Vilhelm Buhl (16 October 1881 – 18 December 1954) was

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 4 May 1942 to 9 November 1942 as head of the ''Unity Government'' (the

Cabinet of Vilhelm Buhl I The First Buhl cabinet was the government of Denmark from 4 May 1942 to 9 November 1942. It was created following the death of Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning. List of ministers Some periods in the table below start before 8 July 1940 or end aft ...

) during 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 ...

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 ...

, until the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

ordered him removed. He was Prime Minister again from 5 May 1945 to 7 November 1945 as head of a unity government (the ''

Cabinet of Vilhelm Buhl II The Cabinet of Vilhelm Buhl II, also popularly known as the Liberation Cabinet ( da, Befrielsesregeringen), was the government of Denmark from May 5, 1945 until November 7 same year. It got its alternative name because it was the first government ...

'') after the liberation of Denmark by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Field Marshal Montgomery. Vilhelm Buhl was a member of the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

. He joined the party while a law student 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 ...

. Buhl held the post of

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 cabinets of

Thorvald Stauning Thorvald August Marinus Stauning (; 26 October 1873 in Copenhagen – 3 May 1942) was the first social democratic Prime Minister of Denmark. He served as Prime Minister from 1924 to 1926 and again from 1929 until his death in 1942. Under Stauni ...

from 20 July 1937 to 4 May 1942. During

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 ...

's occupation of

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 ...

had created a ''unity government''. When Thorvald Stauning died in May 1942, Vilhelm Buhl succeeded him. This government only lasted six months, because of a diplomatic incident, the

Telegram Crisis The Telegram Crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Denmark and Germany in October and November 1942, during the German occupation of Denmark. The crisis was triggered by a telegram from King Christian X of Denmark to Adolf Hitler, acknowledgin ...

, in which

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 ...

sent a short and formal reply to a long birthday telegram from

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. Hitler was outraged by this insult, and as a result, Vilhelm Buhl was replaced by

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 electe ...

Werner Best Karl Rudolf Werner Best (10 July 1903 – 23 June 1989) was a German jurist, police chief, SS-''Obergruppenführer'', Nazi Party leader, and theoretician from Darmstadt. He was the first chief of Department 1 of the Gestapo, Nazi Germany's secret ...

was sent to Denmark as a new tough Nazi commander. After the liberation of Denmark on 5 May 1945, the politicians and the

resistance fighters Resistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation to propaganda, hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns. In many countries, r ...

formed a unity government (

). Many Danes were dissatisfied with the politicians because of their policy of cooperation with the Germans that had dominated at the start of the war, hence the inclusion of the resistance fighters. Notable members of the cabinet included

Aksel Larsen Aksel Larsen (5 August 1897 – 10 January 1972) was a Danish politician who was chairman of the Communist Party of Denmark (DKP) and chairman and founder of the Socialist People's Party. He is remembered today for his long service in the C ...

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 ...

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 ...

Knud Kristensen Knud Kristensen (26 October 1880 – 28 September 1962) was Prime Minister of Denmark from 7 November 1945 to 13 November 1947 in the first elected government after the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. After the October 1945 ...

and

John Christmas Møller Guido Leo John Christmas Møller, usually known as Christmas Møller (3 April 1894 in Copenhagen – 13 April 1948 in Copenhagen) was a Danish politician representing the Conservative People's Party (Denmark), Conservative People's Party. Li ...

. In social policy, the government presided over the passage of the Housing Obligation Act of August 1945, introduced obligatory allocation of vacant housing to ensure that vacant flats were let in the first instance to those with low incomes, while also establishing tight rent controls. The government also presided over the trials of the people who had cooperated with the Germans, as a result of which 45 persons were executed. After the elections in October 1945

became the new prime minister.

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

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buhl, Vilhelm 1881 births 1954 deaths Prime Ministers of Denmark Danish Finance Ministers Foreign ministers of Denmark Danish Justice Ministers World War II political leaders Danish people of World War II Members of the Folketing Members of the Landsting (Denmark) People from Fredericia Burials at Vestre Cemetery, Copenhagen 20th-century Danish politicians