Factsheet Denmark. The Danish Parliament, the Folketing.

Transcription

1 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Factsheet Denmark The Danish Parliament, the Folketing. JANUARY 2006 THE ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN GOVERNMENT II Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has changed the political landscape in Denmark. He has made Venstre (Denmark's Liberal Party), the largest in the country, a position which Socialdemokratiet (The Social Democratic Party; in 2002 they changed their name to The Social Democrats) had previously held since the 1920s. Formerly, small centre parties could often determine the government power, but today parties such as Centrum-Demokraterne (The Centre Democratic Party) and Kristendemokraterne (The Christian Democratic Party) are no longer represented in the Danish Parliament, the Folketing. Dansk Folkeparti (The Danish People s Party), whose main issues have been a tight immigration policy and opposition to the EU, has achieved a popular and parliamentary break-through and is the third-largest party in the Folketing. The change of political system started when Fogh Rasmussen won his first general election on 20 November 2001 and became the Prime Minister of a minority government consisting of The Liberal Party and Det Konservative Folkeparti (The Conservative People's Party), supported by The Danish People s Party. At the general election on 8 February 2005, Fogh Rasmussen retained government power, again supported by The Danish People s Party.

2 Prime Minister Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Liberal), born 26 January 1953, joined The Liberal Party s youth branch already in upper secondary school and founded the Federation of Liberal Youth as a counterblast to the left-wing trend after He was Chairman of The Liberal Party s youth branch , before graduating in economics at the University of Aarhus and joining the Folketing in Aged only 25, he was the Folketing s youngest member. When a non-socialist government including The Liberal Party was formed in 1982, Fogh Rasmussen became the economic affairs spokesman. Aged 32, he was elected Deputy Chairman of The Liberal Party in Two years later, he was appointed Minister for Taxation and when he took over the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 1990, he became one of the key players in the Government. Among other things, he was Denmark s negotiator in relation to the European Economic and Monetary Union. In 1992, Fogh Rasmussen suffered one of his few defeats. A majority believed he had given the Folketing inadequate and incorrect information. He disagreed, but resigned as Minister, as he did not wish to jeopardise the life of the Government. A Social Democrat led Government assumed power in January 1993 and as The Liberal Party s political spokesman , Fogh Rasmussen spearheaded the party in opposition. His career has included some surprising changes of policy. While in the 1970s he wanted to solve Denmark s serious economic problems through collaboration between the Social Democrats and The Liberal Party, in the 1980s he became the standard-bearer for a liberal rearmament, influenced by neo-liberal currents in the USA. This line culminated in 1993, when he wrote the ideological manifesto Fra socialstat til minimalstat (From Social State to Minimal State). In 1998, as recently elected leader of The Liberal Party, he acknowledged that the struggle for power was happening at the political centre. He embarked on a centripetal course and positioned The Liberal Party as a guarantor of the welfare state. At the same time, he challenged the Social Democrats in areas such as freedom of choice, legal policy, taxation freeze and immigration policy. At the election in autumn 2001, this produced a landslide victory for The Liberal Party. During his first Government period, his main aim was to fulfil his promises to the electorate. Since the 2005 general election, he has put education, research and innovation on the agenda and also made job growth with more jobs for immigrants an important priority. Minister for Economic and Business Affairs Minister for Economic and Business Affairs Bendt Bendtsen (Conservative), born 25 March 1954, was elected party leader in 1999 and since then, he has quietly, but efficiently created peace in The Conservative People's Party after years of internal power struggles. At the general election on 8 February 2005, the party gained more seats and this ended a long decline since the 1984 general election. Bendt Bendtsen has been Minister for Economic and Business Affairs since the Government was formed in His main task is the preparation of welfare reforms aimed at gearing the Danish welfare society towards the tough global competition. As Deputy Prime Minister, he works closely with Fogh Rasmussen and because of their mutual trust, the rivalry between the Liberal and Conservative Parties has been replaced by close cooperation. Bent Bendtsen was active in local politics in Odense for many years and did not become a member of the Folketing until Since then, his career has been meteoric. Outside politics, he has worked in farming and the police. After completing lower secondary school in 1971, he enrolled at an agricultural college in 1972 and worked in farming until He then started at the Police College, becoming a police sergeant in 1980 and a detective sergeant in

3 Minister for Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller (Conservative), born 27 August 1942, imbibed politics with his mother s milk as the son of a prominent Conservative couple. In 1967, he obtained an MA in Comparative Literature at the University of Copenhagen and in 1973 a PhD for a thesis which became the start of an award-winning authorship. For many years, he was among other things Cultural Editor, Deputy Head and Chief of Programmes at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. He also taught at the Sorbonne in Paris. As a young man, Møller was among other things National Chairman of the Association of Conservative Sixth Formers. He was elected to the Folketing in 1984 and was Minister for the Environment In 1997, he became party leader, but was undermined by power struggles and resigned in He has always been particularly interested in international policy. In the Folketing, he has among other things been a member of the Foreign Policy Committee and chaired the Security Policy Committee. Before becoming Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2001, he was his party s foreign affairs spokesman. Minister for Finance Thor Pedersen (Liberal), born 14 June 1945, is one of the few Danish top politicians to have pursued a business career alongside their political career. He graduated in economics at the University of Copenhagen in 1978 and has used this education as a managing director and board member in private companies. Politically, he is experienced in both local and national politics. He was a member of Helsinge Council and Mayor from He was elected to the Folketing in 1984 and became Minister for Housing two years later. He became Minister for the Interior in 1987 and his portfolio was later expanded to include the task of Minister for Nordic Cooperation. From autumn 1992 to January 1993, he was Minister for the Interior and Economic Affairs. From 1993 to 2001, he was among other things a member of the Folketing's Finance Committee. He became Minister for Finance in Minister for Employment Claus Hjort Frederiksen (Liberal), born 4 September 1947, graduated in law at the University of Copenhagen in He was Secretary of the Parliamentary Liberal Party secretariat He then became Head of Section in the Ministry of Agriculture and Secretary of the Association of General Industries Employers, until he became Head of Administration for The Liberal Party in As Party Secretary from 1985, he worked closely with Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, then Chairman of The Liberal Party, and Anders Fogh Rasmussen. While Fogh Rasmussen was the ideological thinker, Hjort Frederiksen became the whip, who revitalised the Liberal Party organisation, which is now the largest in Denmark. As a Minister since 2001, he has retained his role as Fogh Rasmussen s close adviser. He was elected to the Folketing at the 2005 general election. 3

4 PHOTO: LARS GRUNWALD Minister for Justice Lene Espersen (Conservative), born 26 September 1965, graduated in economics at the University of Aarhus in 1990 and had a brief business career before being elected to the Folketing in Before her career in national politics, she was among other things Deputy Chairman of the Danish Association of Conservative Students. She is an efficient communicator with great popular appeal. She proved this already as her party s political spokeswoman from 1999, before becoming Minister for Justice in When the time for a leadership change comes, she will be one of the Conservatives who will carry on the party. Minister for Culture Brian Mikkelsen (Conservative), born 31 January 1966, became politically active already in primary school. As a young politician, he was among other things Chairman of the Danish Association of Conservative Sixth Formers, Chairman of the Nordic Association of Conservative Sixth Formers and Chairman of the Federation of Conservative Youth. He graduated in political science at the University of Copenhagen in The same year, he was elected to the Folketing, where he has primarily concerned himself with culture, education and research. He is a member of the party leadership and has contributed to the development of a new, modern line for The Conservative People's Party. Minister for Education and Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs Bertel Haarder (Liberal), born 7 September 1944, was given two ministerial titles and two tasks in As Minister for Refugees, Immigration and Integration, he was to tighten the immigration policy, and as Minister for European Affairs, he was to help ensure the success of the Danish EU Chairmanship in He achieved both objectives. Bertel Haarder graduated in political science at the University of Aarhus in 1970 and worked as a teacher and a lecturer at a college of education until 1975, when he was elected to the Folketing, where he became The Liberal Party s ideologist. In 1982, he was appointed Minister for Education. He was Minister of both Education and Research He was a member of the European Parliament and among other things became Deputy Chairman of the Liberal group, ELDR (The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party). He returned to Danish politics as a Minister in At a government reshuffle in 2004, he became Minister for Development Cooperation as well as Minister for Refugees, Immigration and Integration. After the 2005 general election, when he reentered the Folketing, he became Minister for Education. 4

5 Minister for Transport and Energy Flemming Hansen (Conservative), born 9 August 1939, has had a long career within retailing. He took a business school degree in 1959, an advanced business school degree in 1961 and became a Bachelor of Commerce in He has worked as Chief Consultant to the Danish Association of Shoe Retailers and has owned several shoe shops since He was elected to the Folketing in 1984 and has concerned himself with trade, taxation and European policy. He was a member of the Council of Europe He became Minister for Transport in After the 2005 general election, he was allocated the energy area from the Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs and was appointed Minister for Transport and Energy. Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Helge Sander (Liberal), born 27 August 1950, was educated as a journalist, but has been involved in politics since his youth. He was a member of Herning Council He re-entered the Council in 1994, first as Deputy Mayor and from 1998 as Mayor. He was a member of the Folketing and belonged to the Parliamentary Liberal Party Committee and The Liberal Party s Executive Committee. As Minister for Science since 2001, he has helped implement university reforms and over the coming years, he will help strengthen research and innovation. He was elected to the Folketing at the general election in February Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Hans Christian Schmidt (Liberal), born 25 August 1953, is a teacher by profession and was Deputy Head in Vojens He was elected to the Folketing in In addition to his career in national politics, he was a member of Vojens Council He became Minister for the Environment after the 2001 general election. This was an exposed position, as his task among other things was to slim down the large ministry. He was appointed Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries after the 2005 general election. 5

6 PHOTO: JENS HONORÉ PHOTO: CHRISTIAN ALSING Minister for the Interior and Health Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Liberal), born 15 May 1964, graduated in law at the University of Copenhagen in 1992 and was a self-employed consultant He has had a meteoric career in politics. He was National Chairman of the Federation of Liberal Youth In , he participated in local politics. He was elected to the Folketing in In 1998, he became Deputy Chairman of the party and Chairman of Frederiksborg County Council, while remaining a member of the Folketing. He was one of the players behind The Liberal Party s plan to give the citizens greater choice with regard to for instance hospital treatment and care for the elderly, and as Minister for the Interior and Health since 2001, he has the task of trimming the health service and reducing the waiting lists. His paramount task has, however, been to implement a historic local government reform, which will result in the replacement of the county councils by fewer regions and the amalgamation of the many small municipalities in Denmark into larger ones capable of handling the tasks of the future. He is the crown prince of The Liberal Party, able to succeed Fogh Rasmussen. Minister for Development Cooperation Ulla Tørnæs (Liberal), born 4 September 1962, after finishing upper secondary school studied in Chambéry in France, at the University of Copenhagen and elsewhere. She was employed by the Parliamentary Liberal Party secretariat She was Chairman of the Danish Association of Liberal Students and Vice-President of the International Federation of Liberal and Radical Youth She was elected to the Folketing in 1994 and joined the Parliamentary Liberal Party Committee. In 1998, she was appointed political spokeswoman of The Liberal Party. She became Minister for Education in 2001 and Minister for Development Cooperation after the 2005 general election. Minister for Defence Søren Gade (Liberal), born 27 January 1963, graduated in economics at the University of Aarhus (1990) and among other things has worked as a market analyst and business economist for Danish companies. He was elected to the Folketing in 2001 and became Minister for Defence already in April He is familiar with the armed forces from training at the Army Non-Commissioned Officers' School in Sønderborg and the Army Combat School in Oksbøl. Among other things, he has been a serving officer in the Jutland Regiment of Dragoons and a UN observer at UNTSO in the Middle East. 6

7 PHOTO: JENS HONORÉ PHOTO: JACOB DALL PHOTO: MIKAL SCHLOSSER Minister for Social Affairs and Minister for Gender Equality Eva Kjer Hansen (Liberal), born 22 August 1964, studied economics at the University of Copenhagen. She was elected to the Folketing in 1990 and has among other things been a member of the Standing Committee on Europe, the Finance Committee and the Social Affairs Committee as well as social affairs spokeswoman. From 1994 to 1999, she was a member of the European Parliament, where she was on the Committee of Budgets and Budget Control. In addition, she has been Deputy Chairman of ELDR (The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party). She became a Minister at a government reshuffle in Minister for the Environment and Minister for Nordic Cooperation Connie Hedegaard (Conservative), born 15 September 1960, is a graduate, but was already politically active during her studies, partly as Chairman of the Danish Association of Conservative Students. She was a member of the Folketing and among other things became her party s political spokeswoman. From 1990 to 2004, she pursued a media career, among other things as Director of Radio News and television anchorwoman. At a government reshuffle in 2004, she was appointed Minister for the Environment and after the general election in February 2005, she also became Minister for Nordic Cooperation. The election also returned her to the Folketing. She is very popular with the general public and is expected to have a great future in the party. Minister for Taxation Kristian Jensen (Liberal), born 21 May 1971, took an advanced business school degree at Lemvig Business School in 1991 and has worked for Unibank. Politically, he became a member of the National Committee of the Federation of Liberal Youth in 1993 and was National Chairman In 1998, he was elected to the Folketing, where he was the party s IT and sports spokesman until From 2001, he became The Liberal Party s finance spokesman and Deputy Chairman of the Taxation Committee. In 2003, he published the book 'Hurra for globaliseringen' (Long Live Globalisation). At a government reshuffle in 2004, he was appointed Minister for Taxation. 7

8 The Anders Fogh Rasmussen Government II Factsheet Denmark. Published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Address: Asiatisk Plads 2, DK-1448 Copenhagen K, Denmark. Telephone: (+45) Telefax: (+45) Website: Editor: Flemming Axmark. Translation: Siri Fischer Hansen. Design: Ole Jensen - ojdesign. Reproduction of the text, with or without acknowledgement, is permitted. Published January ISBN PHOTO: STIG STASIG PHOTO: HELLE MOOS Further Information Denmark s official website The Prime Minister s Office Christiansborg Prins Jørgens Gård 11 DK-1218 Copenhagen K stm@stm.dk Minister for Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs Rikke Hvilshøj (Liberal), born 5 May 1970, graduated in economics at the University of Copenhagen in She was Chairman of the Federation of Liberal Youth in Greater Copenhagen From 1993 to 2002, she was a member of Frederiksberg Council, where she was Deputy Mayor She was elected to the Folketing in In 2001, she became Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Liberal Party Committee. She became Chairman of the Folketing's Business Affairs Committee in 2003 and finance spokeswoman in 2004, before becoming a Minister in Minister for Family and Consumer Affairs Lars Barfoed (Conservative), born 4 July 1957, graduated in law at the University of Copenhagen in 1981 and has experience of both politics and the world of associations, where he among other things has been Director of The Danish Bankers Association. Politically, he has occupied several positions of trust, including membership of Rødovre Council. He was elected to the Folketing in 2001 and was soon given key spokesman roles, including finance spokesman and labour market policy spokesman. He was made a Minister after the general election in February Thomas Larsen Political Commentator for the Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende 8