Jens Otto Krag

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Jens Otto Krag (15 September 1914 – 22 June 1978) was a Danish politician from the Social Democrats. He served as Denmark’s prime minister twice, first from 1962 to 1968 and again from 1971 to 1972. He also led the Social Democrats from 1962 to 1972 and helped raise Denmark’s profile on the world stage.

Krag was born in Randers, Denmark, into a poor family. He joined the Social Democratic Youth and studied economics at the University of Copenhagen. During World War II he worked in a Danish government agency and became a key adviser to the labor movement. After the war, he helped develop a party program called Denmark of the Future, which promoted national ownership of industry and Keynesian economic ideas.

He was elected to Parliament in 1947 and served as Minister of Commerce. He supported strengthening Denmark’s military and joining NATO. In 1950 he left Parliament to work at the Danish embassy in the United States, returning in 1953 to become a minister without portfolio, then head of the foreign economic affairs department. Krag was Foreign Minister from 1958 to 1962, and in 1962 he became prime minister.

As prime minister, Krag faced a referendum on land laws and worked to strengthen Denmark’s ties with Europe. He led Denmark toward European cooperation and played a key role in the movement to join the European Economic Community (EEC). In 1972 a referendum approved joining the EEC, but Krag resigned soon after, saying he was tired of politics.

Later, he served as the European Common Market representative to the United States from 1974 to 1975.

Krag’s governments introduced many social reforms, including better child welfare, more day care services, higher unemployment benefits, an expanded education system, and new pension schemes. He struggled with alcoholism in his later years and was an atheist. He was married twice and had two children. Krag died in 1978 in Ålbæk, Denmark, and is remembered as one of Denmark’s most influential politicians for expanding welfare and raising the country’s international presence, including leading Denmark into the EEC.