Vilhelm Buhl

Vilhelm Buhl
11th Prime Minister of Denmark
In office 5 May 1945 – 7 November 1945
Monarch	Christian X
Preceded by	German military rule Erik Scavenius (last prime minister)
Succeeded by	Knud Kristensen
In office 4 May 1942 – 9 November 1942
Monarch	Christian X
Preceded by	Thorvald Stauning
Succeeded by	Erik Scavenius
Minister for Finance
In office 20 July 1937 – 16 July 1942
Prime Minister	Thorvald Stauning Himself
Preceded by	Hans Peter Hansen
Succeeded by	Alsing Andersen
Personal details
Born	(1881-10-16)16 October 1881 Fredericia, Denmark
Died	18 December 1954(1954-12-18) (aged 73) Copenhagen, Denmark
Resting place	Vestre Cemetery in Copenhagen
Political party	Social Democrats
Spouse	Thyra Thygesen Schmidt ​ ​ (m. 1908)​
Children	4
Alma mater	University of Copenhagen (LL.B)

Vilhelm Buhl (16 October 1881 – 18 December 1954) was a Danish politician, who served as the Prime Minister of Denmark from 5 May 1945 to 7 November 1945 as head of Buhl Cabinet I after the liberation of Denmark by British Field Marshal Montgomery. Previously, during World War II, from 4 May to 9 November 1942, Buhl was served as the first head of government of Denmark as a unity government following the death of Thorvald Stauning from the war occupation.

Many Danes are often refer to him as "Dansk Befrielsesdag" (Danish Liberation Day); he is generally considered one of the main architects of the post-war rebuilding of Denmark after World War II. Since the introduction of parliamentarism and with the end of Nazi invasions of two Scandinavian countries, such as Denmark and Norway during and after World War II, Buhl is one of his served as six-month Prime Minister in Danish history.

Early life and career

Buhl was born on 16 October 1881 in Fredericia, Denmark to his father, Hans Peter Buhl, and his mother, Magdalene Augusta Johanne Buhl (née Rasmussen). He is married to Thyra Thygesen Schmidt (b. 29 January 1880 – 11 March 1959) on 20 November 1908 in Fredericia, Denmark. The couple have four children.

Buhl was a member of the Social Democrats. He joined the party while a law student at the University of Copenhagen. Buhl held the post of Finance Minister in the cabinets of Thorvald Stauning from 20 July 1937 to 16 July 1942.

During the first five-year period of Nazi occupation of Denmark, Thorvald Stauning had created a unity government. When Thorvald Stauning died from the war occupation in May 1942, Buhl succeeded him. This government only lasted six months due to the diplomatic incident, the Telegram Crisis, in which King Christian X sent a short and formal reply to a long birthday telegram from Adolf Hitler. Hitler was outraged by this insult. As of result in November of the same year, Buhl was replaced by Erik Scavenius. Werner Best was sent to Denmark as a new tough Nazi commander.

After the liberation of Denmark on 5 May 1945, politicians and resistance fighters formed a unity government (Cabinet of Vilhelm Buhl II). Many Danes were dissatisfied with the politicians because of their policy of cooperation with the Germans that had dominated at the start of the war, hence the inclusion of the resistance fighters. Notable members of the cabinet included Aksel Larsen, Hans Hedtoft, H. C. Hansen, Knud Kristensen and John Christmas Møller. In social policy, the government presided over the passage of the Housing Obligation Act of August 1945, introduced obligatory allocation of vacant housing to ensure that vacant flats were let in the first instance to those with low incomes, while also establishing tight rent controls. The government also presided over the trials of the people who had cooperated with the Germans, as a result of which 45 persons were executed. After the elections in October 1945 Knud Kristensen became the new prime minister.

Death

Buhl died of natural causes on 18 December 1954 at the age of 73. He was buried at the Vestre Cemetery in Copenhagen, Denmark.

References

• Kristian Hvidt, Statsministre i Danmark fra 1913 til 1995 (1995)
• Growth to Limits: The Western European Welfare States Since World War II, Volume 4 edited by Peter Flora

External links

• Media related to Vilhelm Buhl at Wikimedia Commons
• Newspaper clippings about Vilhelm Buhl in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW