Political Career
In 1895 he was elected to the lower house of the Danish Rigsdag in the Ringsted election district. He won the seat and kept it in subsequent elections until 1928 where he was elected to the upper house of parliament. He kept his seat there until 1939. He was a co-founder of the Left Reform Party in 1895 and became a member of the parliamentary finance committee in 1901.
After disagreements with party leader J. C. Christensen on the defence budget Zahle broke with his party and co-founded the Social Liberal Party in 1905 and became the first chairman of the new party. In 1919 he was able to form a minority government but had to resign as prime minister the year later following an electoral defeat for his party. In 1911 he became mayor of Stege.
In 1913 the Social Liberal Party and the Social Democrats got a majority in the lower house and Zahle was able to form a government backed by the Social Democrats. This government was in office until 1920.
Zahle was prime minister during World War I and the main objective for his administration during the war was to keep Denmark neutral. Zahle succeeded in this thanks to foreign minister Erik Scavenius. Although Denmark was neutral the war meant a scarcity of goods and materials and regulation of the economy became necessary. Interior minister Ove Rode was in charge of these policies.
After the war the opposition had accumulated great anger towards the Zahle government. The government was accused of having been too friendly towards Germany during the war and the economic regulations limited the profits of business life. On top of that came the question about northern Schleswig and in particular Flensburg. A referendum was held on the return of parts of Schleswig to Denmark from Germany and it was demanded that Germany should cede the city of Flensburg with no regards to the result of the referendum. Zahle refused to call for an election on this question and was deposed by king Christian X in 1920. This resulted in the Easter Crisis of 1920 where social liberals, social democrats and socialists saw the king's dismissal of Zahle as unconstitutional.
Zahle never became prime minister again but he became minister of justice under Thorvald Stauning from 1929 to 1935. He had had this portfolio in his own governments and had worked for legal reforms. From 1936 to 1939 he was speaker of the upper house.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ludvig Holstein-Ledreborg |
Council President of Denmark 28 October 1909 – 5 July 1910 |
Succeeded by Klaus Berntsen |
| Preceded by Svend Høgsbro |
Justice Minister of Denmark 28 October 1909 – 5 July 1910 |
Succeeded by Frits Bülow |
| Preceded by Frits Bülow |
Justice Minister of Denmark 21 June 1913 – 30 March 1920 |
Succeeded by Otto Liebe |
| Preceded by Klaus Berntsen |
Council President of Denmark 21 June 1913 – 20 April 1918 |
Succeeded by Office renamed to "Prime Minister" |
| Preceded by Office renamed from "Council President" |
Prime Minister of Denmark 21 April 1918 – 30 March 1920 |
Succeeded by Otto Liebe |
| Preceded by Svenning Rytter |
Justice Minister of Denmark 30 April 1929 – 4 November 1935 |
Succeeded by Karl Kristian Steincke |
| Preceded by Jørgen Jensen-Klejs |
Speaker of the Landsting 7 October 1936 – 2 October 1939 |
Succeeded by C. F. Sørensen |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by New office |
Parliamentary group leader of the Danish Social Liberal Party 1905–1909 |
Succeeded by Ove Rode |
| Preceded by Ove Rode |
Parliamentary group leader of the Danish Social Liberal Party 1910–1913 |
Succeeded by Thorvald Povlsen |
| Preceded by Carl Slengerik |
Parliamentary group leader of the Danish Social Liberal Party 1920–1928 |
Succeeded by Niels Frederiksen |
|
|||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Zahle, Carl Theodor |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Council President of Denmark |
| Date of birth | 19 January 1866 |
| Place of birth | Roskilde |
| Date of death | 3 February 1946 |
| Place of death | Copenhagen |
Read more about this topic: Carl Theodor Zahle
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