Bodil Koch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
H. C. Hansen
Viggo Kampmann
Jens Otto Krag
Bodil Koch | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Koch in 1954 | |
| Minister for Cultural Affairs | |
| In office 28 November 1966 – 2 February 1968 | |
| Prime Minister | Jens Otto Krag |
| Preceded by | Hans Sølvhøj |
| Succeeded by | Kristen Helveg Petersen |
| Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs | |
| In office 30 September 1953 – 28 November 1966 | |
| Prime Minister | Hans Hedtoft H. C. Hansen Viggo Kampmann Jens Otto Krag |
| Preceded by | Carl Martin Hermansen |
| Succeeded by | Orla Møller |
| In office 16 September 1950 – 30 October 1950 | |
| Prime Minister | Hans Hedtoft |
| Preceded by | Frede Nielsen |
| Succeeded by | Jens Sønderup |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 October 1903 |
| Died | 7 January 1972 (aged 68) Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Party | Social Democrats |
| Spouse | Hal Koch |
| Children | 5, including Dorte Bennedsen and Ejler Koch |
| Education | University of Copenhagen |
| Occupation | Theologist Politician |
Bodil Koch (25 October 1903 – 7 January 1972) was the wife of a prominent professor, a Social Democrat, and a minister. She was married to professor Hal Koch, an advocate of democracy as a continuing deliberation instead of the majority's rights over the minorities. She represented the Social Democrats in the Danish Parliament, Folketinget from 1947 – 1968.
In 1947, she was elected to the Folketing and three years later she became the first female Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs in the world and the third female minister in Denmark. She only held the office for six weeks, as Prime Minister Hans Hedtoft resigned 30 October 1950 over a dispute on the continued rationing of butter.
When the Social Democrats returned to the power in 1953, she again was appointed Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs. She held office until 1966, when she was appointed new Minister of Culture. She held office until Hilmar Baunsgaard in 1968 replaced Jens Otto Krag as prime minister.
Bodil Koch graduated from the University of Copenhagen with a master's degree in theology in 1929, the same year she married Hal Koch. Their fundamental beliefs combined the Evangelical-Lutheran view of Christianity with Socratic humanism. Both had a strong interest in traveling and science and working for the common good.[1] They were the icons of a whole generation after World War II searching for a new set of values.[2] They had five children, and during the 1930s Bodil Koch was a stay-at-home mother and the wife of Hal Koch. They challenged the traditional idea of the nuclear family, and eventually she saw the ideal family as two working adults and a number of children who all participated in cooking and debating.
Political engagement
Bodil Koch's engagement in political affairs took off during World War II with op-eds and articles in Danish newspapers and she gave speeches all over the country. In 1944, she and 8 other prominent women founded the grass root organization Folkevirke (The People's Work or National Commitment).[3] The goal of Folkevirke was to mobilize and educate women about democracy on a local, regional, and national level. Women all over the country, from Copenhagen to rural areas in Jutland participated in study groups and gave speeches about the problems of the Danish society.[4]
Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs
Folkevirke became Bodil Koch's stepping stone to Folketinget. Now that she had been fighting for women to get into politics, she ran for office herself in the 1947 Folketing election. It came as a surprise to many that she as a female, an academic, and practicing Protestant from Copenhagen could be elected in a rural area Herning in Jutland.[1] She became a member of the Danish Parliament for the Social Democrats in 1947, and three years later she became Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs from September until October 1950. The Social Democrats regained power in 1953, and she was Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs until 1966 and Minister Cultural Affairs from 1966 until 1968 during three different governments led by the Social Democratic party.
As Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs, Bodil Koch implemented reforms of ecclesiastical legislation, and she was a fierce defendant of the freedom of preaching in the state church Danish National Church. She worked hard to modernize the church including the ordination of women. After her death her ideas and visions were incorporated the Danish Church Law of 1973.[4]
