Peter Kjærgaard was the Social Democratic mayor of Skive municipality in the period 1967-81. As mayor, he ruled on both sides of the municipal merger. At the merger in 1970, Skive Municipality grew to include Estvad-Rønbjerg, Hindborg-Hem-Dølby, and the northern part of Fjends.
The background
Peter Kjærgaard was born in 1908 in Nautrup, where he grew up in a family of smallholders. He was not interested in running the smallholding, so Peter Kjærgaard was apprenticed at the Danelykke dairy in Hem, after which he got a position at Skive Andelsmejeri in 1926 at the age of 18. Here he became politically involved in the labor movement and was chairman of the dairy workers in Skive 1933-36.
From there he joined the Social Democratic Party in Skive, where he became a member of the board in 1937. The following year he became treasurer of the members’ association, a position he would hold for 40 years, even after he became mayor.
Kjærgaard’s entry into politics was characterized by much of the necessary backbreaking work. He was a member of the tax assessment commission from 1943 and chairman of the tax council from 1949, and from 1955 – 1979 he was chairman of the county tax council. Peter Kjærgaard first became a member of the city council in 1958.
Politics and mayor
In Skive City Council, Kjærgaard continued his outwardly relatively unnoticed work with positions in property tax and school committees. When Skive’s mayor Woldhardt Madsen resigned as mayor in 1967, it came as a surprise that Kjærgaard was chosen over the three prominent “crown princes” of the party.
Peter Kjærgaard was considered by many to be a transitional mayor, but Kjærgaard remained in office until 1981 and received more personal votes in the election than anyone before him, helped by the municipal merger in 1970.
Peter Kjærgaard himself describes his time in office as one of the most stimulating in Skive’s history. Kjærsgaard highlights the construction of a new sewage treatment plant, school expansions and a large new hall.
Also of great importance was the major expansion of the municipal boundaries, which lasted until 2006. There were a number of issues to consider when the various administrations were to be merged and where exactly the boundaries should be drawn. The eastern part of Nordfjends was a particularly difficult area. Kjærgaard expertly negotiated his way through and continued as mayor without problems even after the merger.
In 1981, Peter Kjærgaard chose to resign due to age and health, and after 14 years in office, he was anything but a transitional mayor.
During and after his time as mayor, Kjærgaard held a number of different positions of trust. Kjærgaard was a county council member from 1970-74 and a parliamentary candidate (more for practical reasons than because there was hope of being elected). Kjærgaard was also chairman of the seminary and the arthritis care home in Resen.
On a personal level
Kjærgaard was described as a level-headed man, at least until people tried to mess with him. Kjærgaard spoke the local Sallingbomaal even after arriving in the city, something that was otherwise atypical.
In 1929, Kjærgaard married Dagmar and together they had seven children.
Sources
- Skive Folkeblad 9/6-1983, 21/6-1988
- Mortensen Niels, Skive kommunes historie bind III, Skive Museums Forlag 2003, p. 1939-40+379-382+407-411