Kristian Hansen Kofoed, known as KH Kofoed, (1879–1951) was a Danish civil servant and politician who served as the

finance minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

in the period 1942–1945.

Biography

Kofoed was born on 11 March 1879. He received a degree in biology. He was a member of the

Danish Parliament 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 an ...

for the

Danish Social Liberal Party The Danish Social Liberal Party ( da, Radikale Venstre, , Radical Left) is a social-liberal political party in Denmark. The party was founded as a split from the Venstre Reform Party in 1905. Historically, the centrist party has played a cent ...

between 1913 and 1920. From 1916 he served in the commissions for the salary negotiations with the central union. In 1924 he was appointed permanent secretary of the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

led by Carl Valdemar Bramsnæs. Kofoed's appointment led to some controversy in that this post had been assumed by non-political figures who had a degree in law. During the

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 ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

the Germans demanded the appointment of a new finance minister. Upon this request in November 1942 Kofoed was named minister of finance to the cabinet led by

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 ...

Erik Scavenius Erik Julius Christian Scavenius (; 13 July 1877 – 29 November 1962) was the Danish foreign minister from 1909 to 1910, 1913 to 1920 and 1940 to 1943, and prime minister from 1942 to 1943, during the occupation of Denmark until the Danish elect ...

, replacing

Alsing Andersen Alsing Emanuel Andersen (5 February 1893 – 5 December 1962) was a Danish social democrat politician. Andersen served as the Minister of Defense (1935–1940) for Denmark. From 8 July 1940 to 1945, he served as the vice chairman of the Danish ...

in the post. Kofoed remained in office until 5 May 1945 when

H. C. Hansen Hans Christian Svane Hansen (8 November 1906 – 19 February 1960), often known as H. C. Hansen or simply H. C., was a Danish politician who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1955 until his death in 1960. A Social Democrat, Hansen served ...

was appointed finance minister. He died on 14 May 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kofoed, Kristian Hansen 20th-century biologists 1879 births 1951 deaths Danish biologists Danish Finance Ministers Members of the Folketing Danish Social Liberal Party politicians