Thorvald Stauning
Encyclopedia
Thorvald August Marinus Stauning (26 October 1873, Copenhagen
– 3 May 1942) was the first social democratic
Prime Minister of Denmark
. He served as Prime Minister from 1924 to 1926 and again from 1929 until his death in 1942.
Under Stauning's leadership Denmark, like the other Scandinavian countries, developed a social welfare state, and though many of his ambitions for Social Democracy were ultimately thwarted, in his lifetime, by events beyond his control, his leadership through grave times places Stauning among the most admired of twentieth-century Danish statesmen.
activity. From 1896 to 1908 he was leader of the Cigar Sorters' Union, in 1898 – 1904 also editor of the magazine Samarbejdet (Co-operation) of the Federation of Trade Unions, and elected Member of Parliament (Folketinget) in 1906.
In 1910 he was elected chairman of the Social Democratic Party (Socialdemokratiet), a position he retained for almost thirty years, until 1939. After participating as Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet of Zahle II from 1916 to 1920, he returned to government as prime minister in 1924 for the minority cabinet Cabinet of Thorvald Stauning I which would survive until 1926. His cabinet was considered ground-breaking not only as it was the first purely Social Democratic cabinet, but also because a woman, Nina Bang
, was appointed Minister of Education, which attracted some international attention, as she was one of the first female ministers in the world.
From 1929 he led the successful coalition cabinet Cabinet of Thorvald Stauning II with the social liberal Det Radikale Venstre
party that would steer Denmark out of the Great Depression
, shaping a major political compromise that greatly improved the Danish economy
, and also transformed the Social Democratic Party from a class party to a popular party.
Under Stauning's leadership Denmark, like the other Scandinavia
n countries, developed a social welfare state
. It's often proposed that the long-lived coalition cabinet actively averted the communist and fascist movements that were sweeping much of Europe
from developing a strong following in Denmark.
In January 1933, Stauning's government entered into what was then the most extensive settlement yet in Danish politics—the Kanslergade settlement —with the liberal party Venstre
. The settlement, which was named after Stauning's apartment in Kanslergade in Copenhagen
, included extensive agricultural subsidies and reforms of the legislation and administration in the social sector.
Stauning holds a record in Danish politics, in having successfully sought re-election no less than three times (1932, 1935, 1939). However, an attempt to amend the Constitution failed in 1939, as the turnout in the referendum
was insufficient to validate the result. This came as a tremendous blow to Stauning, who seemed to lose his previously sure touch for politics thereafter. He reportedly considered resigning in the wake of the referendum failure, but was persuaded to stay on.
Stauning's second cabinet lasted until Operation Weserübung, the Nazi
occupation of Denmark
began April 9, 1940, when the cabinet was widened to include all political parties, called the Cabinet of Thorvald Stauning III. Contrary to most other governments of the Nazi-invaded countries, King Christian X of Denmark
and his government ordered the army
and navy
to stop fighting, and chose to remain in their country also under the occupation, which is believed to have contributed to the Nazi years being more lenient in Denmark than in other countries under Hitler's control. He died in 1942, deeply depressed about the future of Social Democracy in a Nazi-dominated Europe.
in Sweden
, Stauning was a charismatic leader who played an important role in integrating Danish society after the social changes following the Industrial Revolution
and common suffrage. His campaign slogan, "Stauning or Chaos," resonated in a nation undergoing a period of massive unemployment caused by the economic, social and political turmoil of its neighbors and trading partners, notably Denmark's chief trading partner Germany
. The following Great Depression
brought Danish unemployment to unprecedented heights. This period of widespread social malaise was fertile ground for populist leaders like Franklin D. Roosevelt
, Adolf Hitler
and Benito Mussolini
, who could communicate a confident and coherent vision to the masses. Stauning was such a man for Denmark, and his popularity won the Social Democratic Party 46% of the total votes in the 1935 Folketing election
, a figure never again reached by this or any other Danish party.
He was given a state funeral in 1942, an honour normally not bestowed on Danish prime ministers. Although Denmark's relationship with Germany during World War II has been controversial, Stauning's legacy in Denmark remains positive. His popularity in the 1930s acted as a force limiting the growth of other populist parties, most importantly, the Nazi party, which remained politically insignificant. Stauning also played a major role in containing the constitutional Easter Crisis of 1920
where he brokered a deal with the king
in which the monarch accepted a reduction of his own role to a merely symbolical one, avoiding any future interference in the functioning of parliamentary democracy. In return, Stauning kept the pro-republican elements of the Social Democratic Party in line, and ensured his party's political support to the continuation of the Danish monarchy. His government was also responsible for laying the foundations to the future Danish welfare state
.
Copenhagen
Copenhagen 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...
– 3 May 1942) was the first social democratic
Social Democrats (Denmark)
The Social Democrats , is a Danish political party committed to the political ideology of social democracy. It is the major coalition partner in Denmark's government since the 2011 parliamentary election, and party leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt is the current Prime Minister of Denmark...
Prime Minister of Denmark
Prime Minister of Denmark
The Prime Minister of Denmark is the head of government in Danish politics. The Prime Minister is traditionally the leader of a political coalition in the Folketing and presides over the cabinet....
. He served as Prime Minister from 1924 to 1926 and again from 1929 until his death in 1942.
Under Stauning's leadership Denmark, like the other Scandinavian countries, developed a social welfare state, and though many of his ambitions for Social Democracy were ultimately thwarted, in his lifetime, by events beyond his control, his leadership through grave times places Stauning among the most admired of twentieth-century Danish statesmen.
Biography
Stauning was trained as a cigar sorter and soon became involved with trade unionTrade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
activity. From 1896 to 1908 he was leader of the Cigar Sorters' Union, in 1898 – 1904 also editor of the magazine Samarbejdet (Co-operation) of the Federation of Trade Unions, and elected Member of Parliament (Folketinget) in 1906.
In 1910 he was elected chairman of the Social Democratic Party (Socialdemokratiet), a position he retained for almost thirty years, until 1939. After participating as Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet of Zahle II from 1916 to 1920, he returned to government as prime minister in 1924 for the minority cabinet Cabinet of Thorvald Stauning I which would survive until 1926. His cabinet was considered ground-breaking not only as it was the first purely Social Democratic cabinet, but also because a woman, Nina Bang
Nina Bang
Nina Henriette Wendeline Bang née Ellinger was a Danish social democratic politician and historian...
, was appointed Minister of Education, which attracted some international attention, as she was one of the first female ministers in the world.
From 1929 he led the successful coalition cabinet Cabinet of Thorvald Stauning II with the social liberal Det Radikale Venstre
Det Radikale Venstre
The Danish Social Liberal Party is a social liberal political party in Denmark. The party is a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.-Origin:...
party that would steer Denmark out of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, shaping a major political compromise that greatly improved the Danish economy
Economy of Denmark
With very few natural resources, the economy of Denmark relies almost entirely on human resources. The service sector makes up the vast amount of the employment and economy. Its industrialised market economy depends on imported raw materials and foreign trade. Within the European Union, Denmark...
, and also transformed the Social Democratic Party from a class party to a popular party.
Under Stauning's leadership Denmark, like the other Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n countries, developed a social welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
. It's often proposed that the long-lived coalition cabinet actively averted the communist and fascist movements that were sweeping much of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
from developing a strong following in Denmark.
In January 1933, Stauning's government entered into what was then the most extensive settlement yet in Danish politics—the Kanslergade settlement —with the liberal party Venstre
Venstre (Denmark)
VenstreThe party name is officially not translated into any other language, but is in English often referred to as the Liberal Party. Similar rules apply for the name of the party's youth wing Venstres Ungdom. , full name Venstre, Danmarks Liberale Parti , is the largest political party in Denmark...
. The settlement, which was named after Stauning's apartment in Kanslergade in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen 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...
, included extensive agricultural subsidies and reforms of the legislation and administration in the social sector.
Stauning holds a record in Danish politics, in having successfully sought re-election no less than three times (1932, 1935, 1939). However, an attempt to amend the Constitution failed in 1939, as the turnout in the referendum
Danish constitutional referendum, 1939
A constitutional referendum was held in Denmark on 23 May 1939. Voters were asked whether they approved of a new constitution. Although it was approved by 91.9% of those who voted, a turnout of only 48.9% meant that the percentage of eligible voters approving it was only 44.46%, below the 45%...
was insufficient to validate the result. This came as a tremendous blow to Stauning, who seemed to lose his previously sure touch for politics thereafter. He reportedly considered resigning in the wake of the referendum failure, but was persuaded to stay on.
Stauning's second cabinet lasted until Operation Weserübung, the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
occupation of Denmark
Occupation of Denmark
Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark began with Operation Weserübung on 9 April 1940, and lasted until German forces withdrew at the end of World War II following their surrender to the Allies on 5 May 1945. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupation, most Danish...
began April 9, 1940, when the cabinet was widened to include all political parties, called the Cabinet of Thorvald Stauning III. Contrary to most other governments of the Nazi-invaded countries, King Christian X of Denmark
Christian X of Denmark
Christian X was King of Denmark from 1912 to 1947 and the only King of Iceland between 1918 and 1944....
and his government ordered the army
Royal Danish Army
The Royal Danish Army is the land warfare branch of the Danish Defence Forces, together with the Danish Home Guard.For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures, equipment and training methods, abandoning its traditional role of anti-invasion...
and navy
Royal Danish Navy
The Royal Danish Navy is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish, Greenlandic and Faroese territorial waters...
to stop fighting, and chose to remain in their country also under the occupation, which is believed to have contributed to the Nazi years being more lenient in Denmark than in other countries under Hitler's control. He died in 1942, deeply depressed about the future of Social Democracy in a Nazi-dominated Europe.
Legacy
Like many other workers' leaders of his generation, such as Hjalmar BrantingHjalmar Branting
was a Swedish politician. He was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party , and Prime Minister during three separate periods . When Branting came to power in 1920, he was the first Social Democratic Prime Minister of Sweden...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Stauning was a charismatic leader who played an important role in integrating Danish society after the social changes following the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
and common suffrage. His campaign slogan, "Stauning or Chaos," resonated in a nation undergoing a period of massive unemployment caused by the economic, social and political turmoil of its neighbors and trading partners, notably Denmark's chief trading partner Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The following Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
brought Danish unemployment to unprecedented heights. This period of widespread social malaise was fertile ground for populist leaders like Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, who could communicate a confident and coherent vision to the masses. Stauning was such a man for Denmark, and his popularity won the Social Democratic Party 46% of the total votes in the 1935 Folketing election
Danish Folketing election, 1935
Folketing elections were held in Denmark on 22 October 1935, except in the Faroe Islands where they were held on 11 November. The Social Democratic Party remained the largest in the Folketing, with 68 of the 149 seats. Voter turnout was 80.7% in Denmark proper and 55.4% in the...
, a figure never again reached by this or any other Danish party.
He was given a state funeral in 1942, an honour normally not bestowed on Danish prime ministers. Although Denmark's relationship with Germany during World War II has been controversial, Stauning's legacy in Denmark remains positive. His popularity in the 1930s acted as a force limiting the growth of other populist parties, most importantly, the Nazi party, which remained politically insignificant. Stauning also played a major role in containing the constitutional Easter Crisis of 1920
Easter Crisis of 1920
The Easter Crisis of 1920 was a constitutional crisis and a significant event in the development of constitutional monarchy in Denmark. It began with the dismissal of the elected government by the reigning monarch, King Christian X, a reserve power which was granted to him by the Danish constitution...
where he brokered a deal with the king
Christian X of Denmark
Christian X was King of Denmark from 1912 to 1947 and the only King of Iceland between 1918 and 1944....
in which the monarch accepted a reduction of his own role to a merely symbolical one, avoiding any future interference in the functioning of parliamentary democracy. In return, Stauning kept the pro-republican elements of the Social Democratic Party in line, and ensured his party's political support to the continuation of the Danish monarchy. His government was also responsible for laying the foundations to the future Danish welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
.