Vilhelm Buhl

Who was Vilhelm Buhl?

Vilhelm Buhl was Prime Minister of Denmark from 4 May 1942 to 9 November 1942 as head of the Unity Government during the German occupation of Denmark of World War II, until the Nazis ordered him removed. He was Prime Minister again from 5 May 1945 to 7 November 1945 as head of a unity government after the liberation of Denmark by the British Field Marshal Montgomery.

Vilhelm Buhl was a member of the Social Democrats, and had held the post of Finance Minister in the cabinets of Thorvald Stauning from 20 July 1937 to 4 May 1942.

During Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark, Thorvald Stauning had created a unity government. When Thorvald Stauning died in May 1942, Vilhelm Buhl succeeded him. This government only lasted six months, because of a diplomatic incident, the Telegram Crisis, in which King Christian X sent a short and formal reply to a long birthday telegram from Adolf Hitler. Hitler was outraged by this insult, and as a result Vilhelm Buhl was replaced by Erik Scavenius. Werner Best was sent to Denmark as a new tough Nazi commander.

After the liberation of Denmark on 5 May 1945, the politicians and the resistance fighters formed a unity government.