Buhl joined the
Social Democrats while a law student at the
University of Copenhagen. He was elected to the
upper house of parliament in 1932, and then the
lower house in 1939. He served as
Minister of Finance in the cabinet of
Thorvald Stauning from 20 July 1937 until 3 May 1942. At the beginning of
World War II and after the
German occupation of
Denmark, the government did not establish a government-in-exile in the
United Kingdom, as did their neighbor
Norway and several other smaller countries. Instead, King Christian remained in Denmark, and
Thorvald Stauning created a
Unity government that operated with relative independence until August 1943. When Thorvald Stauning died during the war on 3 May 1942, Buhl succeeded him as prime minister. However, Buhl's government only lasted six months, due to a diplomatic incident (the
Telegram Crisis) where
King Christian X sent a short and terse reply to a long birthday telegram from
Adolf Hitler, who took offense. Consequently, a tough new Nazi commander,
Werner Best, was sent to Denmark, and Buhl had poor relations with the Germans. As a result, he resigned on 7 November of the same year, and was replaced by
Erik Scavenius. On 5 May 1945 just three days before
VE-Day, many Danish politicians and
resistance fighters formed a
Liberation Government, which marked the beginning of post-war government after the
death of
Adolf Hitler on 30 April. Resistance fighters were included because many Danes were dissatisfied with how politicians had cooperation with Germans at the start of the Occupation. Notable members of Buhl's liberation cabinet included
Aksel Larsen (
communist leader),
Hans Hedtoft (future prime minister),
H. C. Hansen (future prime minister),
Knud Kristensen (future prime minister), and
John Christmas Møller (
conservative foreign minister). In social policy, the Danish government presided over the passage of the Housing Obligation Act of August 1945, which introduced the obligatory allocation of vacant housing to ensure that vacant flats were let in the first instance to those with low incomes, while also establishing tight rent controls. The Danish government also presided over the trials of Danes who had cooperated with the Germans, which resulted in 45 people being executed. After the
October 1945 elections, Buhl resigned from office on 7 November, and was replaced as prime minister by center-right leader
Knud Kristensen. Under the Social Democratic government of
Hans Hedtoft, Buhl served as the Minister of Economic Coordination from 1947 to 1950, and also concurrently served as the Minister of Justice from March to September 1950. Prior to the 1953 elections, Buhl retired from politics, citing health issues. == Death ==