Gert Petersen

Gert Verner Petersen (19 August 1927 – 1 January 2009) was a journalist and politician who helped found and represent the Socialist People's Party. He was born in Nykøbing Falster, Denmark, as the son of the factory worker Karen Rolandsen. He got a high school diploma from Nykøbing Katedralskole in 1945 and studied history at the University of Copenhagen.

In 1940 At thirteen years old he was a member of the youth movement of the Nazi National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark for ten months but changed his political views and was from 1943 an active member of the resistance and was captured by the Gestapo in 1944 and incarcerated in the Frøslev camp until the end of the German occupation of Denmark

He became a member of the Communist Party of Denmark in 1945. He was among those members who wanted to change the party line to a democratic form of socialism. He took part in this debate through the publication "Dialog". When the party line was not changed he followed Aksel Larsen out of the communist party and became a co-founder of the Socialist People's Party on 15 February 1959.

He was a member of the party leadership of the party since 1961 and in periods the party's executive committee and its secretariat. He was party chairman in the period 1974 to 1991 where he showed great ability to combine a Marxist analysis with day-to-day politics. Thus his influence was not limited to the Socialist People's Party but reached wide parts of the Danish left wing.

Petersen has influenced his party in three ways: I. As a person who made a great effort to formulate the political ideology of popular socialism and demarcate the party from the Social Democrats to the right and the Communist Party of Denmark and differing left-wing groups on the left, especially concerning the relationship between socialism and democracy. He took an unconditional stance for a democratic path to socialism.

II. As chairman he represented negotiation instead of confrontation when a minority of the parliamentary group wanted to change the political line to conform more with that of the Social Democrats.

III. As a long-standing proponent for the "worker's majority strategy" which was significant for the policy of the party during the 1980s. A worker's majority is to be understood as a cooperation between the Social Democrats, the Socialist People's Party and the rest of the left wing which were meant to bring about reforms in the direction of socialism.

Petersen was a member of parliament for the Socialist People's Party in the following electoral districts:

• Østre Storkreds (November 22, 1966 – January 22, 1968)
• Odense Amtskreds (January 23, 1968 – September 20, 1971)
• Fyns Amtskreds (September 21, 1971 – February 14, 1977)
• Østre Storkreds (February 15, 1977 – March 19, 1998)

He was a member of the European Parliament (1977–1979) and a member of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe from 1994.

He has been

• co-publisher of Dialog 1953-1960
• employed at the party publication SF-bladet 1959-1967, and editor of the publication from 1962–1967
• editor of Her og Nu 1967-1974

• Vejen til socialismen i Danmark (1960)
• Veje til socialismen i vor tid (1966)
• Om socialismens nødvendighed (1980)
• Om fredens nødvendighed (1981)
• Om nødvendigheden af dansk fredspolitik (1982)
• Verden er ung endnu (1984)
• En ny verdensorden? Ja tak, men en bedre! (1991)
• Indenfor systemet - og udenfor. Erindringer (1998)
• Med frygten som drivkraft. Tanker om den kolde krig(2001)