Ellen Trane Nørby (born 1 February 1980 in
Herning) is a Danish politician, who is 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. From 28 November 2016 to 27 June 2019 she was Denmark's
Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental health.
Coun ...
.
Background
Ellen Trane Nørby was born in
Herning, a midsized manufacturing and administrative town in the centre of
Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
. She grew up in
Nørre Nissum, a large village on the edge of
Lemvig
Lemvig, with a population of 6,816 (2022),[BY3: Po ...](_blank)
along country's west coast. Jørgen Andreas Nørby, her father, is a biologist and secondary school teacher who served as municipal mayor of Lemvig between 1998 and 2006.
Her mother is an architect. Nørby attended school in Nørre Nissum between 1985 and 1995, then moving on to the
Gymnasium (Upper School) at Lemwig. She enrolled at
Copenhagen University
The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...
where from 1998 she studied
Art History
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
, with a side module between 1999 and 2001 on political sciences. She concluded her university level studies in 2005 with a "Master of Arts" degree.
While still a student she had already worked at the
Christiansborg Palace, home to
Denmark
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, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
's
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
and
national parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
.
Political career
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bar:2005 color:F2005 from:start till:5073 text:5,073 shift:(-12,15)
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text:Votes cast for Nørby in general elections between
text:2005 and 2015 in the "South Jutland" electoral
text: district of approximately 525,000 registered voters.
She joined the
Venstre party and its youth organisation in 1995. In 1999 she became vice-president of the
European Liberal Youth
European Liberal Youth (abbreviated as LYMEC) is an international organisation of liberal youth movements – mostly the youth wings of members of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party but also individual members.
LYMEC holds ...
organisation comprising, for the most part, the youth wings of members of the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party. Between 2002 and 2004 she was the
association president. In 2004 she stood for
election to the European parliament.
[ Her 24,380 votes were not sufficient to win her a seat in the assembly, however.]
She stood for election to the national parliament in 2005. Venstre had been in power as the largest party in a coalition government since 2001, and although their support slipped in 2005 they remained the largest party. Nørby won 5,073 votes which was enough to secure her a seat in parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
. She became her party's spokesperson for culture and the arts. Support for Venstre slipped again in 2007, but they were still, by a small margin, the largest party. Nørby's own support increased to 12,804 votes in her South Jutland electoral district. In this parliamentary session her focus was on social issues and gender equality. Her vote level increased again in 2011, this time to 18,059 votes. This was the highest number of votes received by any of the Venstre candidates in 2011. Her 12,012 votes in the 2015 election were again comfortably more than were won by most (if, this time, not quite all) of her fellow Venstre candidates. Between 2006 and her first ministerial appointment, in 2015, Ellen Trane Nørby was her party's spokesperson on "new media" questions.
On 28 June 2015 she was appointed Minister for Children, Education and Equality in the Lars Løkke Rasmussen minority government formed that year. On 28 November 2016, when that government was replaced by the Lars Løkke Rasmussen coalition government, she was transferred to the Ministry of Health.[
]
Media profile
In Autumn 2012, as an opposition spokesperson, Ellen Trane Nørby submitted 696 parliamentary questions to Uffe Elbæk
Uffe Elbæk (born 15 June 1954) is a Danish politician, social worker, author, journalist, entrepreneur. In 2013 he founded the green political party The Alternative, which he led until February 2020. He is an independent member of the Folketin ...
, the Minister for Culture and The Arts. This performance earned Nørby the soubriquet "Spørge-Ellen" (''"Questions Ellen"'') from the mass-market tabloid newspaper BT.
A more negative press encounter came about in January 2013 when the BT journalist Lars Fogt reported the allegation that student supporters working for Nørby had made more than thirty changes to her Danish Wikipedia
The Danish Wikipedia ( da, Dansk Wikipedia) started on 1 February 2002 and is the Danish language edition of Wikipedia. As of , it has articles and its article depth is .
Task
One of the major tasks of Danish Wikipedia is to ensure that ev ...
entry since March 2011. She reacted promptly and fiercely, asserting that she was being subjected to a "journalistic campaign of personal hatred" from the tabloid BT, which was then being picked up and reported without critical evaluation by other press outlets.
Publications
*''Smag på Europa – med honning & chili'' (Saxo, 2004)
References
External links
Biography on the website of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Norby, Ellen Trane
Living people
1980 births
People from Herning Municipality
Danish writers
Venstre (Denmark) politicians
Government ministers of Denmark
Women government ministers of Denmark
Education ministers of Denmark
Danish Health Ministers
Danish art historians
21st-century Danish women politicians
Women members of the Folketing
Members of the Folketing 2005–2007
Members of the Folketing 2007–2011
Members of the Folketing 2011–2015
Members of the Folketing 2015–2019
Members of the Folketing 2019–2022