Ove Guldberg (2 December 1918 – 28 February 2008) was a Danish engineer, businessman and politician from Venstre who served as the minister of public works from 1968 to 1971 and

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

from 1973 to 1975.

Early life and education

Guldberg was born in

Nysted Nysted is a town in Guldborgsund Municipality in Region Zealand on the southeastern coast of the island of Lolland in south Denmark. Nysted is located on the southern coast of Lolland, and has a population of 1,265 (1 January 2024).candidate of law Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

degree in 1949.

Career

Guldberg was the director of the Danish Engineering Association in the period 1952–1965 and of the Association of Consulting Engineers from 1965 to 1968. Between 1957 and 1968 he was also the director of a company owned by the Danish Engineering Association. In 1964 he joined the liberal party Venstre and won a seat at the

Folketing The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. E ...

where he served until 1977. He was the minister of public works in the cabinet of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Hilmar Baunsgaard Hilmar Baunsgaard (26 February 1920 – 30 June 1989) was a Danish politician who served as the prime minister of Denmark from 1968 to 1971. He was a member of the Danish Social Liberal Party and the party's leader from 1968 to 1975. He was prec ...

from 1968 to 1971.The Ministry of Public Works was later integrated into the Ministry of Transport. Between December 1973 and February 1975 Guldberg was the foreign minister in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

led by

Poul Hartling Poul Hartling (14 August 1914 – 30 April 2000) was a Danish politician and diplomat. He was leader of Venstre from 1965 to 1977, and served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1973 to 1975. Prior to that, he served as foreign minister from 1968 ...

. From 1973 to 1977 he was a member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

Personal life and death

Guldberg married and had children, one of whom was a diplomat. Following his retirement from politics he and his wife, Else, lived in Spain and Ireland. They moved to

Nexø Nexø, sometimes spelled Neksø, is a town on the east coast of the Baltic island of Bornholm, Denmark. With a population of 3,657 (as of 1 January 2025), it is the second largest town, as well as the largest fishing port on the island. Fishing ...

in January 2003. His wife died there in September 2005, and he also died there on 28 February 2008.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guldberg, Ove 20th-century Danish engineers 1918 births 2008 deaths Ministers of foreign affairs of Denmark Members of the Folketing 1968–1971 Members of the Folketing 1971–1973 Members of the Folketing 1973–1975 Members of the Folketing 1975–1977 Venstre (Denmark) MEPs People from Guldborgsund Municipality Transport ministers of Denmark