Ludvig Holstein-Ledreborg

Ludvig Holstein-Ledreborg
Council President of Denmark
In office 16 August 1909 – 28 October 1909
Monarch	Frederick VIII
Preceded by	Niels Neergaard
Succeeded by	Carl Theodor Zahle
Defence Minister of Denmark
In office 18 October 1909 – 28 October 1909
Preceded by	Jens Christian Christensen
Succeeded by	Christopher Krabbe
Personal details
Born	10 June 1839 Hochberg (now Remseck am Neckar), Württemberg
Died	1 March 1912 (aged 72) Ledreborg
Political party	Moderate Venstre

Johan Ludvig Carl Christian Tido lensgreve Holstein til Ledreborg (10 June 1839 – 1 March 1912) was a Danish politician, a descendant of Johan Ludvig Holstein-Ledreborg, who was Minister of State of Denmark. He was Council President of Denmark for two months, from 16 August to 28 October 1909, as the leader of the Cabinet of Holstein-Ledreborg. He also served as Defence Minister of Denmark from 18 October to 28 October 1909. He also took over the Ledreborg mansion after his father's death in 1895.^[1]

As one of the few members of the Venstre Reform Party, the Danish Liberal party belonging to the nobility, Holstein was isolated by his colleagues and at the same time took a special position within Venstre. He was considered an outstanding and varied speaker and as one of "the five leaders of Venstre" but already 1890 he gave up his political life devoting himself to his life as a squire on Zealand.

Prime Minister

Following the lack of a majority in the 1909 Folketing election, Klaus Berntsen suggested to Frederick VIII that Holstein may be able to gain the support of the three major liberal parties.^[2] The three Liberal groups settled on him as a prime minister, creating the first coalition after the establishment of the parliamentary system in Denmark. As prime minister, he formed a liberal cabinet with J.C. Christensen as defence minister, Niels Neergaard as finance minister, and Klaus Berntsen as minister of justice, and managed to form a compromise in the question of defence that satisfied the liberal parties, while still being acceptable to Højre.

Vote of no confidence and resignation

Around two months into Holstein's term, conservative members of the Folketing called for a vote of no confidence in him, which failed. Shortly after, the Radical Democrats called for a vote of no confidence for his cabinet. This vote succeeded, marking the first time that a Danish cabinet was ousted by a vote of no confidence from the Folketing.^[2] He called upon the Radical Democrats to form a new cabinet because they instigated the vote to oust the old cabinet, and proceeded to resign.

Personal life

Holstein converted to Catholicism in 1867, which made him Denmark's first and, so far, only Catholic Prime Minister.^[3]

References

1. Thomas, Alastair (May 10, 2010). The A to Z of Denmark (1st ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 224. ISBN 978-1-4616-7184-8. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
2. Miller, Kenneth E. (1996). Friends and rivals : coalition politics in Denmark, 1901-1995. Lanham [u.a.]: Univ. Press of America. pp. 6–7. ISBN 0-7618-0187-1.
3. Harvard, Jonas; Werner, Yvonne Maria (August 1, 2013). European Anti-Catholicism in a Comparative and Transnational Perspective. Amsterdam: Rodopi. p. 182. Retrieved 25 August 2014.