of the board of the Central Federation for Voluntary Military Training and the National Board of the Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization. He was also a member of the Administration Board of the Swedish] Armed Forces and the board of the Swedish National Defence Research Institute from 1966 to 1968. Ljung was chairman of the Central Joint Consultation Board of the Swedish Armed Forces from 1968 to 1974 and a member of the board of the Idun Society from 1968 to 1990 and chairman of the same from 1981 to 1990. Ljugn was a member of the State Administration's Central Cooperation Council for Human Resources from 1969 to 1974 and of the Industrial Council of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences from 1974. He was a member of the board of the Home Guard Fund from 1975 and vice chairman of the National Swedish Board of Economic Defence from 1975 to 1977. Ljung was a member of the board of the County Council's Fund for Technology Procurement and Product Development from 1982.
Personal life
In 1942 he married Inga-Maj Sjöholm, the daughter of Ture Sjöholm and Gerda. He was the father of Per and Anders.
