Egon Holde Weidekamp (14 March 1921,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

– 26 April 2000, Copenhagen) 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.Egon Weidekamp er død
jyllands-posten.dk (26 April 2000) The political career of Weidekamp started in 1946 when he became the national leader of ''DSU'', the youth branch of the Social Democratic Party, a position he held until 1950. In 1952 he was elected to the city council of Copenhagen for the Social Democratic Party, of which he became the president from 1970 to 1976. From 1976 to 1989, he held the office of

Lord Mayor of Copenhagen The lord mayor of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Overborgmester) is the city's mayor and the leader of the Copenhagen City Council. Established in 1938, all lord mayors have since belonged to the Social Democratic Party. List Cur ...

. The primary focus of Egon Weidekamp was to provide better apartments for the citizens of Copenhagen, primarily by renewing many of the worst apartments of the city. He is widely known in Denmark for giving the rights to use

Ungdomshuset Ungdomshuset (literally "the Youth House") was the popular name of the building formally named Folkets Hus ("House of the People") located on Jagtvej 69 in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, which functioned as an underground scene venue for music and rendez ...

on Jagtvej 69 (which was torn down in 2007) to the group of

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

s called after many years of social unrest and

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

s. In 1982, he said in an interview to Danish tabloid newspaper B.T.: "They get a house, and we get peace."Susanne Johansson (6 October 2016
Da blomsterbørnene gik i sort: Den dramatiske historie om bz, Byggeren, børnemagt og Jagtvej 69
B.T. Egon Weidekamp also made the decision of closing the system of

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

s in the streets of

. When resigning as lord mayor, Egon Weidekamp said that his two biggest regrets were the donation of and closing the tram system.

References

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* * 1921 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Copenhagen City Council members Mayors of places in Denmark Social Democrats (Denmark) politicians Politicians from Copenhagen Burials at East Bispebjerg Cemetery {{Denmark-mayor-stub