Hilmar Baunsgaard

Hilmar Baunsgaard with Richard Nixon 1970

Hilmar Tormod Ingolf Baunsgaard (born February 26, 1920 in Slagelse , † June 20, 1989 in Gentofte ) was a Danish politician of the social liberal party Radical Venstre . He was Prime Minister of his country from 1968 to 1971.

Life

Hilmar Baunsgaard was the younger brother of the politician Bernhard Baunsgaard , who belonged to the same party. He was married to Egone Baunsgaard . He graduated from business school and worked from 1947 to 1961 as managing director at the commercial purchasing center HOKI in Odense .

Baunsgaard was 1948–51 chairman of Radikal Ungdom , the youth organization of Radikal Venstre. He was a member of the Folketing 1957-1977 and 1961-1964 trade minister in the cabinets of Viggo Kampmann and Jens Otto Krag , where the social-liberal party junior partner of the Socialdemokraterne was. In 1964 he went back into the private sector and became director of an advertising agency.

In 1968 he took over the political leadership position (politiske leder) of the radical Venstre, which is traditionally not identical with the rather organizational party chairmanship. It was not least thanks to the telegenic Baunsgaard that his party was able to double its share of the vote to 15% in the 1968 Folketing election . In a bourgeois coalition with the right-wing liberal Venstre and the Conservative People's Party , he became Prime Minister on February 2, 1968, although the Radical Venstre was the smallest party in this alliance. This was the first coalition of these three parties and the first time since 1945 that radicals and conservatives have even sat in government together. In addition, after Carl Theodor Zahle , Baunsgaard was only the second politician in his party to take over the office of Prime Minister.

In 1968 Baunsgaard proposed Nordek , an economic community of the Nordic countries , as an alternative to the European Economic Community (EEC). Shortly before the conclusion of the negotiations, the project failed in February 1970 when Finland left, behind which the influence of the Soviet Union stood. Instead, Baunsgaard's government then prepared for Denmark to join the EEC, which was to take place in 1973. Abortion and pornography were also liberalized during his tenure . These measures led to the founding of the Kristeligt Folkeparti , which rejected liberalization. In the face of economic difficulties, the government was compelled to raise taxes. In the early Folketing election in 1971 , the social liberal party was able to defend its number of seats (with a slight loss of votes); however, the conservative and right-wing liberal coalition partners lost significantly. The coalition thus lost its majority and Baunsgaard left office on October 11, 1971. The social democrat Krag took over the office of prime minister again. Baunsgaard held the position of political leader of the social liberals until 1975.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ gravsted.dk: Bernhard Baunsgaard , undated , accessed on July 22, 2018.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Hilmar Baunsgaard. In: Gyldendal - Den Store Danske.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} Harris M. Lentz (Ed.): Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. Fitzroy Dearborn, 1994, p. 223.
4. ↑ Kenneth E. Miller: Friends and Rivals. Coalition Politics in Denmark, 1901–1995. University Press of America, 1996, p. 115.
5. ^ David Arter: Scandinavian Politics Today. Manchester University Press, Manchester / New York 1999, p. 112.