Aksel Pedersen was the left-wing mayor of Spøttrup Municipality 1979-1985. He was also a member of the Danish parliament for Venstre 1973-1978.
Political life
In 1962, Eriksen became a member of Krejbjerg parish council. The political work continued in the Oddense-Otting parish council where he sat 1966-70, where Eriksen was a force in preparing the municipal merger.
After the merger in 1970, Pedersen sat on Spøttrup Municipal Council until 1990. At the same time as his seat on the municipal council, Pedersen first sat on Viborg County Council 1970-74. In 1973-1978 he was a member of parliament for the Liberal Party.
The opportunity to become mayor came in 1979 when he took over the post from Svend Aage Eriksen of the Radical Liberal Party after a draw due to a lack of consensus in the city council.
As mayor, Eriksen was responsible for the controversial coastal protection of the municipality’s coasts. The salty waters of the Limfjord penetrated the small fresh lake Fodmosen, near Vadum and Spøttrup Sø. It was decided to protect the area with cement tiles. The local council thought it was the best they could do for a reasonable amount of money, but the conservation council demanded their removal only after failing to secure the right permits. In the end, however, the coastal protection was left in place.
In private
Pedersen was born on the family farm Damgård just west of Balling. He worked as a farmer in several places. In 1944 he became a foreman in Grove east of Balling, and in the last days of the occupation Pedersen became part of the Balling group. Even though he was prepared for combat, the liberation took place with Pedersen standing guard. At the same time, Pedersen photo-documented the liberation, and his pictures are among the only images of the liberation of Skive.
In 1947, Pedersen became an independent farmer at “Nygård” in Krejbjerg. He owned this farm for 15 years before moving to Riisgård in Frammerselv near Oddense. He ran this farm until 1975 when his son bought a half share and took over the farm.
Married in 1947 to Eva Ryø with whom he had 3 children, including the later mayor of Spøttrup Anna-Lise Vestergaard.
Eriksen was very interested in local history and has written a book about Spøttrup Borg and one about the first 25 years of Spøttrup municipality.
In 1991, Eriksen received a Knight’s Cross.
Sources
- Skive Folkeblad 2/5-2015, 3/1-2001, 25/3-1995, 2/7-1984
- Aksel Pedersen (V) / Folketinget (ft.dk) – ft.dk