Jacob Brønnum Scavenius Estrup

Jacob Brønnum Scavenius Estrup, (16 April 1825 – 24 December 1913), was a Danish politician, member of the Højre party. He was Interior Minister from 1865 to 1869 in the Cabinet of Frijs and Council President as well as Finance Minister from 1875 to 1894 as the leader of the Cabinet of Estrup.

Biography

Estrup was son of the landowner Hector Frederik Janson Estrup, and inherited the estate Kongsdal in Holbæk amt in 1846. In 1852 he also bought the estate Skafføgård in Randers amt.

As Interior Minister in the Cabinet of Frijs Estrup took control of the railroads of Jutland and Funen, which had been ceded to an English consortium in 1861. He expanded the railroads in Vendsyssel and built new lines from Skanderborg to Silkeborg and along the west coast of Jutland to Esbjerg, earning him the nickname "Railway Minister". He also built up the harbour in Esbjerg, which turned into an important center for exports. In 1869 he was forced to step down from his post because of health problems.

In 1875 Estrup was able to replace Christen Andreas Fonnesbech as Council President and form the Cabinet of Estrup. Estrup himself also took the post as Finance Minister, perhaps the most important post as Denmark was economically worn down after the Second War of Schleswig. In 1877 Estrup was unable to secure support for his budget bill in Folketinget, as demanded by the Danish Constitution, but chose instead to issue it as a provisional law. This happened repeatedly in the years 1885 to 1894, the socalled provisorietid. Among others he was opposed by the Venstre leaders Christen Berg and Viggo Hørup.

When an assassination attempt failed on 21 October 1885, Estrup responded by passing various laws restricting the press, restricting the right to own arms, and broadening the powers of the police.

In 1894, Venstre and Estrup's Højre cooperated to pass a budget bill, and Estrup resigned. He would not hold any future offices as minister, but retained significant influence in the following governments formed by Højre.

References

• Biography - From Museums in Copenhagen.
• Biography - From the Danish Biographical Lexicon, scanned by Project Runeberg.
• Contemporary drawing showing the assassination attempt on Estrup. Original: Woodcut, Illustreret Tidende 25 October 1885.