Erik Julius Christian Scavenius (Danish pronunciation: [skæˈve̝ˀnius]; 13 July 1877 – 29 November 1962) was the Danish foreign minister from 1909–1910, 1913–1920 and 1940–1943, and prime minister from 1942 to 1943, during the occupation of Denmark until the Danish elected government ceased to function. He was the foreign minister during some of the most important periods of Denmark's modern history, including the First World War, the plebiscites over the return of northern Schleswig to Denmark, and the German occupation. Scavenius was a member of the Landsting (the upper house of the Danish parliament before 1953) from 1918 to 1920 and from 1925 to 1927 representing the Social Liberal Party. He was chairman of its party organization from 1922 to 1924.