Arne Sørensen (2 October 1906 – 1 March 1978) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

politician and author. He founded the

Danish Unity Danish Unity ( da, Dansk Samling) is a political party in Denmark, founded in 1936 by Arne Sørensen. In 1939 the National Unity party, established by Victor Pürschel in 1938, merged with the party. It contested elections in 1939, 1943, 1945, 19 ...

party and was a

resistance fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

during the

occupation of Denmark At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself neutral. For most of the war, the country was a protectorate and then an occupied territory of Germany. The decision to occupy Denmark was taken in Berlin on 17 December ...

. After World War II, Sørensen was a member of the

Danish Parliament The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands an ...

and Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs.

Career

Arne Sørensen was a member of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

until 1936. He felt that the Cabinet of Stuning-Munch, which led the party, was parliamentary ineffective and was too sympathetic towards the

Government of Nazi Germany The government of Nazi Germany was totalitarian, run by the Nazi Party in Germany according to the Führerprinzip through the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany began with the fact that the Enabling Act was enacted to give Hitler's gover ...

. In response, Sørensen left the party and created the anti-parliamentary Danish Unity party, of which he was chairman until 1946. During the German occupation of Denmark, Sørensen was an active resistance fighter in the Holger Danske group and in 1943 he became a key member of the

Danish Freedom Council The Danish Freedom Council ( da, Danmarks Frihedsråd) was a clandestine body set up in September 1943 in response to growing political turmoil surrounding the occupation of Denmark by German forces during the Second World War. Background Techni ...

. After the war, he was appointed the Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs and was an advisor to the US military government in Germany in 1948. In 1949, he largely left his political career behind and instead focused on his writing. Sørensen maintained liberal views on social policy and was a supporter of public pensions ( Folkepension) and compulsory child support. In the late 1960s, he was a supporter of the European Federation and advocated for the creation of the

United States of Europe The United States of Europe (USE), the European State, the European Federation and Federal Europe, is the hypothetical scenario of the European integration leading to formation of a sovereign superstate (similar to the United States of Ameri ...

. He authored an article in 1973 which argued for an expansion of immigration in Denmark in order to fuel the country's economy. Sørensen taught lectures in the United States in the later part of his life and frequently traveled between the two countries. He traveled broadly in Europe and the Americas until 1965, when he permanently moved back to Denmark.

Personal life

Sørensen was born in

Hvalpsund Hvalpsund is a ferry port in Himmerland with a population of 649 (1 January 2022), located 20 km west of Aalestrup, 12 km southwest of Farsø and 25 km southwest of Aars. The town belongs to the municipality of Vesthimmerland Munic ...

to Karen Marie Nielsen and Christian Sørensen, a housekeeper. In 1931, he married Nina Sørensen, the daughter of

Julius Rasmussen The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician (ancient Rome), patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Roman Republic, Republic ...

and Ingeborg Lumholdt. He died on March 1, 1978 and is buried at

Hellerup Cemetery Hellerup Cemetery ( Danish: Gellerup Kirkegård) is a cemetery in Hellerup in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located on Bernstorffsvej and was inaugurated on 4 February 1912. The cemetery serves Gentofte Municipality and the n ...

Bibliography

* ''Spark og Kærtegn'' (1930) * ''Funktionalisme og Samfund'' (1933) * ''Det moderne Menneske'' (1936) * ''Frihed, Sandhed og Ret'' (1942) * ''Niels Jydes Breve'' (1946) * ''Mellem Øst og Vest'' (1950) * ''Fra Hollywood til Akropolis'' (1952) * ''Sønner af de slagne'' (1965) * ''Hvem styrer staten?'' (1970)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sorensen, Arne Danish resistance members Danish male writers 1978 deaths 1906 births Danish Unity politicians Danish Ministers for Ecclesiastical Affairs Burials at Hellerup Cemetery