Gerhard Louis De Geer

The king called De Geer to the office of prime minister, in a coalition government of liberals and moderate conservatives. The government was to sit until the parliamentary elections in October 1921, the first elections with general voting rights.

Neither the left nor the right parties supported De Geer and his government. When a proposition on higher duty on coffee, by minister of finance Henric Tamm, was heavily voted down, Tamm put himself up for a vote of confidence, and was forced to resign office. Three days later, De Geer followed his resignation. De Geer's resignation came after the other ministers of the government had composed a joint letter of resignation, demanding the king to choose between them and the prime minister.

Person

In the early 1900s Louis De Geer was everything a politician should be: from a noble family and a high-ranking government official. His father had implemented the representationsreformen in 1865, and now he would hand over power to the parties after the first election with general voting rights.

Political beliefs

He strongly opposed any plans to keep the union between Sweden and Norway against the will of the Norwegian people. In the issue of voting rights, he joined the liberal party line and the demands for majority elections. He was a clear proponent of a strong army, unlike the liberal party leader Karl Staaff.

De Geer was of a reclusive and mild character. Neither the left nor the right felt compelled to support his government – on the contrary, both sides wanted to be able to portray the government as an enemy for the coming election.

See also

• Swedish Prime Ministers

References

Bibliography

Books