Claus Toksvig
Encyclopedia
Claus Toksvig was a Danish
journalist
and broadcaster
who, as the Danish Broadcasting Corporation's first ever permanent foreign correspondent
, is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest figures in Danish broadcasting
history.
In later life he turned his attention to politics
. In 1984, having won one of the highest number of popular votes
ever recorded by a Danish politician
, he was elected as a member of the European Parliament
and served briefly as one of the European Parliament
's fourteen Vice-Presidents.
's Danish language
broadcasts, in London
, Toksvig held numerous appointments in journalism and broadcasting.
He was part of the original team of reporters on TV Avisen, the first daily evening television news programme broadcast by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) in 1965; and in 1967 he was posted to New York
as DR's first ever permanent foreign correspondent.
After fifteen years of continuous service as a foreign correspondent, in New York and London; he resigned his position with DR in a dispute over working conditions and their intention to rotate him out of his posting to London, where his family were settled and he had established a permanent home.
As a broadcaster, he is probably most popularly remembered as the man providing the live Danish commentary on the Apollo 11
mission and Neil Armstrong
's first moon walk.
candidate for the European Parliament
and was elected as a member of the European Parliament
(MEP) by one of the largest popular votes ever achieved by a Danish politician.
He served three successive terms
as the Vice-Chairman of the European Democrats
(ED) grouping within the parliament, was for a short time one of the fourteen Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament, chaired the EU delegation
for relations with Norway
and served as a member on the European Parliament's standing committees
on: Institutional Affairs; Political Affairs; and Energy
, Research
and Technology
. In 1987 he stood for the chairmanship of the ED group, but was defeated by Christopher Prout
.
Claus Toksvig died before the completion of his first term as an MEP.
and illustrator
, and Karen Frederikke Clausen-Kaas.
In 1954, whilst working for the BBC World Service in London, Toksvig married Julie Anne Brett and together they had three children: Nick Toksvig (a bureau chief and senior news editor for Al Jazeera English), Sandi Toksvig
(a comedienne
, author
and broadcaster) and Jenifer Toksvig (an author, lyricist
and playwright
).
He died on 4 November 1988 and was laid to rest at the Nørup cemetery, in the Vejle municipality
of Jutland
.
) in both the English and Danish language versions of the 1961 Danish-American co-production of Reptilicus
; which, as the country's first and only giant monster film, has a large cult following
in Denmark.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
who, as the Danish Broadcasting Corporation's first ever permanent foreign correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
, is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest figures in Danish broadcasting
Television in Denmark
Television in Denmark was established in the 1950s and was run by a monopoly with only one channel available until the 1980s.-History:The first television broadcasts in Denmark started on 2 October 1951. These were carried out by the national radio broadcaster Statsradiofonien and consisted of a...
history.
In later life he turned his attention to politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
. In 1984, having won one of the highest number of popular votes
Voting
Voting is a method for a group such as a meeting or an electorate to make a decision or express an opinion—often following discussions, debates, or election campaigns. It is often found in democracies and republics.- Reasons for voting :...
ever recorded by a Danish politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, he was elected as a member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
and served briefly as one of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
's fourteen Vice-Presidents.
Journalism and broadcasting
Commencing with five years spent working on the BBC World ServiceBBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
's Danish language
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
broadcasts, in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Toksvig held numerous appointments in journalism and broadcasting.
He was part of the original team of reporters on TV Avisen, the first daily evening television news programme broadcast by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) in 1965; and in 1967 he was posted to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
as DR's first ever permanent foreign correspondent.
After fifteen years of continuous service as a foreign correspondent, in New York and London; he resigned his position with DR in a dispute over working conditions and their intention to rotate him out of his posting to London, where his family were settled and he had established a permanent home.
As a broadcaster, he is probably most popularly remembered as the man providing the live Danish commentary on the Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
mission and Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....
's first moon walk.
- 1951–1956: Production assistant with the BBC World Service's Danish language broadcasts, in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. - 1956–1958: Reporter for the Federal Broadcasting Corporation, in the then Federation of Rhodesia and NyasalandFederation of Rhodesia and NyasalandThe Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation , was a semi-independent state in southern Africa that existed from 1953 to the end of 1963, comprising the former self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia,...
. - 1958–1967: Reporter and anchor with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) news and current affairs programming, in CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. - 1967–1974: Posted to New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
as DR's first ever permanent foreign correspondent. - a period during which he is remembered for covering such events as the Apollo 11Apollo 11In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
mission, the Watergate scandalWatergate scandalThe Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
, the assassinations of Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther King, as well as notable periods of the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. - 1974–1982: London correspondent for DR.
- 1982: Resigned his position with DR.
Politics
In 1984, Claus Toksvig stood as a Conservative People's PartyConservative People's Party (Denmark)
The Conservative People's Party , also known as Conservatives is a Danish political party.-History:The party was founded 1915 based mostly on its predecessor, Højre , but also on the Free Conservatives and a moderate faction of Venstre , the liberals.The party has participated in several coalition...
candidate for the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
and was elected as a member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
(MEP) by one of the largest popular votes ever achieved by a Danish politician.
He served three successive terms
Term of office
Term of office or term in office refers to the length of time a person serves in a particular office.-Prime Minister:In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister has no term limits...
as the Vice-Chairman of the European Democrats
European Democrats
The European Democrats was a loose association of conservative political parties in Europe. It is a political group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe...
(ED) grouping within the parliament, was for a short time one of the fourteen Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament, chaired the EU delegation
Delegate
A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization at a meeting or conference between organizations of the same level A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization (e.g., a government, a charity, an NGO, or a trade union) at a meeting or conference...
for relations with Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and served as a member on the European Parliament's standing committees
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
on: Institutional Affairs; Political Affairs; and Energy
Energy development
Energy development is the effort to provide sufficient primary energy sources and secondary energy forms for supply, cost, impact on air pollution and water pollution, mitigation of climate change with renewable energy....
, Research
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
and Technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. In 1987 he stood for the chairmanship of the ED group, but was defeated by Christopher Prout
Christopher Prout, Baron Kingsland
Christopher James Prout, Baron Kingsland TD QC PC was a British barrister and politician in the Conservative Party. He is perhaps most well known for serving as the leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament and his role in initiating their association with the European People's Party...
.
Claus Toksvig died before the completion of his first term as an MEP.
Personal life
Claus Toksvig was born in Copenhagen in 1929 and was the second child of Harald Toksvig (Toxvig), a well-known editorEditor
The term editor may refer to:As a person who does editing:* Editor in chief, having final responsibility for a publication's operations and policies* Copy editing, making formatting changes and other improvements to text...
and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, and Karen Frederikke Clausen-Kaas.
In 1954, whilst working for the BBC World Service in London, Toksvig married Julie Anne Brett and together they had three children: Nick Toksvig (a bureau chief and senior news editor for Al Jazeera English), Sandi Toksvig
Sandi Toksvig
Sandra Brigitte “Sandi” Toksvig is a Danish comedian, author and presenter on British radio and television.-Career:...
(a comedienne
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and broadcaster) and Jenifer Toksvig (an author, lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
).
He died on 4 November 1988 and was laid to rest at the Nørup cemetery, in the Vejle municipality
Vejle municipality
Vejle Municipality is a municipality in Region of Southern Denmark on the Jutland peninsula in southeast Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,055 km², and has a total population of 106,383...
of Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
.
Filmography
Claus Toksvig appeared as himself (and the narratorNarrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
) in both the English and Danish language versions of the 1961 Danish-American co-production of Reptilicus
Reptilicus
Reptilicus, a giant monster film about a fictional prehistoric reptile, is a Danish-American co-production, produced by American International Pictures and Saga Studios, and is upon close examination two distinctly different films helmed by two different directors.The original version, which was...
; which, as the country's first and only giant monster film, has a large cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
in Denmark.
External links
- Claus Toksvig at the Internet Movie Database
- Claus Toksvig at the Danish Film Institute (Det Danske Filminstitut)Danish Film InstituteThe Danish Film Institute is the national Danish agency responsible for supporting and encouraging film and cinema culture, and for conserving these in the national interest....
- Claus Toksvig at the European ParliamentEuropean ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
- Claus Toksvig at Gravsted (a Danish index of the final resting places of famous Danes), which includes a picture of his grave at Nørup Cemetery in Jutland. Accessed 26 May 2010.
- Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) archive audio clip of Claus Toksvig providing the live Danish commentary on Neil Armstrong exiting the Apollo Lunar Module and setting foot on the moon on July 21, 1969 (the recording lasts 8 minutes and 46 seconds - the celebrated “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, which Toksvig doesn't translate, is heard at 6 minutes 37 seconds). Accessed 26 May 2010.
- Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) archive audio clip of Claus Toksvig providing the live Danish commentary to the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana SpencerWedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana SpencerThe wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Frances Spencer took place on Wednesday, 29 July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral, London, United Kingdom. Their marriage was widely billed as a "fairytale wedding" and the "wedding of the century". It was watched by an estimated global TV...
, on 29 July 1981. Accessed 26 May 2010.