Preben Hansen

Background

He was born in Brønshøj into a religious family, his father was a sexton and his mother wished for him to become a priest, but he believed religion to be superstition and became a sailor.

Career

Being the chairman of Sømændenes Forbund (The Seaman"s Federation), he earned the nickname in Denmark as "Sømandsbossen" (The Sailor Boss) and was well known for his populist manners, including making frequent use of swearwords and anti-elitist remarks. He first joined with a EAC ship at the age of 16. During the strikes of 1956, seasoned stewards Jakob Rasmussen and Svend Petersen put him in charge of a sailor"s strike.

Because of his role in organizing the strike, he was arrested and imprisoned in Vestre Prison, where he was held for 10 days before the Seaman"s Federation"s lawyer got him released.

In 1976 he was elected to the Copenhagen City Council standing for the Communist Party (DKP). After a controversy with another union (Hong Kong/Denmark, then known as the Commercial and Clerical Employees) involving reimbursement for services rendered to the Seaman"s Federation, he was expelled from DKP in 1979.

He began planning to form a new party with other disgruntled DKP members. This party would be known as Common Course, and would hold its first congress in 1986.

In the national parliamentary election of 1987 Common Course gained 2.2% of the votes and 4 seats, one of which was held by Hansen.

Hansen had a difficult time adjusting to the culture of the Folktinget, and his brief tenure in parliament was marked by icy relations with the leaders of other parties. Following this disappointment, Hansen returned to the Copenhagen City Council in 1994, where he was elected standing for Common Course, and would remain elected until the party"s dissolution in 2001. In 1985 he unexpectedly arrived with half a million krone in a cardboard box to give to striking brewery workers.

He claimed he received it from a man on the street.

He was often found cooking in the kitchen, favoring traditional Danish food "as mother used to make lieutenant"

In 2000, he wrote the cookbook The Danish cookbook reflecting his lifelong love of cooking.

Achievements

• In the 1988 election one year later, Common Course fell out of parliament, achieving 1.9% of the vote and thus failing to pass the 2% election threshold.

Politics

He was made chairman of the Seaman"s Federation in 1968, and was responsible for the union"s shift toward communism and a less compromising stance towards employers.