Ernst Leche

Ernst Henrik Leche (23 July 1897 – 3 April 1978) was a Swedish jurist and a district judge. He is credited with the establishment of the General Security Service (Allmänna säkerhetstjänsten), the predecessor of the Swedish Security Service.

Leche was born in Karlskrona and was the son of Commander Carl Leche and Elisabeth (née Swanlund) and brother of Colonel Hakon Leche. He passed studentexamen in 1915 and became an reserve officer in 1917 and received a Candidate of Law degree in in 1920. Leche was acting procurator fiscal at the Svea Court of Appeal in 1925, adjunct member of it in 1926 and assessor in 1929. He was an adjunct member of the Water Court of Appeals (Vattenöverdomstolen) in 1929, an assistance at the Ministry of Justice in 1932 and acting court secretary (revisionssekreterare) in 1933. Leche was director of law cases at the Ministry of Justice from 1935 to 1939 and hovrättsråd at the Court of Appeal for Northern Norrland in 1936. He was district judge (häradshövding) at Nedansiljan Judicial District from 1939 to 1964 and held law ordinances in different judicial districts and hovrätt's from 1964 to 1975.

He was a member of various committees for the investigation of the public prosecutors reorganization from 1934 to 1935 and from 1937 to 1938 and in the 1936 Judicial District Committee. Leche was an expert in the Defence Staff for the organization and training of the field police in 1941 and for the establishment of the General Security Service (Allmänna säkerhetstjänsten, the predecessor of the Swedish Security Service) from 1936 to 1937. At the time, Leche did staff service refresher training under Carlos Adlercreutz. Leche push through the decision to establish the General Security Service with the help of Torsten Nothin and Olof Thörnell.

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