K. B. Andersen

K. B. Andersen Cand. polit.
Speaker of the Folketing
In office 3 October 1978 – 8 December 1981
Monarch	Margrethe II
Preceded by	Karl Skytte
Succeeded by	Svend Jakobsen
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 13 February 1975 – 1 June 1978
Prime Minister	Anker Jørgensen
Preceded by	Ove Guldberg
Succeeded by	Anker Jørgensen
In office 11 October 1971 – 19 December 1973
Prime Minister	Jens Otto Krag Anker Jørgensen
Preceded by	Poul Hartling
Succeeded by	Ove Guldberg
Acting Prime Minister of Denmark
In office 3 October 1972 – 5 October 1972
Preceded by	Jens Otto Krag
Succeeded by	Anker Jørgensen
Minister of Education
In office 26 September 1964 – 2 February 1968
Prime Minister	Jens Otto Krag
Preceded by	Kristen Helveg Petersen
Succeeded by	Helge Larsen
Member of the Folketing
In office 1973–1981
In office 1957–1970
Personal details
Born	(1914-12-01)1 December 1914 Copenhagen, Denmark
Died	23 March 1984(1984-03-23) (aged 69) Copenhagen, Denmark
Political party	Social Democrats

Knud Børge Andersen (1 December 1914 – 23 March 1984) was a Danish politician, who served as Danish Minister of Education and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and held international offices.

Biography

Andersen finished his degree in political science in 1940, worked for Statsradiofonien from 1935 to 1950, and was the headmaster of the "Workers' Folk high school" in Roskilde from 1950 to 1957. He entered politics, and was elected to the Folketing as a Social Democrat in 1957. He served as a member of the Council of Europe from 1963 to 1964.

Andersen served as Minister of Education in the Cabinet of Jens Otto Krag from 1964 to 1968. As a Minister of Education, Andersen instated the Higher Preparatory Examination (HF) and abolished corporal punishment in schools, and turned the scrolls of the Icelandic sagas back to Iceland. In 1970, Andersen left the Folketing, but was appointed Foreign Minister under Jens Otto Krag and later Anker Jørgensen, from 1971 to 1973 and again from 1975 to 1978. Andersen was acting Prime Minister when Jens Otto Krag resigned in October 1972, until Anker Jørgensen was appointed new Prime Minister a few days later. When Poul Schlüter in 1993 similarly attempted to have an acting prime minister appointed, royal cabinet secretary Niels Eilschou Holm considered both that appointment, and the appointment of Andersen, to be unconstitutional. By 1973, Andersen had re-entered the Folketing.

As Foreign Minister, Andersen became well known in European foreign affairs circles, and was invited to the Bilderberg Conference. At a NATO council in December 1972, Andersen received heavy criticism from Sir Alec Douglas-Home, William P. Rogers, and NATO's Secretary General, for Denmark's eight percent reduction in their defense budget. This was at a time when the more powerful nations of Europe were calling for an increase in military spending.

Andersen was President of the European Economic Community Council of Ministers in 1978. During this time he was involved in the economic sanctions against South Africa. He ended his tenure in the Folketing in 1981, after serving as its Speaker from 1978 to 1981. He was a critic of Denmark's political system. His belief was that the large number of political parties in Denmark made for political instability and for difficulty in forming coalition governments.

Further reading

• Maxen, Arsenio, "10 år med K.B. Andersen, 1972-82", Thise, 1983, ISBN 87-88259-08-0