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Mette Frederiksen

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Mette Frederiksen
MP
Frederiksen in 2009
Prime Minister-designate of Denmark
Assuming office
June 2019
MonarchMargrethe II
SucceedingLars Løkke Rasmussen
Leader of the Opposition
Assumed office
28 June 2015
MonarchMargrethe II
Prime MinisterLars Løkke Rasmussen
Preceded byLars Løkke Rasmussen
Leader of the Social Democrats
Assumed office
28 June 2015
DeputyFrank Jensen
Mogens Jensen
Preceded byHelle Thorning-Schmidt
Minister of Justice
In office
10 October 2014 – 28 June 2015
Prime MinisterHelle Thorning-Schmidt
Preceded byKaren Hækkerup
Succeeded bySøren Pind
Minister of Employment
In office
3 October 2011 – 10 October 2014
Prime MinisterHelle Thorning-Schmidt
Preceded byInger Støjberg
Succeeded byHenrik Dam Kristensen
Member of the Folketing
Assumed office
20 November 2001
ConstituencyCopenhagen County
Personal details
Born (1977-11-19) 19 November 1977 (age 46)
Aalborg, Denmark
Political partySocial Democrats
Spouse
Erik Harr
​
​
(m. 2003; div. 2014)​
Children2
EducationAalborg University

Mette Frederiksen (born 19 November 1977) is a Danish politician serving as Leader of the Social Democrats since 2015. A member of the Folketing for Copenhagen County since the 2001 general election, she served under Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt as Minister of Employment from 2011 to 2014 and Minister of Justice from 2014 until she succeeded her as party leader.[1][2]

Following the 2019 general election, in which the opposition "red bloc" of left-wing and centre-left parties (Social Democrats, Social Liberals, Socialist People's Party, Red Green Alliance, the Faroese Social Democratic Party and Greenland's Inuit Ataqatigiit and Siumut) won an absolute majority of 94 out of 179 seats in the Folketing, she has been commissioned by Queen Margrethe II to lead the negotiations to form a new government. Should she be successful in this regard, Frederiksen would become the youngest prime minister in Danish history at the age of 41, as well as the second woman in the role after her fellow Social Democrat Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

Early life

Frederiksen was born in Aalborg; her father was a typographer, and her mother a teacher.[1] She attended the Aalborghus Gymnasium, and studied administration and social science at Aalborg University, graduating in 2000.[1]

Career

Frederiksen worked as a youth consultant for LO, The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions.[1] She was elected as a member of parliament for Copenhagen County in the general election held on 20 November 2001.[1] After her election, Frederiksen was named as her party's spokesperson for culture, media, and gender equality.[1] She became her party's spokesperson for social affairs after the 2005 parliamentary election.[1] Also following the 2005 election, she served as the vice-chairperson of the parliamentary group of the Social Democratic party.[1]

In May 2010, it was revealed that Frederiksen's daughter, along with the children of several other prominent Social Democrat politicians, was being educated at a private school.[3] Along with her colleagues, Frederiksen was accused of hypocrisy by the Danish press as her party had long seen the promotion of public education as a key policy.[3] In 2005, Frederiksen had openly criticised parents who sent their children to private schools.[3] Frederiksen responded to the criticism by saying that her opinion on private education had become more nuanced since her remarks in 2005 and that it would have been hypocritical of her to put her own political career ahead of her daughter's best interest.[4]

Under Frederiksen's leadership of the Social Democrats, the party has moved to the left on economics but become more skeptical of immigration.[5][6] In a recent biography, she said: "For me, it is becoming increasingly clear that the price of unregulated globalisation, mass immigration and the free movement of labour is paid for by the lower classes."[5]

Political positions

Frederiksen is a vocal opponent of prostitution, and has for many years strongly advocated for the prohibition of the purchase of sex, as in Sweden, Norway, and Iceland.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Folketing biography". Folketing. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  2. ^ "Portræt: Mette Frederiksen skal finde sin egen vej" [Portrait: Mette Frederiksen has to find her own way]. Politiken. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "Opposition under fire for picking private schools". The Copenhagen Post. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ "Mette Frederiksen: Min datter kommer først". Politiken. 6 May 2010. Archived from the original on 9 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b Orange, Richard (11 May 2018). "Mette Frederiksen: the anti-immigration left leader set to win power in Denmark". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  6. ^ O'Leary, Naomi (6 September 2018). "Danish left veering right on immigration". Politico. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  7. ^ Socialdemokrater vil forbyde købesex Berlingske 26 September 2009

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mette_Frederiksen&oldid=901043196"