Orla Reinhardt Møller (7 May 1916 – 14 February 1979) was a Danish priest and politician who served in different cabinet posts in the 1960s and 1970s. He was a member of the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

and of the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

between 1964 and 1977.

Early life

Møller was born in Feldballe,

Mols Mols is a small Danish gathering of hilly peninsulas in the southern part of the larger peninsula of Djursland on the east coast of Jutland. The largest peninsulas of Mols comprise Skødshoved to the west, and Helgenæs to the east. Mols' ...

, on 7 May 1916. He was educated as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

. In 1951 he became general secretary of the Christian Association for Young Men and Women.

Career

From 1956 and 1965 Møller worked as a parish priest in Hasseris, North Jutland. In 1964 he was elected to the Parliament for the Social Democrats and served there until 1977. He was the minister of ecclesiastes affairs in

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Jens Otto Krag Jens Otto Krag (; 15 September 1914 – 22 June 1978) was a Danish politician, who served as the prime minister of Denmark from 1962 to 1968 and again from 1971 to 1972, and as leader of the Social Democrats from 1962 to 1972. He was president of ...

's second cabinet between 28 November 1966 and 2 February 1968. From 1971 to 1973 he was the political spokesman and chairman of the Social Democrats' parliamentary group. On 27 September 1973 he was named as the

minister of justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

to the first cabinet of

Anker Jørgensen Anker Henrik Jørgensen (13 July 1922 – 20 March 2016) was a Danish politician who served at various times as prime minister and foreign minister of Denmark. Between 1972 and 1982 he led five cabinets as prime minister. Jørgensen was presiden ...

. He was in office until 19 December 1973. On 13 February 1975 Møller was appointed the

minister of defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

and justice in the second cabinet of Anker Jørgensen. On 1 October 1977 Møller resigned from the office due to the media reports about his private life. In January 1978 he began to work as the director of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

's Information Office in Brussels.

Personal life and death

Møller married twice. He first married in 1940. After divorcing his first wife on 7 January 1978 he married Winnie Lorentzen who would become a member of the Parliament. He died on 14 February 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moller, Orla 1916 births 1979 deaths Danish Christian clergy Ministers of defence of Denmark Ministers of justice of Denmark Ministers for ecclesiastical affairs of Denmark Social Democrats (Denmark) politicians Members of the Folketing 1968–1971 Members of the Folketing 1971–1973 Members of the Folketing 1973–1975 Members of the Folketing 1975–1977 People from Syddjurs Municipality