Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Helle Thorning-Schmidt | |
---|---|
Preceded by | Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
Succeeded by | Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
Leader of the Social Democrats | |
In office 12 April 2005 – 28 June 2015 | |
Deputy | Frank Jensen Mogens Jensen |
Preceded by | Mogens Lykketoft |
Succeeded by | Mette Frederiksen |
Personal details | |
Born | Copenhagen, Denmark | 14 December 1966
Political party | Social Democrats |
Spouse |
|
Signature | |
Helle Thorning-Schmidt (Danish pronunciation:
Thorning-Schmidt served as a
Since 2020, Thorning-Schmidt has served as a Co-Chair of the
Early life and education
Helle Thorning-Schmidt was born in
Thorning-Schmidt studied
She became a social democrat during her studies in Belgium and joined the Social Democratic Party in 1993.[7]
Political career
European Parliament
From 1994 to 1997, Thorning-Schmidt led the secretariat of the Danish delegation of Social Democrats in the European Parliament.[1] After her time in Brussels she worked as an international consultant with the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions until being elected MEP in 1999.[1]
Thorning-Schmidt was elected to the
Member of the Folketing
In the
After the defeat in the
Thorning-Schmidt campaigned for the party leadership as a moderate candidate and was elected by the party members on 12 April 2005, ahead of the other candidate, Frank Jensen. She led the Social Democrats in the 2007 election, in which her party suffered modest losses and was forced into a third term in opposition. The party was also unable to regain its position as the largest party in the Folketing.[11]
She was against holding a referendum on the
Although her party again lost two seats in the 2007 election reducing the total to 45 seats, her leadership was not questioned by her party.
Both
Prime Minister of Denmark
2011 Danish election
In the
First Cabinet
Helle Thorning-Schmidt officially began her first term as prime minister on 3 October 2011, after having presented her cabinet to the Queen and having received her official appointment.
Thorning-Schmidt presided over the successful conclusion of NATO's strike missions in Libya, to which Denmark was a contributor, less than three weeks after taking office.[25]
During the first year in office her government rolled back anti-immigration legislation enacted by the previous government,[26] and passed a tax reform with support from the liberal-conservative opposition.[27] The tax reform raised the top tax threshold, effectively lowering tax rates for high income earners.[28] The aim of the tax reform was to increase labour output to fend off a projected shortage within the next decades. The stated goal was to entice Danes to work more in order to compensate for the decreasing workforce, by lowering tax on wages and gradually lowering welfare payments to those outside of the labour market to increase the economic benefit of working relative to receiving welfare.[29] Despite effectively lowering tax rates on high income earners, tax revenue continued to increase from 831,172 million Krone in 2011, to 901,001 million Krone in 2013, and eventually reached 954,473 million Krone in 2015 by the end of her time in office.[30] These effective reductions were in line with the 2009 tax reforms of Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a Venstre prime minister preceding her, which is likely why she received liberal-conservative support.[27]
On 9 August and 12 December 2013, amid tensions between coalition partners, Thorning-Schmidt made cabinet reshuffles.
Second Cabinet
On 30 January 2014, the Socialist People's Party announced their departure from Thorning-Schmidt's government due to a conflict over the proposed sale of
Thorning-Schmidt led her party into the 2015 general election in which her party increased its share of votes and seats. However, the Social Liberals lost nine seats, leaving the left bloc without enough support to remain in office. Within an hour of the results being declared, she announced her resignation as both prime minister and leader of the Social Democrats.
Electoral history
Thorning was the leader of the Social Democrats through seven electoral campaigns.[32]
Year | Type | Votes | % | Change in % | Seats | Change in Seats |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Local | 986,829 | 34.3 | +1.5 | 900 | — |
2007 | General | 881,037 | 25.5 | −0.3 | 45 | −2 |
2009 | European | 503,439 | 21.5 | −11.1 | 4 | −1 |
2009 | Local | 853,221 | 30.6 | −4.9 | 801 | −99 |
2011 | General | 879,615 | 24,8 | −0.7 | 44 | −1 |
2013 | Local | 919,574 | 29.5 | −1.1 | 773 | −28 |
2014 | European | 435,245 | 19.1 | −2.4 | 3 | −1 |
2015 | General | 925,635 | 26.3 | +1.5 | 47 | +3 |
Life after politics
Having lost the Danish general election of 2015, Thorning-Schmidt stepped down as prime minister and as leader of the Social Democratic Party. It was announced that she would become her party's member of the Presidium of the Folketing, and she served as the Presidium's 1st Vice-President. On 4 September 2015, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen announced that the Danish government had nominated Thorning-Schmidt as Denmark's official candidate to the position as new United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.[33]
After her retirement from Danish politics, Thorning-Schmidt served as the CEO of Save the Children from 2016 until 2019.[2]
Following the resignation of
In May 2020, Thorning-Schmidt joined the
Also in 2020, Thorning-Schmidt was appointed by the World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe to serve as a member of the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development, chaired by Mario Monti.[38] From 2021 to 2022, she was a member of the Trilateral Commission’s Task Force on Global Capitalism in Transition, chaired by Carl Bildt, Kelly Grier and Takeshi Niinami.[39]
In addition, Thorning-Schmidt has held several other paid and unpaid positions, including:
- Friends of Europe, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2020)[40]
- Vestas, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2019)[41]
- DBU's Women Commission to promote women's football in Denmark, Chairperson of the commission (since 2016)[42]
- International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity (led by Gordon Brown), Member (since 2015)[43]
- United Nations High-level Advisory Group for Every Woman Every Child, Member (since 2016)[44][45]
- International Crisis Group, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2016)[46]
- Atlantic Council, Member of the International Advisory Board[47]
- Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Member of the Global Board of Advisors[48]
- Scaling Up Nutrition Movement, Member of the Lead Group (since 2016, appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon)[49]
- Berggruen Institute, Member of the 21st Century Council[50]
- European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Member[51]
- Center for Global Development, Member of the European Advisory Group[52]
- Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Member of the Board[53]
- Progressives Zentrum, Member of the Circle of Friends[54]
Personal life
Thorning-Schmidt married
Although Thorning-Schmidt has been baptized into the Church of Denmark, she is not confirmed.[citation needed] She occasionally goes to church but does not believe in eternal life, salvation, heaven, or hell.[62][63]
Controversies
Tax affairs
In August 2010, the Danish tax authorities (SKAT) investigated reports that Thorning-Schmidt's husband, Stephen Kinnock, was guilty of tax evasion. Kinnock had declared that he was not a resident of Denmark and thus not subject to Danish taxes, while at the same time Thorning-Schmidt had declared, in an application for dispensation for Kinnock to own property in Denmark, that he resided in Denmark "every weekend of the year from Friday through to Monday".[64] Thorning-Schmidt attributed the discrepancy to a "big and sloppy error".[64] On 16 September 2010, Danish tax authorities acquitted the couple and the charges of tax evasion were dropped.[65]
A week before 15 September 2011 elections to the Danish Parliament, the 2010 decision from SKAT (the taxation department) surfaced in the Danish tabloid B.T. The case had been leaked to the newspaper several months previously. It turned out that from 2000 to 2008 Thorning-Schmidt had made use of tax deductions applicable to her husband, even though he was not subject to Danish taxes and had no income in Denmark. The mistake was corrected by SKAT for the three years from 2006 to 2008, and Thorning-Schmidt paid the amount she had saved due to the error. She was however not required to pay the amounts saved for the six years from 2000 to 2005, because of the statutory time limit for liability in such cases.[66]
In November 2011, the daily
Further controversy erupted when two days later the tabloid daily, Ekstra Bladet, reported that they had also been offered the confidential information that was made public during the election campaign. The source of the leak was determined to be Peter Arnfeldt, spin doctor for then Minister for Taxation Troels Lund Poulsen.[69] This led to intense media speculation that the former government, and specifically Troels Lund Poulsen, were engaged in leaking confidential tax information and trying to pressure the revenue service into changing its decision in the case, in an active attempt to discredit the opposition leader in the then imminent election. This would constitute a hitherto unseen level of abuse of power in Danish political life. The commission of inquiry that had already been announced two days previously, was broadly supported by the Danish Parliament to also look into whether the former government was involved in, or knew of, the leak.[70] On the same day, Troels Lund Poulsen announced he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence from the Danish Parliament. Peter Arnfeldt has been reported to the police by the Ministry for Taxation. In March 2012, Peter Loft was suspended from his post as deputy chief, for the duration of the two-year investigation period.[71]
Selfie controversy
In December 2013, Thorning-Schmidt, British prime minister David Cameron and US president Barack Obama faced criticism on social media that they had behaved inappropriately after posing for a "selfie" taken with Thorning-Schmidt's mobile phone during the memorial service for the former South African President Nelson Mandela.[72][73] Defending her actions, Thorning-Schmidt said, "There were lots of pictures taken that day, and I just thought it was a bit fun. Maybe it also shows that when we meet heads of state and government, we too are just people who have fun."[73] Cameron said he was being polite when Thorning-Schmidt asked him to take part in the picture. On a previous occasion, Thorning-Schmidt had stopped her car to ask for a picture with the actress Sarah Jessica Parker after spotting her signing autographs in Oslo.[74]
References
- ^ a b c d e Biography on the website of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget). Retrieved on 29 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Save the Children International Trustees' Report, Strategic Report, and Financial Statements for 2018" (PDF). Resource Centre. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- ^ "Profil: Helle Thorning-Schmidt – VG Nett om Danmark". Vg.no. 14 September 2011. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Helle Thorning har mistet sin far". Vejle Amts Folkeblad. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ISBN 9080498319
- ^ Olav Hergel. "Portræt: Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Den Første af Danmark cc". Politiken. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- ^ "Det bliver i hvert fald en moderne velfærdsdansker". information. 2 September 2011. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Helle Thorning-Schmidt" Archived 27 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine, European Parliament. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ Nick Clegg and Michiel van Hulten, "Reforming the European Parliament" Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ "Tale efter Folketingsvalget 2005" Archived 25 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Danske taler. (in Danish). Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ "Helle Thorning-Schmidt" Archived 4 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Den Store Danske. (in Danish). Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ Denmark announces snap elections Archived 16 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News 24 October 2007
- ^ Danes in poll tussle over migrants Archived 16 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News 13 November 2007
- ^ Denmark: A political guide Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian 9 November 2007
- ^ Munk, Andreas. "Helle Thorning – en socialt anlagt slider" Archived 26 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, DR, 2 October 2011. (in Danish). Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ Oppositionen går på ferie med flertal "Oppositionen gaar på ferie med flertal" Archived 4 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Berlingske, 28 June 2008, (in Danish). Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ "Vælgerne straffer Pia Kjærsgaard". Borsen.dk. 21 January 2011. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Vestager peger på Helle Thorning". Borsen.dk. 20 October 2008. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Rød dominans – Politik" (in Danish). BT.dk. 13 June 2010. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Greens: Markant rødt flertal – dr.dk/Nyheder/Politik". Dr.dk. 2 December 2010. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Danish opposition wins vote, delivering first woman PM | Deccan Herald". Deccanherald.com. 16 September 2011. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
- ^ Marie Hjortdal. "Løkke går af – nu begynder spillet om magten" (in Danish). Politiken.dk. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ "Appointment of New Government in Denmark"[permanent dead link], Embassy of Denmark Lithuania. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ Weaver, Ray (18 May 2012). "Government on track but off message". The Copenhagen Post. Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ "NATO: to decide Friday to end the aerial campaign over Libya, diplomats say". The Washington Post. 20 October 2011. Archived from the original on 28 December 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- ^ Adams, William Lee (6 October 2011). "A Blow to Europe's Far-Right: Denmark Reshapes Its Immigration Policies". Time. TimeWorld. Archived from the original on 1 September 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2012./
- ^ a b Stanners, Peter (25 June 2012). "Government defends tax deal with opposition". The Copenhagen Post. Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
- ^ "PM supports call to raise top tax threshold". The Copenhagen Post. PS. 16 May 2012. Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ Preisler, Marie (6 October 2011). "Helle Thorning-Schmidt: Danes must work more". Nordic Labour Journal. Work Research Institute. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ "Details of Tax Revenue - Denmark". stats.oecd.org. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
- ^ "SF leaves government, Vilhelmsen steps down". The Copenhagen Post. 30 January 2014. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
- ^ "Population and Elections". StatBank Denmark. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
- ^ "Denmark nominates Mrs. Helle Thorning-Schmidt to the position as new UN High Commissioner for Refugees". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ Humeyra Pamuk (11 June 2020), U.S. wary of Egypt truce effort in Libya, wants former Danish PM to lead U.N. peace bid Archived 11 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine Reuters.
- ^ Michelle Nichols (31 July 2020), U.S. should not stand in way of U.N. chief naming new Libya envoy, Germany says Archived 17 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine Reuters.
- ^ "Facebook's Oversight Board orders takedowns restored". BBC News. 28 January 2021. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- ^ "Facebook's long-awaited oversight board to launch before US election". the Guardian. 24 September 2020. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ Announcing the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development: Rethinking Policy Priorities in the light of Pandemics Archived 12 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, press release of 11 August 2020.
- ^ Task Force on Global Capitalism in Transition Archived 30 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine Trilateral Commission.
- ^ Friends of Europe appoints 29 new members to its Board of Trustees Archived 27 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine Friends of Europe, press release of 25 June 2020.
- ^ Vestas' Board of Directors to nominate Helle Thorning-Schmidt as new member of the Board Archived 16 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine Vestas, press release of 11 January 2019.
- ^ "Thorning-Schmidt skal styrke kvindefodbold" (in Danish). Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- ^ Gordon Brown appointed Chair of Education Financing Commission Archived 29 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine Office of Gordon and Sarah Brown, press release of 22 September 2015.
- ^ UN Secretary-General Announces Members of the High-Level Advisory Group for Every Woman Every Child Archived 28 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine Every Woman Every Child, press release of 21 January 2016.
- ^ "High-Level Advisory Group on Every Woman Every Child". Archived from the original on 26 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ Crisis Group Announces New Board Members Archived 19 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine International Crisis Group, press release of 28 July 2016.
- ^ "International Advisory Board". atlanticcouncil.org. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- ^ Global Board of Advisors Archived 9 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).
- ^ Secretary-General Appoints 29 Global Leaders to Spearhead Fight against Malnutrition Archived 12 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine United Nations, press release of 21 September 2016.
- ^ 21st Century Council Archived 21 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine Berggruen Institute.
- ^ Members Archived 2 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine European Council on Foreign Relations.
- ^ European Advisory Group Archived 28 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine Center for Global Development
- ^ Board Archived 24 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.
- ^ Circle of Friends Archived 7 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine Progressives Zentrum.
- ^ Ames, Jonathan (21 February 2022). "Neil Kinnock is proud as grandson comes out as transgender". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- ^ "BBC News – Profile: Danish PM-elect Helle Thorning-Schmidt". Bbc.co.uk. 3 August 2010. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- ^ "Stephen Kinnock". Archived from the original on 25 October 2013.
- ^ "Former Danish PM Thorning to leave politics". The Local. 14 January 2016. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- Red. Archivedfrom the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ Marsh, Stefanie (13 March 2017). "Stephen Kinnock: 'I've had smears against me - it was deeply unpleasant'". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ "Helle Thorning Schmidt: Former Danish PM hailed for magnificent admonishment of Labour MP husband Stephen Kinnock in BBC documentary". The Independent. 21 November 2017. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ Kabir Chibber, Jason Karaian (28 January 2015). "These are the religious beliefs of Europe's leaders—including the atheists". Quartz. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- ^ Hansen, Mette Skov (14 September 2011). "Helle Thorning-Schmidt om tro og liv efter døden" [Helle Thorning-Schmidt on faith and life after death] (in Danish). Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- ^ a b Danish politics rocked over Kinnock tax status Archived 19 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News 3 August 2010
- ^ Revisor: Skat frikender Thorning i skattesag, Politiken 16 September 2010 (in Danish)
- ^ Thorning fik uberettiget fradrag i seks år Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, B.T. 17 September 2011
- ^ Ministers højre hånd skrev afsnit i Thorning-sag Archived 12 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Politiken 11 November 2011
- DR2 December 2011
- ^ Avis: Troels Lunds spindoktor ville lække Thornings skattepapirer Archived 4 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Politiken 4 December 2011 (in Danish)
- ^ Undersøgelseskommissionen ventes klar hurtigt Archived 16 July 2012 at archive.today, Politiken 5 December 2011
- ^ Skatteminister fritager sin departementschef fra tjeneste, Politiken. 21 March 2012 (in Danish)
- ^ "Obama and Cameron criticised for memorial 'selfie'". RTÉ News. RTÉ. 10 December 2013. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
- ^ a b Dominiczak, Peter (12 December 2013). "Nelson Mandela: Helle Thorning-Schmidt defends David Cameron 'selfie'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
- ^ Mason, Rowena; Harding, Luke (11 December 2013). "David Cameron and Danish PM brush off criticism of Mandela memorial selfie". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
External links
- Prime Minister's website (in English)
- Helle Thorning-Schmidt at Curlie(in Danish)
- Appearances on C-SPAN