Sven van Anling was a 23rd century Human man, a career Starfleet officer. by the 2240s decade, van Anling had reached the flag officer rank of commodore. In the year 2242, Commodore van Anling ordered Captain Robert April to oversee the construction of the Federation starship USS Enterprise. (TAS novelization: The Counter-Clock Incident) Van Anling's first name was not revealed in the novelization, only in the FASA game book.