Bertel Geismar Haarder (born 7 September 1944, in Rønshoved, near

Aabenraa Aabenraa (; , ; Sønderjysk: ''Affenråe'') is a town in Southern Denmark, at the head of the Aabenraa Fjord, an arm of the Little Belt, north of the Denmark–Germany border and north of German town of Flensburg. It was the seat of Sønder ...

) is a Danish writer, teacher and politician, who was a member of the

Folketing The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), 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 ...

for the Venstre political party. He has served as minister several times, including Minister of Education from 1982 to 1993 and again in 2005 to 2010, and most recently as

Minister for Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizat ...

and Ecclesiastical Affairs from 2015 to 2016 in the L. L. Rasmussen II Cabinet. He is a former member of European Parliament, serving from 1994 to 2001. He has also served as president of

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomou ...

on two occasions, first in 2011 and latest from 2020 to 2021.

Political career

Haarder was first elected to the

(Parliament) in 1975. Until 1977 he was a member of the Folketing representing

North Jutland County North Jutland County ( da, Nordjyllands Amt) is a former county (Danish: ''amt'') in northern Denmark. It was located on the eastern half of Vendsyssel-Thy and the northernmost part of the Jutland peninsula. It was the largest county in Denmark ...

constituency, and from 1977 to 1999 he was a member of the Folketing from

Copenhagen County Københavns Amt () is a former county (Danish, ''Amt (subnational entity), amt'') on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. It covered the municipalities in the metropolitan Copenhagen area, with the excepti ...

constituency. From 2005 to 2007, he was a member from

Vestsjælland County West Zealand County ( da, Vestsjællands Amt) is a former county ( Danish: ''amt'') in the west-central part of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising a few former counties. Th ...

constituency, and since 2007 he has been a member from

Greater Copenhagen The urban area of Copenhagen (also known as Greater Copenhagen) ( da, Storkøbenhavn or ), lying mostly in the Capital Region of Denmark but also in Region Zealand, consist of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg municipalities and the former Copenhagen ...

constituency. He was also a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

from 1994 to 2001, and he served as Vice-Chairman of the European Parliament from 1997 to 1999. From 10 September 1982 to 25 January 1993 he was Education Minister in various cabinets of

Poul Schlüter Poul Holmskov Schlüter (; 3 April 1929 – 27 May 2021) was a Danish politician who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1982 to 1993. He was the first member of the Conservative People's Party to become Prime Minister, as well as the first ...

. From 10 September 1987 to 25 January 1993 he was also the Minister of Research. From November 2001 to February 2005 he was Minister for Refugees, Immigrants and Integration in the

Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen I After the 2001 Danish parliamentary election, Anders Fogh Rasmussen was able form a government coalition of his own Liberal Party Venstre and the Conservative People's Party. It was a minority government with the parliamentary support of the Dan ...

, and enacted a policy of tough measures designed to limit the number of immigrants coming to Denmark. From February 2005 until February 2010 Haarder was once more the Education Minister in the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen II. From February 2010 to October 2011 he was Interior and Health Minister in the

Lars Løkke Rasmussen I Cabinet The First cabinet of Lars Løkke Rasmussen, was announced on 5 April 2009 as Lars Løkke became prime minister after Anders Fogh Rasmussen was offered the post of Secretary General of NATO on 4 April 2009. Following the 2011 parliamentary elec ...

Furthermore, from February 2005 to November 2007 he was minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs and from November 2007 until February 2010 the Minister of Nordic Cooperation in the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen III. In February 2010 the veteran minister took over as Interior and Health Minister until October 2011. He is the longest serving Danish minister. In 2021 Haarder announced he would not be standing at the

2022 Danish general election 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 w ...

and subsequently lost his seat in the Folketing.

Personal life

Haarder was born 7 September 1944 on Rønshoved højskole, son of Hans Haarder and Agnete Haarder. He graduated in Political Science from

Aarhus University Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Gr ...

in 1970. From 1968 to 1973 he worked as a teacher on

Askov Højskole Askov Højskole is a Danish folk high school, that is located in the village of Askov in southern Jutland between Kolding and Esbjerg. It was founded in 1865 as an extension of Denmark's first folk high school, which had been established in 1844 ...

. From 1971 to 1973 he worked as a teacher at Haderslev State Teacher Training College. From 1973 to 1975 he worked as a lecturer at Aalborg Teacher Training College.

Bibliography

*''Statskollektivisme og Spildproduktion'' (1973) *''Institutionernes Tyranni'' (1974) *''Den organiserede arbejdsløshed'' (1975) *''Danskerne år 2002'' (1977) *''Midt i en klynketid'' (1980) *''Kampen om gymnasiet'' (1982, co-author) *''Ny-liberalismen – og dens rødder'' (1982, co-author) *''Grænser for politik'' (1990) *''Slip friheden løs'' (1990) *''Lille land, hvad nu?'' (1994) *''Den bløde kynisme'' (1997) *''Op mod strømmen - med højskolen i ryggen'' (2012) *''Bertels bedste - sange og fortællinger fra Borgen'' (2018)

Honours and decorations

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Grand Cross 1st Class * St Olavs Orden storkors stripe

Order of St. Olav, Grand Cross * Order of the Polar Star (after 1975) - Commander 1st Class

Order of the Polar Star, Commander 1st Class * ISL Icelandic Order of the Falcon - Grand Cross BAR

Order of the Falcon, Grand Cross * Order of the Dannebrog S

Order of the Dannebrog, Grand Cross * AUT Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria - 4th Class BAR

Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Star * Order of the White Rose Ribbon

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

External links

Biography on the website of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget)

References