Knud Børge Andersen (1 December 1914 – 23 March 1984) 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 A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, who served as Danish Minister of Education and

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

, and held international offices.

Biography

Andersen finished his degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

in 1940, worked for Statsradiofonien from 1935 to 1950, and was the headmaster of the "Workers'

Folk high school Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule;' ...

" in

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

from 1950 to 1957.K.B. Andersen - Undervisningsminister - 26/9 1964 - 2/2 1968
at

Danish Ministry of Education Education Minister of Denmark ( da, Undervisningsminister, ), or Minister of Education in Denmark, is a Danish minister office currently held by Mattias Tesfaye in the Frederiksen II Cabinet. The office was created in 1916 when the post Kult ...

He entered

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

, and was elected to the

Folketing 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 ...

as a

Social Democrat 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 soc ...

in 1957. He served as a member of the Council of Europe from 1963 to 1964. Andersen served as Minister of Education in the Cabinet of

Jens Otto Krag Jens Otto Krag (; 15 September 1914 – 22 June 1978) was a Danish politician who served as prime minister of Denmark from 1962 to 1968 and from 1971 to 1972, and as leader of the Social Democrats from 1962 to 1972. He was president of the Nord ...

from 1964 to 1968. As a Minister of Education, Andersen instated the

Higher Preparatory Examination (HF) The Higher Preparatory Examination (in Danish: ''Højere Forberedelseseksamen'' or ''HF'') is a 2-year general upper secondary programme building on to the 10th form of the Folkeskole and leading to the higher preparatory examination (the HF- ...

and abolished corporal punishment in schools, and turned the scrolls of the

Icelandic sagas The sagas of Icelanders ( is, Íslendingasögur, ), also known as family sagas, are one genre of Icelandic sagas. They are prose narratives mostly based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and early el ...

back to

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. In 1970, Andersen left the Folketing, but was appointed Foreign Minister under Jens Otto Krag and later

Anker Jørgensen Anker Henrik Jørgensen (13 July 1922 – 20 March 2016) was a Danish politician who served at various times as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Denmark. Between 1972 and 1982 he led five cabinets as Prime Minister. Jørgensen was Presiden ...

, from 1971 to 1973 and again from 1975 to 1978. Andersen was acting

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

when Jens Otto Krag resigned in October 1972, until Anker Jørgensen was appointed new Prime Minister a few days later. When

Poul Schlüter Poul Holmskov Schlüter (; 3 April 1929 – 27 May 2021) was a Danish politician who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1982 to 1993. He was the first member of the Conservative People's Party to become Prime Minister, as well as the first ...

in 1993 similarly attempted to have an acting prime minister appointed, royal cabinet secretary Niels Eilschou Holm considered both that appointment, and the appointment of Andersen, to be unconstitutional. By 1973, Andersen had re-entered the Folketing. As Foreign Minister, Andersen became well known in European foreign affairs circles, and was invited to the Bilderberg Conference. At a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

council in December 1972, Andersen received heavy criticism from

Sir Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative politician who se ...

, William P. Rogers, and NATO's Secretary General, for Denmark's eight percent reduction in their defense budget. This was at a time when the more powerful nations of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

were calling for an increase in military spending. Andersen was President of the European Economic Community Council of Ministers in 1978. During this time he was involved in the economic sanctions against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. He ended his tenure in the Folketing in 1981, after serving as its Speaker from 1978 to 1981.K.B. Andersen entry
at Gyldendal Encyklopædi He was a critic of Denmark's political system. His belief was that the large number of

political parties in Denmark This article lists political parties in Denmark. da Denmark has a multi-party system, with two or three major parties complemented by several other significant parties. The government typically consists of a major party in coalition with, or sup ...

made for political instability and for difficulty in forming coalition governments.

Biography

References

Further reading