Gert Petersen

Gert Petersen

Gert Petersen (born August 19, 1927 in Nykøbing Falster , † January 1, 2009 in Herlev ) was a Danish journalist and politician . From 1974 to 1991 he was chairman of the Socialistisk Folkeparti .

Career

Gert Petersen was born the son of a factory worker on the island of Falster . He grew up with his grandparents and showed an early interest in politics. At the age of 13, he joined the Danish National Socialist Workers' Party in 1940 . This fact was only made public in 1977 by the journalist and Holocaust denier Erik Haaest . Petersen initially stated that he had entered as a “mole”, but later admitted that as a youngster he had been convinced of the Führer principle . He then worked in the resistance during the German occupation , was arrested by the National Socialists and interned in the Frøslev camp. After the Second World War he joined the Danmarks Kommunistiske Parti . After 1945 studied history at the University of Copenhagen and became a journalist.

From 1953 to 1956 he worked in the editorial department of the magazine "Dialog". After the Hungarian popular uprising and revelations about Josef Stalin , he distanced himself from communism and joined the Socialistisk Folkeparti (SF). From 1960 he was a permanent employee and from 1962 editor of the party newspaper "Her og Nu".

Party presidency

In 1974 he became chairman of the SF, which had lost much of the confidence of the voters the previous year and feared for their influence. In 1979 the party won 11 seats in the Folketing election after a long dry spell, and 21 two years later. In the 1980s, he steered the party's course on environmental issues and promoted links with the anti-nuclear movement . In 1987 the party achieved its greatest success to date with 14.6% and 27 seats. This increased the parliamentary influence of the SF, which, however, continued to face a center-right government under Poul Schlueter .

After a massive loss of votes in the 1990 election (from 13.0% to 8.3%), Petersen retired from party leadership a year later. He remained a member of parliament until 1998.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Tidl. SF-formand Gert Petersen er død. dr.dk, January 1, 2009, accessed October 15, 2009 . 
2. ↑ Gert Petersen , Internationales Biographisches Archiv, October 10, 1988, in the Munzinger Archive , accessed on October 15, 2009 ( beginning of the article freely accessible)
3. ^ Jacob Christensen: Gert Petersen 1927-2009. (No longer available online.) January 1, 2009, archived from the original on March 23, 2010 ; Retrieved October 15, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.