Michael Pedersen Friis (22 October 1857 – 24 April 1944) was a Danish civil servant who served as

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 5 April 1920 to 5 May 1920.

Biography

M.P. Friis became

cand.jur. Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries. ...

from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

in 1883. From 1904 to 1911 was head of department in the Ministry of Justice. He was from 1911 to 1923 he was the public trustee of Denmark. On 29 March

King Christian X Christian X ( da, Christian Carl Frederik Albert Alexander Vilhelm; 26 September 1870 – 20 April 1947) was King of Denmark from 1912 to his death in 1947, and the only King of Iceland as Kristján X, in the form of a personal union rath ...

had dismissed Prime Minister

Carl Theodor Zahle Carl Theodor Zahle (19 January 1866 in Roskilde – 3 February 1946 in Copenhagen), was a Danish lawyer and politician who served as Prims Minister of Denmark from 1909 to 1910 and again from 1913 to 1920. In 1895, he was elected as a member of t ...

and replaced him with

Otto Liebe Carl Julius Otto Liebe (24 May 1860 – 21 March 1929) was a Danish jurist who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 30 March 1920 to 5 April 1920. Liebe was appointed prime minister after King Christian X had dismissed Carl Theodor Zah ...

, but this use of power by the king triggered the

Easter Crisis of 1920 The Easter Crisis ( da, Påskekrisen) was a constitutional crisis in Denmark around Easter in 1920. It was a significant event in the development of constitutional monarchy in Denmark. It began with the dismissal of the elected government by the re ...

(''Påskekrisen 1920'') and Otto Liebe resigned 5 days later. Michael Pedersen Friis was then appointed head of a caretaker cabinet (''forretningsministerium'') to lead Denmark until elections could be held and a new government appointed. Under Michael Pedersen Friis, the necessary changes were made to integrate the land acquired in 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 ...

into the election rules, and new elections were held. On 5 May 1920

Niels Neergaard Niels Thomasius Neergaard (27 June 1854 – 2 September 1936) was a Danish historian and political figure, a member of the Liberal Moderate Venstre and since 1910 of Venstre. He served as Council President of Denmark between 1908 and 1909 as ...

became the new Prime Minister in a government consisting only of the Liberal party ('' Venstre'').

References

1857 births 1944 deaths Danish Defence Ministers Prime Ministers of Denmark 20th-century Danish politicians {{Denmark-politician-stub