Thorvald Stauning
| Thorvald Stauning | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Prime Minister of Denmark | |
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In office 24 April 1924 – 14 December 1926 |
|
| Monarch | Christian X |
| Preceded by | Niels Neergaard |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Madsen-Mygdal |
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In office 30 April 1929 – 3 May 1942 |
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| Monarch | Christian X |
| Preceded by | Thomas Madsen-Mygdal |
| Succeeded by | Vilhelm Buhl |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
26 October 1873 Copenhagen |
| Died | 3 May 1942 (aged 68) Copenhagen |
| Political party | Social Democrats |
Thorvald August Marinus Stauning (Danish: [ˈtˢoɐ̯ʋælˀ ˈsd̥æʊ̯neŋ]; 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.
The Stauning Alps, a large mountain range in Greenland, were named after him.
Stauning was trained as a cigar sorter and soon became involved with trade union 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.
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