Per Hækkerup (25 December 1915 – 13 March 1979) was a Danish

Social Democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

politician, who served as

Foreign Minister of Denmark The Minister for Foreign Affairs (, , ) is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Denmark), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. The officeholder is in charge of Danish (Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland) foreign policy and ...

from 1962 to 1966. Hækkerup, the son of Hans Kristian Hækkerup, a politician, was active in politics from the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to his death in 1979. He was the chairman of the youth organization of the

Danish Social Democrats The Social Democrats ( , , S) is a Social democracy, social democratic list of political parties in Denmark, political party in Denmark. A member of the Party of European Socialists, the Social Democrats have 50 out of 179 members of the Danish p ...

from 1946 to 1952 and the secretary general of

International Union of Socialist Youth The International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) is an international youth labour organization, whose activities include publications, supporting member organizations and organization of meetings. Originally named the Socialist Youth Internatio ...

from 1946 to 1951. Hækkerup is most widely known for the agreement he reached with the Norwegian Minister Jens Evensen that gave Norway the oil-rich

Ekofisk Ekofisk is an oil field in block 2/4 of the Norwegian sector of the North Sea about southwest of Stavanger. Discovered in 1969 by Phillips Petroleum Company, it remains one of the most important oil fields in the North Sea. This was the first ...

oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the prese ...

in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. According to an

urban legend Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not. These legends can be e ...

, Hækkerup was drunk when he signed the agreement, but Danish historians today agree that the agreement was most fair and that Hækkerup was not drunk. He was married to Grethe Hækkerup and is the father of

Hans Hækkerup Hans Hækkerup (3 December 1945 – 22 December 2013) was a Danish politician who has served as a member of parliament (Folketing) for the Social Democratic party and as the Minister of Defence from 1993 to 2000 under Poul Nyrup Rasmussen. Early ...

and Klaus Hækkerup.

References

* Nikolaj Bøgh: Hækkerup. København 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Haekkerup, Per 1915 births 1979 deaths Ministers of foreign affairs of Denmark Members of the Folketing Burials at Vestre Cemetery, Copenhagen