Arnold Peter Møller
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arnold Peter Møller (October 2, 1876 Dragør - June 12, 1965) was a Danish shipping magnate, businessman and founder of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group. A. P. Møller was the son of captain Peter Mærsk Møller and Anna Møller. His mother came from a well known shipping dynasty in Dragør and his maternal grandfather Hans Jeppesen Davidsen was known as "the king of Dragør". The Møller family moved to Svendborg on Funen after having lost a power struggle against Annas sisters and their husbands. In 1904 A. P. Møller and his father founded Dampskibsselskabet Svendborg to take advantage of the new business opportunities in shipping due to the introduction of steam ships. In 1912 A. P. Møller founded Dampskibsselskabet af 1912 to be free to operate his business as he chose. The First World War was a very lucrative period for the shipping business and A. P. Møller managed to take full advantage of the opportunities. After the war his company was the fourth biggest shipping company in Denmark. The company grew steadily in the interwar years and was the biggest in Denmark at the outbreak of the Second World War. During the German occupation of Denmark 1940-45 A. P. Møllers son Arnold Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller ran a substantial part of the company from the USA. But the family lost a lot of money because the US government wouldn't pay full compensation for the use of their ships during the war. A. P. Møller was also involved in business ventures outside the shipping industry and secured a contract on drilling oil in the Danish part of the North Sea and founded the retail chain Dansk Supermarked together with merchant Hermann Salling. This chain is now the biggest retail company in Denmark. A. P. Møller married American Chastine Mc-Kinney and they had two sons; Hans and Arnold and two daughters; Jane and Sally.
[edit] Current company status
Today A.P. Moller-Maersk Group is the largest Danish company and a worldwide organisation with more than 110,000 employees and offices in over 125 countries – with global headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. In addition to owning one of the world’s largest shipping companies, the company is also involved in a wide range of activities within the energy, shipbuilding, retail and manufacturing industries.
He was the father of Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller.
 |
This Danish biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 This European business-related biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
