Kjeld Andersen was a talented businessman who, together with his wife Margit, founded one of Denmark's largest holiday home rental companies, Sol og Strand A/S, in 1979.

He was born in Himmerland as the youngest of five siblings. Despite modest circumstances on the small farmstead of approximately 25 acres, "Mathildesminde," he enjoyed a secure and loving childhood. Growing up in Himmerland defined him as a person for the rest of his life. He was frugal, hardworking, generous, and had an eye for people who were struggling.

Even as a child, he learned that education was important, and at his own request, he began attending a nearby secondary school. He finished with top marks, which got him a spot at Vestjysk Gymnasium in Tarm. The school was a boarding school where young people from less well-off families could get an education, room, and board, and at 16, Kjeld Andersen moved to Tarm.

In 1961, he became a mathematics student and chose to continue his studies as an agronomist at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Copenhagen. He was then employed as an agricultural consultant in agricultural organizations in North Zealand. In 1975, he was hired as a consultant at the National Center for Agricultural Organizations in Aarhus. The year before, he had met Margit, and that was the beginning of a 49-year marriage and a 50-year working partnership in the holiday home rental business.

Before meeting Kjeld, Margit Andersen had purchased a summer cottage plot in Lyngsaa, where a summer cottage was built. The couple's wedding in 1975 was held in the newly built summer cottage, and during their honeymoon, which took place in a tent in Lapland, Finland, the summer cottage was rented out. This allowed them to earn a little extra cash, but what the couple did not know at the time was that this would be the start of Sol og Strand .

In 1978, four more summer houses were built in Lyngsaa, and Margit Andersen was tasked with renting them out while Kjeld Andersen continued his consulting job in Aarhus.

In 1979, the couple decided that vacation home rentals would be their livelihood, and they started out renting out around 50 homes. Today, the company manages the rental of approximately 7,000 vacation homes, employs around 150 full-time staff and 1,200 hourly workers during the season. The head office is located in Hune in North Jutland, but a local presence in coastal areas has always been part of the company's strategy, which is why Sol og Strand now has 27 local offices around Denmark.

Kjeld Andersen was a visionary with an international outlook and a nose for good business, and he was also good with numbers. He was a master of mental arithmetic and never used a calculator or computer for that matter. Kjeld Andersen was unpretentious and a maverick who went his own way – even if it meant wearing slippers to a meeting at the bank. There is no doubt that Sol og Strand Kjeld Andersen at the helm, has made its mark on the holiday home rental industry. In 1979, summer house rentals were a niche market. Today, the industry helps to create jobs and is a significant part of the economy in many municipalities.

Similarly, he saw opportunities when the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989 – it opened up a significant East German market. Advertisements were placed in German newspapers, in which Sol og Strand housewives to rent out holiday homes in exchange for commission. They stayed at home and had time to sell holidays in Denmark. The only requirement was that they had a telephone, which was far from common in the GDR in 1989. Margit and Kjeld Andersen traveled by train to several East German cities to enter into agreements with the German housewives, and 30 so-called Denmark agents were hired. They became Sol og Strand's extended arms in a whole new market, which turned out to have great potential that was significant for the company's development and growth. "We have never followed in the footsteps of others – instead, we have followed our own paths," the couple has previously stated.

Kjeld Andersen was fascinated by the world around him and had an innate curiosity about other cultures, which took the couple to countries such as Antarctica, Mongolia, Peru, Oman, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Tibet, Borneo, Costa Rica, and India. In total, Margit and Kjeld Andersen have visited 107 countries.

In 2019, the couple decided to transfer ownership of Sol og Strand to the Sol og Strand Foundation, Sol og Strand Margit and Kjeld, which supports charitable and humanitarian causes.

Until the very end, Kjeld Andersen was involved in Sol og Strand (Sun and Beach Holiday Home Rental) and Fonden Sol og Strand Margit and Kjeld. From his property in Brovst, he closely followed the company's operations and well-being and took an active part every time funds were to be distributed from the foundation.

With the fund, the couple has ensured that the company they have always referred to as their "third child" can continue to exist and develop in Danish hands – even when they are no longer around.

Kjeld Andersen is no longer with us, but his and his wife's life's work lives on.

Honor the memory of Kjeld Andersen.