Olfert Viggo Fischer Kampmann (; 21 July 1910 – 3 June 1976) was a Danish politician who served as the leader of the

Danish Social Democrats The Social Democrats ( da, Socialdemokraterne, ) is a social democratic political party in Denmark. A member of the Party of European Socialists (PES), the Social Democrats have 50 out of 179 members of the Danish parliament (following the late ...

and

Prime Minister of Denmark The prime minister of Denmark ( da, Danmarks statsminister, fo, Forsætisráðharri, kl, Ministeriuneq) is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark comprising the three constituent countries: Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islan ...

from 1960 to 1962. He formed his first cabinet just prior to the 1960 election, which was a coalition between the Social Democrats, the Justice Party and Social Liberal Party. Following the election, he formed another cabinet with the latter of the two parties. Before becoming Prime Minister he served as

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", " ...

from 1953 to 1960 under

Hans Hedtoft Hans Hedtoft Hansen (21 April 1903 – 29 January 1955) was a Danish politician of the Social Democrats who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1947 to 1950 and again from 1953 until his death in 1955. He also served as the first President ...

and

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 ...

. Kampmann was born in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

Denmark. He came from an

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

background and was the first academic to rise to a high rank in the Danish Social Democratic Party. He studied economics at 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 ...

, gaining a cand.polit. degree in 1934. Before becoming Minister of Finance, Kampmann worked in the newly formed economical secretariat as the Finance Minister's closest adviser. He was first 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 ...

in 1953.

Political career

When Prime Minister and Social Democrat

died in February 1960 Kampmann succeeded him, creating the

Cabinet of Viggo Kampmann I Kampmann's first cabinet was the government of Denmark from 21 February to 18 November 1960, headed by Viggo Kampmann as prime minister. It was a coalition between the Social Democrats (Denmark), Social Democrats, the Danish Social Liberal Party ...

. H. C. Hansen had cooperated with 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 centra ...

and the Justice Party, but Kampmann had problems working with the Justice Party. After the 1960 Danish parliamentary election, the Justice Party failed to get into

Folketinget 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 a ...

and the Danish Social Liberal Party went from 14 to 11 mandates. But the Social Democrats gained 6 mandates to 76, and Kampmann was able to form a minority government with the Social Liberal Party. A number of progressive reforms were introduced during Kampmann's time as Prime Minister. The Rehabilitation Act of March 1960 established a unified framework providing rehabilitation, aids, vocational training, and special training centres for partially disabled and handicapped persons. Under the New Public Assistance Act of May 1961 (which replaced the 1933 Act) public assistance no longer resulted in the loss of political rights and restrictions on marriage. In 1961, health insurance was made compulsory. In 1962 the oms, the precursor to the

moms Mothers Organized for Moral Stability, also known as MOMS, was a socially conservative American organization that arose in Orange County, California in the 1960s and whose primary goal was to counter the cultural trend at the time towards allowing s ...

, was introduced. Kampmann was one of the most intelligent and knowledgeable Danish Prime Ministers, though his conduct in office was erratic. Through most of his adult life he suffered from

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, and in his darker moments he tended towards alcoholism and frequently 'disappeared' from view for days at a time, leaving the government without its head. The press of the day, more discreet than their contemporary peers, never publicised any of this. Kampmann resigned on 3 September 1962 after a series of heart attacks, and was succeeded by

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 Nordi ...

as leader of the Social Democrats and as Prime Minister. In retirement he worked as a political commentator and head of the Press Complaints Commission. Kampmann died in Store Torøje on 3 June 1976.

References

* Kristian Hvidt, ''Statsministre i Danmark fra 1913 til 1995'' (1995) * Growth to Limits: The Western European Welfare States Since World War II, Volume 4 edited by Peter Flora * https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jI0b97hNv1oC&pg=PA7&dq=denmark+health+insurance+1960&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9BJiVbiWFIOQ7Aay44KICA&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=denmark%20health%20insurance%201960&f=false * Danish Wikipedia on Viggo Kampmann {{DEFAULTSORT:Kampmann, Viggo 1910 births 1976 deaths People from Frederiksberg Danish Finance Ministers Prime Ministers of Denmark Members of the Folketing Burials at Vestre Cemetery, Copenhagen 20th-century Danish politicians Leaders of the Social Democrats (Denmark)