Jens Otto Krag

Jens Otto Krag (Danish pronunciation:

Krag was born on 15 September 1914 in Randers, Jutland, into the impoverished family of a tobacconist.^[1] Krag attended the local gymnasium, and as a teenager, he joined the Social Democratic Youth of Denmark, the youth wing of Social Democratic Party.^[1] In 1933, Krag began studying economics at the University of Copenhagen. During this period, he emerged as an active journalist and teacher in the labour movement, and became acquainted with the leadership of the Social Democrats and the trade unions.^[1]

Following the Nazi invasion of Denmark, Krag received his degree in 1940.^[1] During the Nazi occupation, Krag worked as a civil servant in a Danish government agency and became a leading economic advisor to the labour movement, as well as a protégé of prominent social democrat and future prime minister Hans Hedtoft.^[1]

In 1944, Krag began his political career as the secretary of a program committee set up by the Social Democratic Party, as it prepared itself for politics in the post-war period.

Krag was elected to Parliament (Folketing) in 1947 and was appointed Minister of Commerce. He supported the strengthening of the Danish military and Danish membership of NATO in 1949.

In 1950, Krag resigned from Parliament partially due to a conflict with

In September 1962 he succeeded

During his second term as prime minister, Krag campaigned particularly for European cooperation and unity.[2] He sponsored a referendum for Denmark to join the European Economic Community. In 1972 the referendum passed, but the nation was divided over the issue, and Krag resigned, claiming that he had become tired of politics. His last role in public life was as the European Common Market representative to the United States from 1974 until 1975.

In social policy, a number of progressive reforms were implemented during Krag's time as prime minister. Under the New Care of Children and Juveniles Act of May 1964, local child and juvenile welfare committees were authorized to grant cash benefits to certain families with children, to avoid placing children in the care of the Municipal Social Welfare Offices. New criteria for day-care institutions stressing social, educational, and therapeutic aspects were also introduced, and municipalities were obliged to provide facilities for day-care and other related services. Under the Employment Service and Unemployment Insurance Act of February 1967, unemployment benefits were raised and indexed to the official wage index and waiting times were abolished. In addition, an accident insurance act of December 1964 indexed benefits. The Basic Education Act of April 1972 extended compulsory basic education from 7 to 9 years.^[3] while A law passed in June 1972 introduced a new scheme for daily cash benefits in cases of sickness and maternity.^[4] In 1964, a supplementary pension scheme was established,^[5] together with universal child allowances in 1967.^[6]

Krag had a difficult personal life. He married two times, with two marriages ending in divorce, largely due to his own infidelity.

In 1950, he married his first wife, Swedish actress Birgit Tengroth. They officially divorced in 1952 after two years marriage; the couple had no children. Seven years later, he was married his second wife, Danish actress Helle Virkner (1925–2009) from 1959 until their divorce in 1973. The couple had two children, Jens Christian (son) (born 1960) and Astrid Helene "Søsser" (daughter) (1962–2014), as well as another child outside of wedlock (Peter Hansted). During his time in politics, Krug struggled with alcoholism, an addiction that became more pronounced after his retirement.

Krag was an atheist.^[7]

Krag died of congestive heart failure at his home in Skiveren, Ålbæk, Denmark, at the age of 63.

In Denmark, Krag is widely recognized as one of the greatest Danish politicians of all time.^[2] He was in the front line of politics for 25 years, holding high ministerial offices for most of that time. He managed to raise Denmark's profile on the world stage, striking up strong relationships with fellow European leaders as well as American presidents Kennedy and Johnson. His list of political achievements is also one of the most impressive, overseeing one of the longest periods of economic expansion in Danish history. However, his largest achievement, and the one he himself was most proud of, was taking Denmark into the European Economic Community in 1973. With that task accomplished he felt he could retire at a high point.

Krag was at one and the same time one of the most charismatic and withdrawn Danish politicians ever. He never enjoyed the attention to which he had to subject himself, and many people found him rather arrogant. According to his most thorough (and quite sympathetic) biographer (Bo Lidegaard, Krag I-II, 2001/2002), he never truly settled into the role as a politician, always considering himself on the way "to somewhere else."^[8] He had always dreamed of holding the position of governor of the National Bank of Denmark. Only when he had definitively quit politics in 1972 did he realise that he would not be able to achieve this goal.

In the Danish TV series Krøniken (2004–2006), he was portrayed by the actor Lars Mikkelsen.^[9][10]