Peter Brixtofte
Peter Brixtofte | |
---|---|
Margrethe II | |
Prime Minister | Poul Schlüter |
Preceded by | Anders Fogh Rasmussen |
Succeeded by | Ole Stavad |
Mayor of Farum | |
In office 1985–2002 | |
Preceded by | Gøsta Gustavsen |
Succeeded by | Lars Carpens |
Personal details | |
Born | Copenhagen, Denmark | 11 December 1949
Died | 2016 (aged 66) Farum, Denmark Found dead 8 November 2016 |
Spouses |
|
Children | 3[1] |
Occupation | Politician |
Peter Brixtofte (11 December 1949 – 2016) was a Danish politician who was member of the Danish Parliament (
Mayor of Farum
For several years Brixtofte was the Mayor of
Controversial financial and welfare programs
Brixtofte made headlines with a highly untraditional
Scandals
In February 2002 several
Multiple other incidents surfaced including the so-called "
Consequences
Eventually the investigations resulted in two criminal cases being raised against Brixtofte who pleaded not guilty in both. On 20 June 2006 Brixtofte was found guilty in the sponsor case (generally considered the smaller of the two) and was sentenced to jail for 2 years.[2] He appealed but this was rejected on 8 February 2007. His lawyer then announced an appeal to the Supreme Court which would, however, only be granted in exceptional circumstances and can only affect the length of the sentence, not the guilty verdict. The appeal was granted by Procesbevillingsnævnet on 16 August 2007.[3]
In the other legal case he was also found guilty on 10 April 2007. He was sentenced an additional 2 years of unconditional prison but appealed right away. The prosecutor also appealed for a higher sentence. Brixtofte's right-hand man, Leif Frimand Jensen, was also sentenced two years in prison, but it was made conditional due to his bad health. He also appealed. Twelve former and current councilmen were also charged, but risked only fines.[4]
The welfare and leaseback programs got an abrupt ending as well. Eventually rulings were made on the tax issues making the sale-and-lease-back model less favorable. This as well as the bad media coverage of Brixtofte meant that investors lost faith in the administration. This caused the collapse of various plans that should have kept the scheme going, such as the sale of certain building sites. On top of that came increasing rent costs from the previous sales and eventually the municipality was forced to abandon the extraordinary welfare programs and dramatically raise its taxes. It went from being one of the cheapest to one of the most expensive municipalities in Denmark.
Later political and professional life
After being exposed in early 2002, Brixtofte was excluded from
As a member of Parliament, Brixtofte was excluded from Venstre's party fraction in May 2002. In 2004 he briefly joined
In 2003 Brixtofte and Låsby-Svendsen, a well-known Danish estates, carpet and horse dealer, established the estate agency Brixtofte Emlak Turkey which specialised in selling holiday flats to Danes in Antalya. Reportedly the Turkish city has named roads and squares after Brixtofte.[7]
On 9 February 2007, the day after his prison sentence ended, Brixtofte was denied entry to the
On 12 April 2007, the Copenhagen Post reported that a Hillerød court sentenced Brixtofte to two years in jail. He was found guilty of taking out a DKK 450-million loan without asking the city council for permission. He also used public funds for banquets with wine costing DKK 6000 per bottle. In June 2006, he had already been sentenced to two years in prison for a corruption scandal involving his sponsorship of Farum’s handball club.
On 15 April 2008, the Danish supreme court confirmed the verdict of two years' imprisonment for the sponsorship case.[9] Brixtofte was eligible to appeal the decisionto the European Court of Human Rights.
On 28 May 2008, the Interior Ministry's Board of Eligibility stripped Brixtofte of his right to be an elected political representative due to the supreme court's verdict in the sponsorship case.[10]
On Wednesday 6 August 2008 Peter Brixtofte began serving his two-year sentence in
Brixtofte was found dead in his apartment on 8 November 2016; he was 66.[1][12] According to his daughter Marie, he "had been dead for many days" when he was found.[13]
References
- ^ a b c Bjerregaard, Morten; Ingvorsen, Emil (8 November 2016). "Tidligere Farum-borgmester Peter Brixtofte er død". dr.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ^ Mayor sentenced, The Copenhagen Post, 22 June 2006
- ^ Brixtofte får lov at anke sponsorsag, Politiken, 16 August 2006
- ^ Brixtofte skal fire år i fængsel, Jyllands Posten, 10 April 2007
- ^ Brixtofte back, The Copenhagen Post, 17 Nov 2005
- ^ Political switch-hitter, The Copenhagen Post, 27 Feb 2004
- ^ Property dealer, The Copenhagen Post, 13 Nov 2003
- ^ Brixtofte smidt ud af USA, Ekstra Bladet, 11 Feb 2007 Archived 2007-02-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Brixtofte to år bag tremmer (Brixtofte two years behind bars). Danmarks Radio. 15 April 2008.
- ^ Peter Brixtofte færdig i politik (P.B. finished in politics). Danish Broadcasting Corporation. 28 May 2008.
- ^ Nyhedsavisen (internet edition only) 9 September 2008.
- ^ Ritzau. "Peter Brixtofte er død". b.dk (in Danish). Berlingske. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ^ "Marie Brixtofte's far drak og hun forsøgte altid at redde ham". Femina (in Danish). 14 January 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
[Brixtofte] havde været død i mange dage.
- Farumgate: Mayor flees fraud scandal, The Copenhagen Post, 14 Feb 2002 (recommended)
- "Peter Brixtofte" (in Danish). Folketinget. Archived from the originalon 2007-02-25. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
- "Dom står fast: Brixtofte to år i fængsel" (in Danish). Danmarks Radio. 8 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-08.