Ole Bjørn Kraft (1893–1980) was a Danish journalist and politician who was the leader of the Conservative People's Party. He also served as the

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 ...

Early life

Kraft was born in Copenhagen on 17 December 1893. He studied journalism at the University of Copenhagen. He and Max Kjaer-Hansen, his friend from the University of Copenhagen, formed the West Indian Society of Danish Academics to reinforce the protests over the sale of Virgin Islands. Although their attempt was not a success, it paved the way for the establishment of the Det unge Danmark (Danish: The Young Denmark). The group was established just before World War I and supported imperialistic,

ethno-nationalist Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnocratic) approach to various politi ...

and anti-liberal views.

Career

Kraft began his career as a journalist. In 1918 he edited a magazine entitled ''Det nye Tid'' which was affiliated with the Det unge Danmark. From May 1919 he worked for ''

Århus Stiftstidende ''Århus Stiftstidende'' (colloquially ''Stiften'') is a Danish newspaper based in Aarhus, Denmark, focusing largely on local topics. History and profile First published by Niels Lund on 3 January 1794, ''Århus Stiftstidende'' is among the ol ...

''. Then he worked for other newspapers, including ''Svendborg Amts Dagblad'', ''Nationaltidendes Søndag'' and ''Fædrelandet''. Between 1928 and 1932 and between 1934 and 1938 he was the editor of another magazine entitled '' Det nye Danmark'' which he co-founded with the

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Alfred Bindslev. Kraft joined the Conservative People's Party. In 1926 he was first elected to the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

representing Ålborg and functioned as the leader of the Conservative People's Party at the Parliament. In 1945 Kraft briefly served as the minister of defense. In November 1947 he was elected as the political leader of the Conservative People's Party, and under his leadership the party supported the right-wing policies. Kraft was a member of the Danish Committee of the European Movement which was established after the

Congress of Europe The Hague Congress or the Congress of Europe, considered by many as the first federal moment in European history, was held in The Hague from 7–11 May 1948 with 750 delegates participating from around Europe as well as observers from Canada and ...

organized in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

on 7–9 May 1948. The Danish Committee was founded on 11 August and headed by Thorkil Kristensen. In 1950 Kraft was named as the foreign minister to the cabinet formed 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 Eriksen Erik Eriksen (20 November 1902 – 7 October 1972) was a Denmark, Danish politician, who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1950 to 1953 and as the fourth President of the Nordic Council in 1956. Eriksen was leader of the Denmark, Dan ...

. Kraft remained in the office until 1953. When Kraft was in office Denmark objected to the admission of Greece and Turkey into

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 ...

, and Kraft stated that although these countries had legitimate security concerns, a Mediterranean pact could be establish by them to meet their security needs. Eventually, Denmark voted against acceptance of these countries by NATO as full members. In 1955 Kraft's term as the political leader of the Conservative People's Party ended, and Aksel Møller succeeded him in the post. Kraft was a contributor of ''

Berlingske Tidende ''Berlingske'', previously known as ''Berlingske Tidende'' (, ''Berling's Times''), is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen. It is considered a newspaper of record for Denmark. First published on 3 January 1749, ''Berlingske'' ...

'' and a member of the Parliament until 1964.

Personal life and death

Kraft married in Aarhus in May 1919. He died on 2 December 1980. He published his memoirs entitled ''Ung mand undervejs''.

Views

At the beginning of his political career Kraft's views were based on

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and national idealism. He objected to the sale of the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Cro ...

to the USA in 1916. He was among the admirers of the Italian fascism arguing that its corporative ideas should be integrated into the

Danish constitution The Constitutional Act of the Realm of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Riges Grundlov), also known as the Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply the Constitution ( da, Grundloven, fo, Grundlógin, kl, Tunngaviusumik inatsit), is the c ...

. He also stated that not all Danes were the same in that some of them were more truly Danish than others.

References

External links