Geirbjørn Feldengaard kidnapping incident

Geirbjørn Feldengaard in 1986

On 14 January 1989, former Chancellor of Delkora Geirbjørn Feldengaard was kidnapped in Norenstal by a gang affiliated with the Madsen Group. He was held in captivity for a month, and was released unharmed after a ransom was paid to the perpetrators. The incident caused a major political scandal over the severe security breach and errors during investigation, with the government suspected of stonewalling investigation for political purposes.

Kidnapping

Feldengaard was kidnapped in Norenstal on the evening of 14 January 1989. The incident happened as he was en route back to his hotel following a speaking engagement. He was accompanied by three Federal Police bodyguards and two Norenstal Police escorts. The caravan stopped at a petrol station along the way, at which point the two state police officers walked across the street to a donut shop. While they were gone, and while one of the Federal Police agents went into the station to pay, the kidnappers pulled up and quickly disarmed the two remaining agents and sped away with Feldengaard.

Three days later, the criminals published a note in the Norenstal Herald, demanding ⊻30 million in ransom.

Despite investigation by both state police and the Federal Police, Feldengaard remained captive for a month. The Federal Police made several major errors during the investigation that caused controversy.

Feldengaard was released unharmed on 13 February, after a ransom had been paid to the kidnappers. The kidnappers dropped him off at night in front of the apartment building where Glykera Damonides lived. Police found the choice odd, since Damonides had been the secretary of his predecessor Mette Elvensar, but were unable to determine if it was intended as an insult or the kidnappers confused Damonides' address for Maiken Fischer's.

Feldengaard organised a press conference, where he explained what happened during his kidnapping. Many reporters found the press conference surreal, as his account was rambling and punctuated with odd remarks. Its best-known moment occurred when Feldengaard mentioned he was angry when his trademark pipe had been stolen, and demanded, "Hvem har taget mit rør?" (Who has taken my pipe?).

Aftermath

The month-long kidnapping of a former Chancellor caused a scandal in Delkora. In the Federal Parliament, the opposition National Labor questioned the incumbent Conservative–Agrarian government over the security breach. Justice minister Ulrik Andersen came under fire for the poor coordination of law enforcement's response, and was accused of obstructing the search effort, leading to a parliamentary inquiry in 1990.

The Federal Police also launched an investigation into the poor response to the kidnapping. Both the parliamentary inquiry and the investigative report harshly criticised the police for severe errors committed during the investigation, including failure to follow up on leads, failure to investigate one of the criminals with an outstanding arrest warrant, two of the perpetrators escaping from preventive detention, and inability to establish a stronger connection between the gang and the Madsen Group.

The criminals were ultimately arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison. The members of Feldengaard's security detail were later fired, and both the Federal Police Commissioner and the Norenstal Police Commissioner were forced to resign. Reforms to police procedure were instituted after the kidnapping, and security detail for former dignitaries was increased. However, the scandal remained a millstone for the government, and it inaugurated a series of scandals that defined the 1991 federal election, together with the Lasermannen shooting spree and the Siege of Gothendral.

In popular culture

The kidnapping inspired Tone Revolution Dancefest to create a novelty song called "Hvem...?" (Who...?), which used samples from Feldengaard's press conference set to a new beat arrangement. The members found it funny that Feldengaard asked who took his pipe in a more outraged tone than anything else in the press conference. "Hvem...?" was released as a single and topped the Delkoran charts. Feldengaard asked for publicity rights, and donated his share of the royalties to charity.

Marius Lauritzen also referenced the kidnapping during the Siege of Gothendral, issuing a list of demands that included "Find out who took Geirbjørn's pipe already".