Troels Lund Poulsen (born 30 March 1976) is a Danish politician, who is the Deputy Prime Minister of Denmark and leader of Venstre. He also serves as Minister of Defence. He previously served as Minister for the Environment from 2007 to 2010, Minister for Taxation from 2010 to 2011, Minister of Education in 2011, Minister for Commerce, Business and Growth from 2015 to 2016, Minister for Employment from 2016 to 2019, and Minister for Economic Affairs from 2022 to 2023. He has been a member of the Folketing since 2001, representing the Hedensted nomination district.
Troels Lund Poulsen | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lund Poulsen in 2024 | |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Denmark | |
| Assumed office 23 October 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Mette Frederiksen |
| Preceded by | Jakob Ellemann-Jensen |
| Minister for Defence | |
| Assumed office 22 August 2023 Acting: 6 February – 1 August 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Mette Frederiksen |
| Preceded by | Jakob Ellemann-Jensen |
| Minister for Economic Affairs | |
| In office 23 October 2023 – 23 November 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Mette Frederiksen |
| Preceded by | Jakob Ellemann-Jensen |
| Succeeded by | Stephanie Lose |
| In office 15 December 2022 – 22 August 2023 On leave: 6 February 2023 – 1 August 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Mette Frederiksen |
| Preceded by | Simon Emil Ammitzbøll-Bille (2019) |
| Succeeded by | Jakob Ellemann-Jensen |
| Leader of Venstre | |
| Assumed office 18 November 2023 | |
| Deputy | Stephanie Lose |
| Preceded by | Jakob Ellemann-Jensen |
| Minister for the Environment | |
| In office 23 November 2007 – 23 February 2010 | |
| Prime Minister | Anders Fogh Rasmussen Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
| Preceded by | Connie Hedegaard |
| Succeeded by | Karen Ellemann |
| Minister for Taxation | |
| In office 23 February 2010 – 8 March 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
| Preceded by | Kristian Jensen |
| Succeeded by | Peter Christensen |
| Minister of Education | |
| In office 8 March 2011 – 3 October 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
| Preceded by | Tina Nedergaard |
| Succeeded by | Christine Antorini |
| Minister for Business Affairs and Growth | |
| In office 28 June 2015 – 28 November 2016 | |
| Prime Minister | Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
| Preceded by | Henrik Sass Larsen |
| Succeeded by | Brian Mikkelsen |
| Minister for Employment | |
| In office 28 November 2016 – 27 June 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
| Preceded by | Jørn Neergaard Larsen |
| Succeeded by | Peter Hummelgaard |
| Member of the Folketing | |
| Assumed office 20 November 2001 | |
| Constituency | East Jutland (from 2007) Vejle (2001—2007) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 March 1976 Vejle, Denmark |
| Political party | Venstre |
| Spouse | Anne |
| Children | 1 |
Political career
editPoulsen was first elected into parliament at the 2001 Danish general election.[1]
On 23 February 2010, he was appointed as Minister of Taxation, while Karen Ellemann took over the Ministry of the Environment. On 8 March 2011, he was appointed Minister of Education, following Tina Nedergaard's resignation on the same day.[2][3]
In late 2011, he became the center of a dispute regarding the disclosure of confidential documents in favor of discrediting the former Danish prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt and her husband Stephen Kinnock due to their tax relations.[4] The affair happened in the 2011 Danish parliamentary election and involved the head of SKAT (the Danish tax agency) Copenhagen (Erling Andersen), the Permanent Secretary of State in the Ministry of Taxes, Peter Loft, and the spindoctor of Lund Poulsen, Peter Arnfeldt.[5]
On 28 June 2015, he was appointed Minister of Business and Growth in the government of Lars Løkke Rasmussen II.[6] On 28 November 2016, he was moved from here to the position of Minister of Employment.[7]
He was appointed minister of economic affairs on 15 December 2022 when Mette Frederiksen presented her second cabinet.[8] On 6 February 2023, he became acting minister of defence while Jakob Ellemann-Jensen was on leave.[9] On 22 August 2023, the appointment became permanent. On 23 October 2023, he replaced Ellemann-Jensen as Deputy Prime Minister after his resignation as party leader of Venstre.[10][11] He was elected leader of Venstre on 18 November 2023,[12] with Stephanie Lose taking over as minister of economic affairs.[13]
On 9 February 2024, he stated, "Denmark should speed up its military investments after new intelligence indicates that Russia is rearming faster than expected and that it could attack a NATO country within three to five years".[14]
On 3 April 2024, he fired Danish chief of defence Flemming Lentfer, saying that Lentfer had failed to keep him informed about weapons failures on board HDMS Iver Huitfeldt when it fought in Operation Prosperity Guardian.[15]
Personal life
editLund Poulsen is married to Anne, with whom he has a daughter.[12]
Bibliography
edit- Atlantiske afstande (2004, co-author)
- Den forandrede verden (2003, co-author)
- Tid til forandring (2001)
References
edit- ^ "Troels Lund Poulsen (V)". Ft.dk. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ "Troels Lund Poulsen ny undervisningsminister".
- ^ "Tina Nedergaard stopper for sin datters skyld". DR (in Danish). 8 March 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ "Presset stiger på Troels Lund Poulsen" (in Danish). Danmarks Radio. 4 December 2011.
- ^ "Her er hovedpersonerne i skattesagen" (in Danish). Danish TV2. 4 December 2011.
- ^ "troels lund poulsen bliver undervisningsminister".
- ^ "Troels Lund ny beskæftigelsesminister". Fagbladet 3F. 28 November 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ Bohr, Jakob Kjøgx (15 December 2022). "Her er SVM-regeringens ministre - TV 2". nyheder.tv2.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ "Denmark to start sending Ukraine Leopard 1 tanks before summer – minister". Euromaidanpress. Ukrinform. 11 April 2023.
- ^ "Jakob Ellemann trækker sig fra dansk politik - TV 2". nyheder.tv2.dk (in Danish). 23 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ "Ændringer i regeringen". Statsministeriet (in Danish). Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Pludselig gik det op for Venstres bagland, at Troels Lund Poulsen har en datter" (in Danish). Danmarks Radio. 18 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
- ^ "Ændringer i regeringen". Statsministeriet (in Danish). Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ "Danish defence minister warns Russia could attack NATO in 3-5 years -media".
- ^ "Denmark axes its defence chief for failure to report weapons system malfunction". Reuters. 3 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
External links
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