Jens Christian Christensen

Jens Christian Christensen ( born November 21, 1856 in Påbøl, West Jutland, † December 19, 1930 in Hee at Ringkøbing ) was a Danish liberal politician and Prime Minister.

Family and career

The son of a small farmer had to contribute as herders livelihood of the family in his childhood. Later he managed the completion of a teaching degree. After its completion in 1877, he then worked for several years as a teacher.

MP and party leader

From a young age he was politically active and initially belonged to the Liberal party Venstre. In 1890, he was first elected Members of Parliament the Folketing, in which he represented the constituency Ringkøbing until 1924. As such, he strove in his last two years of life particular to the cultivation of the moors of Jutland.

After the death of Christians mountain whose reformist parliamentary group Christensen elected on 28 November 1891 its chairman. In 1895 he founded as a splinter group of the Liberal Party, the Liberal Reform Party ( Venstrereformpartiet ), whose chairman he was. In this capacity he was in the following years the authoritative leader of the opposition to the right-wing governments.

Ascent to the Prime Minister

After the success of Venstre and the related parties in the election in 1901, he was appointed by Prime Minister Johan Henrik Deuntzer on July 24, 1901 Minister of Culture. This office he held until the end of Deuntzers term of office on 14 January 1905. Christensen was involved in the launch of the nationwide village school system.

On 14 January 1905 he was by King Christian IX. appointed head of government ( Konseilspræsident ). During his last until October 11, 1908 term of office, he also assumed the post of defense minister. During his reign, among other things, women's suffrage was introduced at the community level. In addition, he also worked to bring the solution to defense policy issues. Politically he tried to reunite the Liberal Party, which he avoided an integration of Links Liberal Party ( Det Radical Venstre ) by Carl Theodor Zahle.

After he had on 11 October 1908 to resign over a corruption scandal around his Minister of Justice Peter Adler Alberti, the embezzlement was accused of 18 million crowns and was sentenced later to several years in prison, was his former finance minister Niels Neergaard of Frederick VIII on October 12, 1908 appointed head of government. The scandal- induced resignation resulted in the following years to a weakening of Christensen's political role.

Parliament Minister and Minister

It was only on March 15, 1912, he again reached a top political position, chose him as the Folketing as its President. This office he held until June 13, 1913.

On September 30, 1916 Prime Minister Zahle appointed him as Minister without portfolio in his cabinet. This office he held until January 18, 1918. Last Christensen was on May 5, 1920 to August 15, 1922 to the Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs in the second cabinet Neergaard.