Knud Kristensen (26 October 1880 – 28 September 1962) was

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 is not ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

from 7 November 1945 to 13 November 1947 in the first elected government after the

German 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the October 1945 election, Knud Kristensen formed the

Cabinet of Knud Kristensen The Cabinet of Kristensen was the government of Denmark from November 7, 1945, to November 13, 1947. The minority cabinet was, except for the foreign minister, fully composed of members of Venstre (Denmark), Venstre, led by Knud Kristensen. It wa ...

( da, Regeringen Knud Kristensen), a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

consisting only of his

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

party ( da, Venstre).

Biography

Knud Kristensen was educated in agriculture and was a

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

by profession. He was from 1901 to 1902 a student at Frederiksborg University College, 1903–04 at Dalum Agricultural School and 1906–07 at Askov Folk High School. In 1907–20, he owned a farm at Ødsted in

Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and the R ...

, then Biviumgård in

Humlebæk Humlebæk is a town within the municipality of Fredensborg in North Zealand in Denmark, approximately 35 km north of Copenhagen. Humlebæk is located at the shore to Øresund and has a population of 9,758 (2022).

. He was first elected to the parliament in 1920. He was re-elected from 1932 until he resigned on 15 January 1949. In social policy, Kristensen's time as Prime minister saw the passage of the National Social Insurance act of June 1946, which raised benefits and, although it increased the age limit for old age pensions for men from 60 to 65, it granted old-age pensions to people from the age of 60 in cases of ill-health or special circumstances. Under the Building Subsidy Act of April 1946 low interest rates were made available to central government to support housing construction for the needy, while rent supplements were introduced for families with smaller children. Kristensen resigned as Prime Minister when 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 ...

passed a

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

because of his failed enthusiasm for incorporating

Southern Schleswig Southern Schleswig (german: Südschleswig or ', da, Sydslesvig; frr, Söödslaswik) is the southern half of the former Duchy of Schleswig in Germany on the Jutland Peninsula. The geographical area today covers the large area between the Eid ...

into Denmark. Denmark was forced to cede

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

and

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

in the

second war of Schleswig The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...

in 1864, and had recovered parts of

Northern Schleswig South Jutland County ( Danish: ''Sønderjyllands Amt'') is a former county ( Danish: ''amt'') on the south-central portion of the Jutland Peninsula in southern Denmark. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising the former counties of A ...

in the

aftermath of World War I The aftermath of World War I saw drastic political, cultural, economic, and social change across Eurasia, Africa, and even in areas outside those that were directly involved. Four empires collapsed due to the war, old countries were abolished, ne ...

as a result of the

Schleswig Plebiscite The Schleswig plebiscites were two plebiscites, organized according to section XII, articles 100 to 115 of the Treaty of Versailles of 28 June 1919, in order to determine the future border between Denmark and Germany through the former Duchy of S ...

, but had failed to regain

. Denmark's new attempt of re-annexation in the vacuum of power after WW2 was unsuccessful due to the opposition of South Schleswig's inhabitants. German public opinion was supported by the British military governor

Hugh Champion de Crespigny Air Vice Marshal Hugh Vivian Champion de Crespigny, (8 April 1897 – 20 June 1969), often referred to as Vivian Champion de Crespigny, was a Royal Flying Corps pilot who fought in France during the First World War, and senior Royal Air Force of ...

who feared the chaos that would arise in view of the doubled German population within the area after ingesting expellees of former German territories handed to Poland. The defeat in the Southern Schleswig case estranged Kristensen from his party and when the new constitution was issued 1953 he terminated his membership of ''Venstre'' and founded a new party, the Independent Party ( da, De Uafhængige). This new party was unable to gain influence.

References

Other sources

*Kristian Hvidt (1995) ''Statsministre i Danmark fra 1913 til 1995'' (Copenhagen: Nyt nordisk forlag A. Busck) *Hanne Eriksen (1978) ''Partiet De Uafhængige 1953-1960'' (Odense Universitetsforlag) .

External links

* 1880 births 1962 deaths Danish Interior Ministers Prime Ministers of Denmark Members of the Folketing 20th-century Danish politicians Leaders of Venstre (Denmark) {{Denmark-politician-stub