Frank Kristian Sandberg

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Frank Kristian Sandberg
Bruno Kreisky 1983 (cropped).JPEG
Sandberg in 1972
Premier of Scovern
In office
June 9, 1959 – April 10, 1973
MonarchElisabeth
Preceded byGeorg Theusen
Succeeded byRolf Gunnar Rasmussen
Leader of the Social Labour Party
In office
February 22, 1958 – June 8, 1973
Preceded byEsben Laugesen
Succeeded byVillads Brink
Ministerial offices
Minister of the Economy
In office
August 2, 1955 – June 10, 1957
PremierEsben Laugesen
Preceded byOlaf Svane
Succeeded bySonny Fabricius
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Euclean Integration
In office
March 19, 1951 – August 2, 1955
PremierEsber Laugesen
Preceded byHjalmar Svenningson
(as Minister of Foreign Affairs)
Succeeded byJes Vester
Kultus Minister
In office
May 27, 1940 – August 1, 1947
PremierTeddy Bruun
Ludvig Anton Kirk
Preceded byMikkel Johansen
Succeeded byUffe Sørensen
Minister of Defence
In office
June 30, 1937 – May 27, 1940
PremierTeddy Bruun
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byRené Michelsen
Minister of the Admiralty
In office
December 6, 1934 – June 30, 1937
PremierHarry Antonsen
Preceded byFelix Palle Greve-Kruse
Succeeded byHimself (as Minister of Defence)
Parliamentary offices
Member of the Rigsdagen for Sirnes-Tarberg
In office
January 8, 1926 – June 30, 1937
Member of the Rigsdagen for Kalstad
In office
June 30, 1937 – June 8, 1973
Personal details
Born(1893-11-27)November 27, 1893
Sirnes-Tarberg, Scovern
DiedJanuary 6, 1980(1980-01-06) (aged 86)
Rimso, Scovern
Cause of deathLung carcinoma
Resting placeLundasjökull, Frelland
Political partySocial Labour Party
Spouse(s)
Malene Arnesen
(m. 1915; died 1976)
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Kalstad
Profession
  • Civil servant
  • Lawyer

Frank Kristian Sandberg (November 27, 1893 – January 6, 1980; aged 86) was a Scovernois lawyer, politician and statesman who served most notably as Premier of Scovern from 1959 to his retirement in 1973. In addition to this, he served in a multitude of important ministerial roles during pivotal political times in Scovern, including as Minister of the Admiralty and Minister of Defence during Scovern's post-war demilitarisation, Minister of Foreign Affairs during Scovern's accession to the Euclean Community in 1955, and premier for most of the federalisation process, for which he was a significant proponent of. Domestically, he is often referred to as the Father of the Nation (Landsfaderen), and is internationally regarded as one of Euclea's foremost statesmen of the period.

Born in 1893 in the mining city of Sirnes-Tarberg, Sandberg hailed from a blue-collar working class background of miners. In 1910, his father won 2,000 kroner on the horse Frelse at the 1910 Kalstad Open, paying for most of his tuition to study law at the University of Kalstad. Sandberg graduated in 1914, working as a lawyer until 1923 before entering politics as a socialist for the Sirnes-Tarberg SAP branch. He was elected to the Rigsdagen in 1926, serving throughout the Great War. His oratory skills, quick wit and political aptitude caught the eye of post-war premier Harry Antonsen, who appointed him Minister of the Admiralty in 1934, continuing on to serve in the new defence ministry until 1940. After, Teddy Bruun appointed Sandberg as Kultus Minister, serving until the SAP lost the 1947 general election.

During the LFP's government in the late 1940s, Sandberg became a vigorous supporter of Scovern joining the Euclean Community after the Treaty of Kesselbourg came into effect. The SAP re-entered government in 1951, and Sandberg was promoted to the foreign ministry, where he established himself across Eastern Euclea and participated in accession negotiations to the Community. Following the 1954 referendum, Scovern joined the EC in 1955. The same year, he was promoted to Minister of the Economy, overseeing the initial integration between the Scovernois and wider Euclean economies. Political crisis and protests saw the SAP lose government from 1957 to 1959, leader Laugesen resigned and was replaced by Sandberg in 1958, eventually winning the 1959 election. As premier, he oversaw most of the federalisation process, where he drew significantly from the Alslandic pillarisation system, and won a total of four elections (1959, 1963, 1967, 1971). He retired from office in 1973 and died of lung cancer in 1980.

As a politician, Sandberg was renowned for his down-to-earth personality and no-nonsense attitude. He retained a number of habits and characteristics of his working-class background, including wearing his signature overcoat and hat, smoking cigarettes, and refusing to move into the official ministerial residences during his time in office, instead opting to continue living in his apartment in the Ydby municipality of Rimso with his wife. Despite his political origins, Sandberg grew to be an astute anti-communist and was regarded as being on the soft left of his party. He is extremely positively regarded domestically and internationally, and is the longest-serving post-war premier of Scovern to date.