Jens Jensen (1859–1928) 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 ...

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

ist and

Social Democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

politician. Jensen was a painter by profession. In 1879 he moved to

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 ...

. In 1883 he became the president of the Painters' Trade Union, and in 1898 he was one of the main founders of the United Trade Unions. Jensen was elected president of the union federation. During his tenure Jensen took the initiative to the first international trade union coordination, the

International Secretariat of National Trade Union Centres The International Secretariat of National Trade Union Centres (ISNTUC), often simply referred to as the International Secretariat and later renamed the International Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), was an international consultative body of trade ...

. From 1893 to 1903 Jensen served on the

Copenhagen City Council The Copenhagen City Council (Danish: ) is the municipal government of Copenhagen, Denmark, and has its seat at Copenhagen City Hall. The city council is Copenhagen's highest political authority and sets the framework for the committees' tasks ...

. Between 1895 and 1903 he was a member of

Folketinget 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 a ...

. He later became the first Social Democratic mayor of Copenhagen.

References

1859 births 1928 deaths Danish trade union leaders 19th-century Copenhagen City Council members Mayors of places in Denmark Members of the Folketing Social Democrats (Denmark) politicians {{Denmark-mayor-stub