Axel Axgil, who fought to have his gay
relationship recognized by the Danish government, has died at the age
of 96, the AP reported.
Axgil was a co-founder of LGBT Danmark,
one of the oldest gay rights groups in Europe.
The group, established in 1948,
announced that Axgil had died in a hospital in Copenhagen on Saturday
from complications arising from a fall.
Axgil, who was born Axel
Lundahl-Madsen, and his partner Eigil were among the 11 couples to
inaugurate Denmark's civil unions law in 1989, becoming the first gay
and lesbian couples in the world to be recognized with nearly the
same rights as their heterosexual counterparts.
The men combined their first names to
create the surname Axgil. Eigil Axgil (born Eigil Eskildsen) died in
1995.
“Axel Axgil was a modest man who
never cast himself as a lonely warrior,” LGBA Danmark spokeswoman
Vivi Jelstrup said. “He always underscored that there were many
involved in the work [of gay rights in Denmark] and that it was a
common cause.”
Denmark
will consider a gay marriage law next year.