Jeppe Kofod | |
---|---|
Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
In office 27 June 2019 –15 December 2022 | |
Prime Minister | Mette Frederiksen |
Preceded by | Anders Samuelsen |
Succeeded by | Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
Vice President of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats | |
Assumed office 14 December 2016 | |
President | Sergei Stanishev |
Preceded by | Position established |
Member of the European Parliament for Denmark | |
In office 1 July 2014 –27 June 2019 | |
Preceded by | Dan Jørgensen |
Succeeded by | Marianne Vind |
Member of the Folketing for Bornholm | |
In office 11 March 1998 –30 June 2014 | |
Preceded by | Eva Fatum |
Succeeded by | Lea Wermelin |
Personal details | |
Born | Jeppe Sebastian Kofod 14 March 1974 Copenhagen,Denmark |
Political party | Social Democrats |
Other political affiliations | Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats |
Education | Roskilde University Harvard University |
Website | Official website |
Jeppe Sebastian Kofod (born 14 March 1974) is a former Danish politician of the Social Democratic Party who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark between 27 June 2019 to 15 December 2022.
Kofod previously served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2014 to 2019. Within the Party of European Socialists group,he led the Social Democrats from Denmark. Kofod was a member of the Folketing (the Danish Parliament) from the Social Democrats from 1998 until 2014 and again briefly as a substitute member for two months in 2023.
From 2006 to 2007 Kofod completed a Master in Public Administration at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. [1]
Jeppe Kofod was a Member of the Danish Parliament,the Folketing,first elected after the 1998 Danish general election for the constituency of Bornholm. [2] During his time in the Danish Parliament he served as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. [2]
At Easter in 2008,the then 34-year-old Jeppe Kofod appeared in the media because it emerged that in the evening after giving a lecture for the Social Democratic Youth of Denmark (DSU),he had sex with a 15-year-old girl from DSU. [3] Denmark's age of consent is 15. [4] Kofod commented at the time that he had shown a 'lack of judgment' in having a 'morally inappropriate relationship'. [5] [6] The episode led,among other things,to Kofod resigning from his committee posts and his post as foreign affairs spokesman for the Social Democrats. [7] [8] The chairman of DSU,Jacob Bjerregaard,stated that Kofod had violated DSU's rules and that he was no longer welcome in DSU. [9] [10]
Kofod was the head of the Danish Socialists and Democrats' delegation and Vice-President of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament. [11] Serving his first term,he was elected to the European Parliament at the 2014 European Parliament election,with a total of 170.739 personal votes. [12] He was re-elected in 2019. [13]
During his time in the European Parliament,Kofod served on the following Committees and Delegations: [14]
In addition to his committee assignments,Kofod was a member of the following intergroups in the European Parliament:
Kofod was also a supporter of the MEP Heart Group,a group of parliamentarians who have an interest in promoting measures that help reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). [20] He sat on the Executive Committee of the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA).
Following the 2019 elections,Kofod was part of a cross-party working group in charge of drafting the European Parliament's four-year work program on foreign policy. [21]
On 27 June 2019,Kofod was named Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Frederiksen Cabinet. [22] [23]
Early during his tenure,Kofod and Frederiksen faced a diplomatic incident when U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed his interest in buying Greenland from Denmark; [24] at the time,Kofod said the island could not be bought “in dollars,yuan or roubles”. [25] He later approved the establishment of a U.S. consulate in Greenland's capital Nuuk,which was widely seen as part of a broader move by the U.S. to expand its diplomatic and commercial presence in Greenland and the Arctic. [26] In 2020,he welcomed a $12.1 million economic aid package from the U.S. government for Greenland. [27]
Following the Bucha massacre in April 2022,Kofod expelled 15 Russian diplomats and embassy staff from Copenhagen,joining other European Union countries in its response to alleged war crimes by Russian troops in Ukraine. [28]
In June 2022,Kofod summoned the Russian ambassador when a Russian warship twice violated Danish territorial waters north of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm where a democracy festival attended by senior officials and business people –including Prime Minister Frederiksen –was taking place. [29]
At the 2022 Danish general election in November 2022 Kofod was not elected to the Folketing,and when a new government was formed in December,he was replaced by former prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. [30] [31]
Kofod was a substitute member of Folketinget for a couple of months from 28 February 2023,replacing Mette Gjerskov,who was on leave of absence because of disease. Kofod withdrew from the position on 1 May,retiring from politics altogether. [32] When Gjerskov died on 12 June 2023,Kofod confirmed again that he did not want to take her seat and become an MF again. [33]
The Social Democrats is a social democratic political party in Denmark. A member of the Party of European Socialists,the Social Democrats have 50 out of 179 members of the Danish parliament,Folketing,and three out of fourteen MEPs elected from Denmark.
The Folketing,also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English,is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Established in 1849,until 1953 the Folketing was the lower house of a bicameral parliament,called the Rigsdag;the upper house was the Landsting. It meets in Christiansborg Palace,on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen.
The Christian Democrats are a political party in Denmark. The party was founded in April 1970 as the Christian People's Party to oppose the liberalization of restrictions on pornography and the legalization of abortion. The party renamed itself to its current name in 2003. Originally,the party was not considered part of the European Christian-democratic tradition,and it was better known as a religious conservative party.
There are three types of elections in Denmark:elections to the national parliament,local elections,and elections to the European Parliament. Referendums may also be called to consult the Danish citizens directly on an issue of national concern.
Dan Jannik Jørgensen is a Danish politician of the Social Democrats who has served as Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy in the government of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen since 2022.
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.
Nicolai Halby Wammen is a Danish politician of the Social Democrats who has been serving as Minister for Finance in the government of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen since 2019. A native and lifelong resident of Denmark's second-largest city,Aarhus,he served as mayor from 2006 to 2011. On the national level,he has served as Minister of European Affairs (2011–2013) and as Minister of Defence (2013–2015).
Mette Gjerskov was a Danish politician,who was a member of the Folketing for the Social Democrats political party. She was elected into parliament at the 2005 Danish general election. She served as minister for Food,Agriculture and Fisheries.
Morten Bødskov is a Danish Social Democratic politician,and member of the Folketing,currently serving as the Minister for Business since 2022. He previously served as Minister of Defence from February to December 2022 and Minister for Taxation under Frederiksen and Minister of Justice in the Government of Helle Thorning-Schmidt.
General elections were held in the Kingdom of Denmark on 5 June 2019 to elect all 179 members of the Folketing;175 in Denmark proper,two in the Faroe Islands and two in Greenland. The elections took place ten days after the European Parliament elections.
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.
The 2019 European Parliament election in Denmark was held on 26 May 2019,and elected the Danish members to the European Parliament. The elections are part of the EU-wide elections for the parliament. Denmark had 13 seats in parliament,which increased by one additional seat following Brexit.
Mattias Tesfaye is a Danish politician serving as Minister for Education and Children since 2022. He was previously Minister for Justice from February to December 2022 and Minister for Immigration and Integration from 2019 to 2022,and has been member of the Folketing since the 2015 Danish general election as a member of the Social Democrats.
Benny Engelbrecht is a Danish politician who has been a member of the Folketing for the Social Democrats since the 2007 general elections. He served as the Minister of Transport from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as Minister of Taxation from 2014 to 2015.
Kaare Dybvad Bek is a Danish politician,who is a member of the Folketing for the Social Democrats political party. He was elected into parliament at the 2015 Danish general election. He has been the Minister for Immigration and Integration since 2022,the Minister for Building and Housing from 2019 to 2022 and Minister of the Interior from 2021 to 2022.
Aki-Matilda Tilia Ditte Høegh-Dam is a Greenlandic politician,who is a member of the Folketing for the Siumut political party. She was elected into parliament at the 2019 Danish general election,entering parliament at 22 years old,becoming its youngest member.
Marianne Vind is a Danish trade unionist politician who since June 2019 has been a member of the European Parliament for the Social Democrats,when she replaced Jeppe Kofod. She is a member of the Committee of Employment and Social Affairs as well as the Committee of Transport and Tourism.
Jesper Petersen is a Danish politician,who is a member of the Folketing for the Social Democrats political party. He is currently serving as Minister of Higher Education and Science. He was elected into parliament at the 2007 Danish general election,as a member of the Socialist People's Party. He switched party to the Social Democrats in 2013.
Events in the year 2022 in Denmark.