Jens Christian Christensen

Jens Christian Christensen

Jens Christian Christensen (born November 21, 1856 in Påbøl, West Jutland , † December 19, 1930 in Hee near Ringkøbing ) was a Danish liberal politician and Prime Minister.

Family and career

The son of a small farmer already had to contribute to the family's livelihood as a cattle guardian. He later succeeded in completing a teaching degree. After graduating in 1877, he worked as a teacher for a few years.

MP and party chairman

He was politically active at a young age and initially belonged to the Liberal Party Venstre . In 1890 he was elected for the first time as a member of the Folketing Parliament, in which he represented the constituency of Ringkøbing until 1924 . As such, in the last two years of his life he made particular efforts to cultivate the moors of Jutland .

After the death of Christen Berg , his reform-minded parliamentary group elected Christensen as its chairman on November 28, 1891. In 1895 he founded the Liberal Reform Party ( Venstrereformpartiet ) as a split from the Liberal Party , and became its chairman. In this role he was the leading leader of the opposition to the right-wing governments in the years that followed.

Promotion to Prime Minister

After the success of Venstre and its related parties in the 1901 election, Prime Minister Johan Henrik Deuntzer appointed him to Minister of Education on July 24, 1901. He held this office until the end of Deuntzer's tenure on January 14, 1905. Christensen was involved in the introduction of the nationwide village school system.

On January 14, 1905 he was by King Christian IX. appointed head of government ( Konseilspræsident ). During his tenure, which lasted until October 11, 1908, he also assumed the office of Minister of Defense . During his government, among other things, women's suffrage was introduced at the community level. In addition, he tried to solve defense-political problems. Politically, he tried to reunite the Liberal Party, avoiding an incorporation of the Left Liberal Party ( Det Radikalische Venstre ) around Carl Theodor Zahle .

After he had to resign on October 11, 1908 because of a corruption scandal involving his Justice Minister Peter Adler Alberti , who was accused of embezzling 18 million kroner and was later sentenced to several years' imprisonment, his previous finance minister, Niels Neergaard, was appointed by Friedrich VIII on Appointed head of government October 12, 1908. The scandal-related resignation led to a weakening of Christensen's political role in the following years.

President of Parliament and Minister

Only on March 15, 1912 did he regain a top political position when the Folketing elected him its president. He held this office until June 13, 1913.

On 30 September 1916 he appointed Prime Minister Zahle to minister without portfolio in his cabinet. He held this office until January 18, 1918. Christensen was last from May 5, 1920 to August 15, 1922 Minister for Church Affairs in Neergaard's second cabinet .

literature

• Christensen, Jens Christian . In: Christian Blangstrup (Ed.): Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon . 2nd Edition. tape 4 : Bridge-Cikader . JH Schultz Forlag, Copenhagen 1916, p. 882 (Danish, runeberg.org ).

Web links

• Statsministeriet: Regeringen Christensen I .
• Statsministeriet: Regeringen Christensen II .