Harald Petersen
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Harald Petersen (1893–1970) was a Danish politician who served as the minister of justice and twice minister of defence in the 1940s and 1950s.


Early life and education

Petersen was born in
Store Damme Store Damme is a village in ''Fanefjord Parish'' on the western part of the Danish island of Møn, Vordingborg Municipality Vordingborg () is a municipality ('' kommune'') in the Sjælland Region, which is on the southeast coast of the island o ...
,
Møn Møn () is an island in south-eastern Denmark. Until 1 January 2007, it was a municipality in its own right but it is now part of the municipality of Vordingborg, after merging with the former municipalities of Langebæk, Præstø, and Vordingbo ...
, on 27 October 1893. His parents were Emil Petersen who was a teacher and a member of the parliament, and Emilie Marie Carstensen. He received a teaching certificate in 1914 and then attended courses on economics and foreign languages in Copenhagen.


Career

Petersen worked as a journalist at ''Ringsted Folketidende'' for two years between 1916 and 1918. In 1918 he began to work for the Venstre as a parliament correspondence and from 1919 at its press office. In 1925, Petersen became the secretary of the left-wing parliamentary group and secretary of the left's national organization in 1929 becoming the first to hold this post. Between July 1940 and July 1941 he was the minister of justice in the cabinet led by Prime Minister
Thorvald Stauning Thorvald August Marinus Stauning (; 26 October 1873 in Copenhagen – 3 May 1942) was the first social democratic Prime Minister of Denmark. He served as Prime Minister from 1924 to 1926 and again from 1929 until his death in 1942. Under Stauni ...
, but he had to resign when during a football match between the Danish and Austrian teams on Denmark's Constitution Day, 5 June, the Danish people attacked German soldiers with rocks and bottles. Petersen was elected to Parliament from the Højrupkredsen in 1943 and remained in the office until 1950. In 1945 he became the deputy chairman of the party's parliamentary group and was a close adviser to Knud Kristensen. Petersen was appointed minister of defence to the
cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
led by Kristensen. Petersen served in the post until 12 December 1947. He was named the director of the Mortgage Bank in 1948, but was reappointed minister of defence to the cabinet led by
Erik Eriksen Erik Eriksen (20 November 1902 – 7 October 1972) was a Denmark, Danish politician, who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1950 to 1953 and as the fourth President of the Nordic Council in 1956. Eriksen was leader of the Denmark, Dan ...
in 1950 and was in office until 1953. When the government resigned following the elections in September 1953 Petersen returned to the Mortgage Bank as director where he worked until 1964.


Personal life and death

Petersen married twice. He married first Eleonora Vilhelmine Bugge on 24 September 1924. His wife died in 1948, and Petersen married Ulricha Raun Kristensen on 29 May 1948. He died in Hellerup on 16 January 1970.


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Harald 20th-century Danish journalists 1893 births 1970 deaths Danish Defence Ministers Members of the Folketing Venstre (Denmark) politicians Danish Justice Ministers People from Møn