Barbara Bertelsen | |
|---|---|
| Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office | |
| Assumed office 13 January 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Mette Frederiksen |
| Preceded by | Christian Kettel Thomsen |
| Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice | |
| In office 16 February 2015 –13 January 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Helle Thorning-Schmidt Lars Løkke Rasmussen Mette Frederiksen |
| Minister | Mette Frederiksen Søren Pind Søren Pape Poulsen Nick Hækkerup |
| Preceded by | Anne Kristine Axelsson |
| Succeeded by | Johan Kristian Legarth |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 September 1973 |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Alma mater | Aarhus University |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
Barbara Beatrice Bertelsen (known by her initials BBB; [1] born 24 September 1973) is a Danish jurist and senior civil servant. She is the current Permanent Secretary of State at the Prime Minister's Office of Denmark,and as such the head and principal civil servant in the central administration of Denmark. [2] She is the first woman to hold this position and thus the highest-ranking female civil servant in Danish history. [3]
Bertelsen has previously held senior positions within the Danish central administration,mainly in the Ministry of Justice,where she served as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice from 2015 to 2020,under four different Ministers of Justice.
Bertelsen was appointed Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office in 2020,following Mette Frederiksen's electoral victory in 2019. Tasked with bolstering the Danish Ministry of State,Bertelsen played a crucial role in its expansion,aimed at enhancing its operational efficiency and political power. Her departmental leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic garnered attention,as she took early and decisive measures to address the crisis. However,her management style,marked by meticulous oversight and direct communication,has drawn both acclaim and criticism. Despite facing a warning in connection with the 2020 Danish mink cull for hastening processes leading to legal infractions,Bertelsen's disciplinary action was later rescinded.
Barbara Beatrice Bertelsen was born on 24 September 1973 in Copenhagen,the daughter of Boye Lennart Bertelsen and Vivian Kamp. [4] Her parents were medical doctors,and the family moved to Esbjerg when she was one and a half years old. [5] Subsequently,the family lived in Hjerting and later moved to Sønderho on the island of Fanø. [5] [6] She has a younger brother.
Bertelsen descends paternally from the Danish landowning family Dornonville de la Cour ,which immigrated from France as Huguenots. [7] [8]
Bertelsen graduated from Esbjerg Statsskole in 1992. [9] In 1998,she obtained a Master of Laws (cand.jur) degree from Aarhus University. [6]
Barbara Bertelsen began her career as a civil servant immediately following her graduation from Aarhus University in 1998,initially serving as a head of section (Danish :Fuldmægtig) in the Police and Legal Office of the Ministry of Justice from 1998 to 2000. During this period,she also held concurrent positions,spending the first year as a police assistant at Roskilde Police and the subsequent year as an assistant prosecutor at the Public Prosecutor's Office for Zealand. [10]
From 2001 to 2003,Bertelsen was seconded from the Ministry of Justice to the Prime Minister's Office,where she worked as a head of section with responsibilities in domestic affairs. Returning to the Ministry of Justice from 2003 to 2006,she assumed the role of head of section in the Criminal Law Office. Concurrently,from 2003 to 2005,she served as Secretary to the Future Police Vision Committee under the ministry. [10]
Advancing in her career,Bertelsen was appointed as a senior advisor and deputy head of the Police Office at the Ministry of Justice from 2007 to 2008. Subsequently,she was promoted to head of the entire Policy Office from 2008 to 2009. Transitioning to the Planning and Development Office within the Ministry of Justice from 2009 to 2010,she continued her role as office head. From 2010 to 2012,Bertelsen held the position of head of the more influential and significant Economic Office within the Ministry of Justice. [11]
Throughout these appointments,Bertelsen played a key role in implementing what has been described as the most comprehensive reform of the Danish police in recent times. She closely collaborated with various justice ministers,including Lene Espersen and Brian Mikkelsen of the Conservative Party. [10] [12]
In 2012,Bertelsen assumed the role of Deputy Director-General at the newly established Modernization Agency,succeeding the Personnel Agency under the Ministry of Finance. During her tenure,the Modernization Agency earned a reputation for its stringent budgetary measures. Within the Modernization Agency,Bertelsen led the employer pillar,effectively continuing the work of the former Personnel Agency. She represented the government in negotiations with state employees during collective labour agreements. Reportedly,Bertelsen also played a pivotal role in the government's intervention during the 2013 Danish teacher lockout ,where she also worked with the then Minister of Employment,Mette Frederiksen. [10]
From 2000 to 2007,Bertelsen held a secondary position as a teaching assistant at the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Law,specializing in Family and Inheritance Law. [13]
In February 2015,newly appointed Minister of Justice Mette Frederiksen selected Barbara Bertelsen as the new permanent secretary of the Ministry of Justice. Scheduled to assume her new role on a Monday the 16th of February,Bertelsen was compelled to commence immediately due to the terrorist attacks on the Krudttønden cultural center and the Great Synagogue in Copenhagen on 14 February 2015. Alongside Minister Frederiksen,Bertelsen undertook the exhaustive review and reassessment of Denmark's counterterrorism strategies. Additionally,she initiated a significant restructuring within the ministry's leadership team. [10]
However,Bertelsen's tenure with Minister Frederiksen was brief. Five months after her appointment,a change in government occurred as a result of the 2015 Danish general election,with Søren Pind assuming the position of Minister of Justice. Bertelsen enjoyed a close working relationship with both Pind and his successor,Søren Pape Poulsen. [10]
In 2020,following Mette Frederiksen's electoral victory in 2019,she appointed Barbara Bertelsen as the permanent secretary of the Prime Minister's Office. She is the first woman to hold this position and thus the highest-ranking female civil servant in Danish history. [3]
Her position as Permanent Secretary makes her ex officio Secretary of the Council of State,where she formally supports the functions of the privy council of Denmark. [14]
Besides heading the Prime Minister's Office,the role of the Permanent Secretary involves assisting the outgoing Prime Minister in transitioning to a new government during upcoming elections,as well as aiding the informateur (Danish :kongelig undersøger, lit. 'Royal Investigator') appointed by the Monarch of Denmark,to investigate the possibilities of the formation of a coalition government. This includes coordinating the transfer or continuation of government responsibilities,a task Bertelsen undertook after the 2022 Danish general election. [15]
Barbara Bertelsen's tenure as Permanent Secretary coincided with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's efforts to expand and refine the office's operations. This expansion aimed to bolster the office's effectiveness and influence in governmental affairs. [16]
Barbara Bertelsen was heavily involved in addressing the COVID-19 outbreak in Denmark. Notably,she expressed apprehension regarding the early downplayed responses of the Ministry of Health and health authorities concerning the virus,citing international news articles and research literature to underscore the gravity of the situation. Bertelsen's proactive stance,observed before the virus reached Europe,has been characterized as atypical. Specifically,her concern about asymptomatic transmission and subsequent criticism of health authorities' optimistic outlook highlighted her meticulous approach to crisis management. In a communication on February 11,she admonished the Ministry of Health for conveying overly optimistic messages and ended with the phrase:"Hope is not a strategy." As the outbreak progressed,Bertelsen increasingly scrutinized the Ministry of Health's communications,perceiving discrepancies between their reports and developments in affected regions such as Italy. This approach to management,characterized by thorough supervision and straightforward communication,has garnered both praise and criticism. [17]
Barbara Bertelsen also played a key role in the government's decision to cull all minks in Denmark due to COVID-19 Cluster 5 concerns. A commission of inquiry concluded,that Bertelsen took a leading role in the decision to cull all minks in Denmark,sidelining the Ministry of Environment and Food. Her rushed decision-making process and failure to ensure a proper legal basis for the actions taken,resulted in serious misconduct. [18] After the Mink Commission's report,the government sought advice from the Employee and Competence Agency . On 24 August 2022,they recommended a disciplinary warning for Barbara Bertelsen,which the Prime Minister accepted. However,the warning was withdrawn in March 2023,following the conclusion of an investigation that determined the statements made in November 2020 could not be legally classified as an instruction. [19]
Barbara Bertelsen maintains a private personal life and refrains from publicly commenting on matters and rarely grants interviews. [12] She is unmarried and has no children. She is currently in a relationship with Theis Bober. [19]
The prime minister of Denmark is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark comprising the three constituent countries:Denmark,Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Before the creation of the modern office,the kingdom did not initially have a head of government separate from its head of state,namely the monarch,in whom the executive authority was vested. The Constitution of 1849 established a constitutional monarchy by limiting the powers of the monarch and creating the office of premierminister. The inaugural holder of the office was Adam Wilhelm Moltke.
The Prime Minister's Office is the cabinet ministry of the Kingdom of Denmark,tasked with assisting the Prime Minister of Denmark,as well as the Cabinet of Denmark and Council of State.
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The politics of Denmark take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy,a constitutional monarchy and a decentralised unitary state in which the monarch of Denmark,King Frederik X,is the head of state. Denmark is a nation state. Danish politics and governance are characterized by a common striving for broad consensus on important issues,within both the political community and society as a whole.
Mette Frederiksen is a Danish politician who has served as prime minister of Denmark since June 2019,and leader of the Social Democrats since June 2015. The second woman to hold either office,she is also the youngest prime minister in Danish history,the first to be born after Margrethe II's accession to the throne,and the first to serve under Frederik X.
Vice-Prime Minister of Denmark is an office sometimes held by a minister in the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark. In the absence of the Prime Minister of Denmark,the Deputy Prime Minister takes over their functions,such as chairing the Cabinet of Denmark and participating in the Council of State.
The Permanent Secretary is the most senior civil servant of a Danish Government ministry,charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis.
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General elections were held in the Kingdom of Denmark on 1 November 2022,except in the Faroe Islands,where they were held on 31 October as 1 November was a national day of mourning for victims at sea. Of the 179 members of the Folketing,175 were elected in Denmark proper,two in the Faroes and two in Greenland. The elections were called on 5 October following an ultimatum to the government by the Social Liberals due to the outcome of a report on the 2020 Danish mink cull by the Mink Commission,which was critical of the government. Voter turnout was 84% in Denmark,48% in Greenland,and 71% in the Faroes,with a combined turnout of 84% for the realm as a whole.
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The Frederiksen I Cabinet took office on 27 June 2019 and succeeded the Lars Løkke Rasmussen III Cabinet following the 2019 Danish general election. Headed by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen,it was a minority government consisting of the Social Democrats. It relied on parliamentary support from the Red–Green Alliance,the Socialist People's Party,and the Social Liberal Party.
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Events in the year 2022 in Denmark.
The 2020 Danish mink cull,commonly known as the Mink Case or the Mink Scandal,was the government-mandated slaughter of all roughly 17 million mink that were being raised on farms for their fur in Denmark. The cull started in September in response to the detection of Cluster 5,an outbreak of a novel variant of SARS-CoV-2,in the mink during the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark. The cluster led to concerns that the potential of spillover to humans could reduce the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. The cull was made nation-wide on 4 November 2020;however,two days later the government announced that the extension of the cull orders had been given without legal authority,causing a political scandal.
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Events in the year 2023 in Denmark.
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Kommandør af Dannebrogordenen, R.50.Em., Sp.C.F.1., Ukr.P.O.1.
