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Jens Otto Krag
Krag in the 1960s
Prime Minister of Denmark
In office 11 October 1971 – 5 October 1972
Monarchs	Frederik IX Margrethe II
Preceded by	Hilmar Baunsgaard
Succeeded by	Anker Jørgensen
In office 3 September 1962 – 2 February 1968
Monarch	Frederik IX
Preceded by	Viggo Kampmann
Succeeded by	Hilmar Baunsgaard
Leader of the Social Democrats
In office 1962–1972
Preceded by	Viggo Kampmann
Succeeded by	Anker Jørgensen
Minister of Industry, Commerce and Seafare
In office 13 November 1947 – 16 September 1950
Prime Minister	Hans Hedtoft
Preceded by	Axel Kristensen
Succeeded by	H. C. Hansen
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 28 November 1966 – 1 October 1967
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Per Hækkerup
Succeeded by	Hans Tabor
In office 8 October 1958 – 3 September 1962
Prime Minister	H. C. Hansen Viggo Kampmann
Preceded by	H. C. Hansen
Succeeded by	Per Hækkerup
Minister without Portfolio
In office 30 September 1953 – 31 October 1953
Prime Minister	Hans Hedtoft
Preceded by	New office
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Minister of Economy and Work
In office 31 October 1953 – 28 May 1957
Prime Minister	Hans Hedtoft H. C. Hansen
Preceded by	New office
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Minister for Foreign Financial Affairs
In office 8 October 1958 – 3 September 1962
Prime Minister	H. C. Hansen Viggo Kampmann
Preceded by	New office
Succeeded by	Office abolished
President of the Nordic Council
In office 1 January 1971 – 31 December 1971
Preceded by	Sigurður Bjarnason
Succeeded by	V. J. Sukselainen
Member of the Folketing
In office 1947–1950
In office 1953–1973
Personal details
Born	(1914-09-15)15 September 1914 Randers, Denmark
Died	22 June 1978(1978-06-22) (aged 63) Ålbæk, Denmark
Political party	Social Democrats
Spouses	Birgit Tengroth ​ ​(m. 1950; div. 1952)​ Helle Virkner ​ ​(m. 1959; div. 1973)​
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Copenhagen

Jens Otto Krag (Danish pronunciation: [ˈjens ˈʌtsʰo ˈkʰʁɑˀw]; 15 September 1914 – 22 June 1978) was a Danish politician, who served as the prime minister of Denmark from 1962 to 1968 and again from 1971 to 1972, and as leader of the Social Democrats from 1962 to 1972. He was president of the Nordic Council in 1971.

Early life and career

Krag was born on 15 September 1914 in Randers, Jutland, into the impoverished family of a tobacconist. Krag attended the local gymnasium, and as a teenager, he joined the Social Democratic Youth of Denmark, the youth wing of Social Democratic Party. In 1933, Krag began studying economics at the University of Copenhagen. During this period, he emerged as an active journalist and teacher in the labour movement, and became acquainted with the leadership of the Social Democrats and the trade unions.

Following the Nazi invasion of Denmark, Krag received his degree in 1940. During the Nazi occupation, Krag worked as a civil servant in a Danish government agency and became a leading economic advisor to the labour movement, as well as a protégé of prominent social democrat and future prime minister Hans Hedtoft.

Political career

In 1944, Krag began his political career as the secretary of a program committee set up by the Social Democratic Party, as it prepared itself for politics in the post-war period. Under his leadership, the committee developed the new party program "Denmark of the Future" (Fremtidens Danmark), which presented proposals for nationalisation and notions of Keynesian economics and economic democracy. Despite the party's poor performance in the first post-war election in 1945, Krag and new party program of the Social Democrats achieved notoriety in Danish politics under Vilheim Buhl's cabinet.

Member of Folketing

Krag was elected to Parliament (Folketing) in 1947 and was appointed Minister of Commerce. He supported the strengthening of the Danish military and Danish membership of NATO in 1949.

In 1950, Krag resigned from Parliament partially due to a conflict with Vilhelm Buhl and H. C. Hansen and, in order to become more fluent in the English language and see more of the world, requested a position at the Danish embassy in the United States. He received the position, and was in America until 1953 when he was re-elected to parliament and became a minister without portfolio. He was minister of the new department of foreign economic affairs from 1953 until 1958 and Foreign Minister from 1958 until 1962.

Prime minister

In September 1962 he succeeded Viggo Kampmann as prime minister and leader of the Danish Social Democratic Party. He was prime minister until February 1968 when the Social Democrats lost power. He became prime minister again in 1971 when his party returned to power. Less than a year into his first term as prime minister, the opposition held a referendum which rejected a set of land laws already passed by Krag's government.

During his second term as prime minister, Krag campaigned particularly for European cooperation and unity. He sponsored a referendum for Denmark to join the European Economic Community. In 1972 the referendum passed, but the nation was divided over the issue, and Krag resigned, claiming that he had become tired of politics. His last role in public life was as the European Common Market representative to the United States from 1974 until 1975.

In social policy, a number of progressive reforms were implemented during Krag's time as prime minister. Under the New Care of Children and Juveniles Act of May 1964, local child and juvenile welfare committees were authorized to grant cash benefits to certain families with children, to avoid placing children in the care of the Municipal Social Welfare Offices. New criteria for day-care institutions stressing social, educational, and therapeutic aspects were also introduced, and municipalities were obliged to provide facilities for day-care and other related services. Under the Employment Service and Unemployment Insurance Act of February 1967, unemployment benefits were raised and indexed to the official wage index and waiting times were abolished. In addition, an accident insurance act of December 1964 indexed benefits. The Basic Education Act of April 1972 extended compulsory basic education from 7 to 9 years. while A law passed in June 1972 introduced a new scheme for daily cash benefits in cases of sickness and maternity. In 1964, a supplementary pension scheme was established, together with universal child allowances in 1967.

Personal life

Krag had a difficult personal life. He married two times, with two marriages ending in divorce, largely due to his own infidelity.

In 1950, he married his first wife, Swedish actress Birgit Tengroth. They officially divorced in 1952 after two years marriage; the couple had no children. Seven years later, he was married his second wife, Danish actress Helle Virkner (1925–2009) from 1959 until their divorce in 1973. The couple had two children, Jens Christian (son) (born 1960) and Astrid Helene "Søsser" (daughter) (1962–2014), as well as another child outside of wedlock (Peter Hansted). During his time in politics, Krug struggled with alcoholism, an addiction that became more pronounced after his retirement.

Krag was an atheist.

Death and legacy

Krag died of congestive heart failure at his home in Skiveren, Ålbæk, Denmark, at the age of 63.

In Denmark, Krag is widely recognized as one of the greatest Danish politicians of all time. He was in the front line of politics for 25 years, holding high ministerial offices for most of that time. He managed to raise Denmark's profile on the world stage, striking up strong relationships with fellow European leaders as well as American presidents Kennedy and Johnson. His list of political achievements is also one of the most impressive, overseeing one of the longest periods of economic expansion in Danish history. However, his largest achievement, and the one he himself was most proud of, was taking Denmark into the European Economic Community in 1973. With that task accomplished he felt he could retire at a high point.

Krag was at one and the same time one of the most charismatic and withdrawn Danish politicians ever. He never enjoyed the attention to which he had to subject himself, and many people found him rather arrogant. According to his most thorough (and quite sympathetic) biographer (Bo Lidegaard, Krag I-II, 2001/2002), he never truly settled into the role as a politician, always considering himself on the way "to somewhere else." He had always dreamed of holding the position of governor of the National Bank of Denmark. Only when he had definitively quit politics in 1972 did he realise that he would not be able to achieve this goal.

In the Danish TV series Krøniken (2004–2006), he was portrayed by the actor Lars Mikkelsen.

References

1. ^ Mogens N. Pedersen (1995). "JENS OTTO KRAG". In David Wilsford (ed.). Political Leaders of Contemporary Western Europe: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313286230.
2. ^ Skou, Kaare R. (2005). Dansk politik A-Å (in Danish). Aschehoug, pp. 404-405. ISBN 87-11-11652-8.
3. Growth to Limits: The Western European Welfare States Since World War II, Volume 4 edited by Peter Flora
4. Flora, P. (1986). Growth to Limits: The Western European Welfare States Since World War II. Vol. 3. W. de Gruyter. p. 203. ISBN 9783110111330. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
5. Leibfried, S.; Bonoli, G. (2001). Welfare State Futures. Cambridge University Press. p. 97. ISBN 9780521005128. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
6. Sainsbury, D. (2012). Welfare States and Immigrant Rights: The Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion. OUP Oxford. p. 106. ISBN 9780199654789. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
7. Politiken, "Folkekirken har brug for frisind", August 19, 2012. "De socialdemokratiske statsministre Stauning, Hedtoft, H.C. Hansen og J. O. Krag var ateister og ikke medlemmer af folkekirken". "The Danish prime ministers Stauning, Hedtoft, H.C. Hansen and J.O. Krag were atheists and not members of the Church of Denmark".
8. Lidegaard, Bo (2001). Jens Otto Krag - 1914–1961 (in Danish). Gyldendal. ISBN 978-87-02-02203-2.
9. Krøniken Archived 2013-04-16 at the Wayback Machine - DR.dk. (in Danish) Retrieved 13 February 2012.
10. Mette Hjort (1 September 2011). Lone Scherfig's Italian for Beginners. University of Washington Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-295-80196-4.

Further reading

• Wilsford, David, ed. Political leaders of contemporary Western Europe: a biographical dictionary (Greenwood, 1995) pp. 253–59.

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• 1914 births
• 1978 deaths
• Danish atheists
• People from Randers
• University of Copenhagen alumni
• Ministers of foreign affairs of Denmark
• Members of the Folketing
• Prime ministers of Denmark
• Burials at Vestre Cemetery, Copenhagen
• 20th-century Danish politicians
• Leaders of the Social Democrats (Denmark)