Niels Neergaard

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Niels Neergaard

Niels Thomasius Neergaard (born June 27, 1854 in Ugilt, Hjørring , † September 2, 1936 in Copenhagen ) was a Danish politician and Prime Minister .

Family, studies and professional career

The son of the Folketing MP Peter Neeregaard, who died in 1863, studied history , economics and political science in Christianshavn , graduating in 1879 with a master's degree in history and in 1881 with the state examination in political science. After trips abroad to England and France , he was assistant to a life insurance company from 1882 to 1884. He was then editor of newspapers for several years before he became director of the Nordic Life Insurance Company (Nordisk Livsforsikrings Aktieselskab) in 1897 .

He also worked as a historian. His book Under Junigrundloven, en Fremdstilling af det danske Folks politiske Historie 1848–1866 , published in 1889, was for a long time the standard work for Danish history from 1848 to 1866.

Political career

MP

He began his political career in 1887 when he was first elected to the Folketing Parliament . There he initially represented the Liberal Party ( Venstre ) until 1890 . In 1892 he was re-elected as a member of the Landsting, where he then represented the constituency of Ebeltoft from 1898 to 1932 .

In 1901 he became chairman of the Venstre faction in Landsting.

Minister and Head of Government 1908/1909

On June 24, 1908, he was appointed Minister of Finance for the first time by President Jens Christian Christensen . He held this office until October 12, 1908.

After Christensen had to resign because of a corruption scandal involving his Justice Minister Peter Adler Alberti , who was accused of embezzling 18 million kroner and who was later sentenced to several years in prison, Neergaard was appointed as his successor by King Friedrich VIII on October 12, 1908. During his tenure, which lasted until August 16, 1909, he was also Minister of Defense . During this term of office there was a considerable increase in the military budget for the purpose of extensive fortification of Copenhagen and Esbjerg on both the sea and land side.

After his resignation as President of the Council, he was appointed Minister of Finance in the new cabinet by his successor Ludvig Holstein-Ledreborg . He then took over the management of the Ministry of Finance again from July 5, 1910 to June 21, 1913 in the government of Klaus Berntsen .

Prime Minister from 1920 to 1924 and Minister of Finance

After the constitutional crisis of Easter 1920, the so-called Påske crisis , which was triggered by the dismissal of the government of Carl Theodor Zahle and the establishment of the interim governments of Otto Liebe and Michael Pedersen Friis by King Christian X , he became king on May 5, 1920 appointed the head of government. Neergaard managed to resolve the unrest resulting from the Easter crisis. In his reign, which lasted until April 23, 1924, he again took over the post of finance minister.

From December 14, 1926 to April 30, 1929 he was again Minister of Finance in Thomas Madsen-Mygdal's cabinet .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nationalism and Liberalism, in: Danish History
  2. Easter Crisis 1920