Holger Kirkholm Nielsen, known as Holger K. Nielsen (born 23 April 1950), is a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

politician, 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 Socialist People's Party. He was Denmark's

Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...

for 49 days from December 2013 through January 2014. He was the leader of the Socialist People's Party from 1991 to 2005 and served as the Minister for Taxation from 2012 to 2013. Born at

Ribe Ribe () is a town in south-west Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 8,257 (2022). It is the seat of the Diocese of Ribe covering southwestern Jutland. Until 1 January 2007, Ribe was the seat of both a surrounding Ribe Municipality, municipali ...

, Nielsen studied social science and

at the

University of Aarhus 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 ...

from 1973 to 1979, and in 1978 at the

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.Lene Koogi (11 December 2013
Holger K. Nielsen napper sin anden ministerpost

Danmarks Radio DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enterp ...

. Retrieved 14 December 2013

Political career

He was elected to the Danish Parliament in 1987.Holger K. Nielsen

Den Store Danske Den may refer to: * Den (room), a small room in a house * Maternity den, a lair where an animal gives birth Media and entertainment * ''Den'' (album), 2012, by Kreidler * Den (''Battle Angel Alita''), a character in the ''Battle Angel Alita' ...

(online). Retrieved 14 December 2013 He became leader of the Socialist People's Party in 1991 at a time when the party was going through some major ideological soul-searching following the collapse of socialism in Eastern Europe. The opposing candidate for the party leadership was

Steen Gade The Dutch word Steen means "stone", and is used for "castle" or "fortress", as in the Gravensteen in Ghent, Belgium. It is also an alternative spelling of the Swedish and Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country o ...

, a self-styled moderniser intent on reforming the party in ways which the majority found too radical. Holger K. Nielsen was considered a 'safer' choice in the eyes of the party's old guard, and thus assumed the leadership allied to the more leftist elements in his party. Among the policies that had to be addressed was the party's approach to European integration. Having opposed membership of the EC ( EU) in 1972, and then campaigned against ratification of the

Single European Act The Single European Act (SEA) was the first major revision of the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The Act set the European Community an objective of establishing a single market by 31 December 1992, and a forerunner of the European Union's Common Foreign ...

in 1986, the party had by the late 1980s grudgingly reconciled itself to Danish membership, dropping the demand for withdrawal in 1990. However when the

Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the ...

came up for approval by referendum in 1992 the party remained true to its roots and recommended a 'NO' vote. Holger K. Nielsen became one of the leaders in this campaign, and was later judged to have swung far more than his own socialist voters towards the NO-side, which to great surprise emerged victorious by a wafer-thin margin. The following year, however, he reversed that position, recommending acceptance of the Maastricht Treaty, supplemented with the four Danish opt-outs. This decision came close to tearing the party apart, with some 60% of its voters remaining opposed, but this time the yes-side prevailed. During the years of the Poul Nyrup Rasmussen governments (1993–2001), Holger K. Nielsen managed to take the Socialist People's Party closer to the mainstream of Danish politics, positioning the party as a slightly more leftist alternative to the ruling

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

. During this time the party entered into several major compromises with the government in many policy areas, including several state finance bills. However close the socialists moved to the government, though, they never quite became acceptable as coalition partners, much to the chagrin of Holger K. Nielsen. A real popular breakthrough also never materialised, despite the leader's high media profile. The party lost seats in both the

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and 2001 elections, only managing to hold on in the 1998 election. The party was successful in shoring up the centre-left governments of the 1990s. The party remained in the sceptic camp during the 1998 referendum campaign for the

Amsterdam Treaty The Treaty of Amsterdam, officially the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, was signed on 2 October 1997, and entered into force on 1 May 1999; i ...

, a move which prompted several prominent pro-Europeans, such as

and

Christine Antorini Christine Edda Antorini (born 23 May 1965, in Jyllinge) is a Danish politician for the Social Democrats, formerly for the Socialist People's Party. From 2011 to 2015 she was the Minister of Education in the Cabinet of Helle Thorning-Schmidt. Sh ...

, to leave politics. Again in 2000, when the issue was Denmark entering the

Economic and Monetary Union An economic and monetary union (EMU) is a type of trade bloc that features a combination of a common market, customs union, and monetary union. Established via a trade pact, an EMU constitutes the sixth of seven stages in the process of economic ...

, the Socialists were in the forefront of the successful NO-campaign, with Holger K. Nielsen taking a prominent lead. However later that same year, riding high in the opinion polls, Holger K. Nielsen performed a spectacular U-turn and made his party endorse the

Nice Treaty The Treaty of Nice was signed by European leaders on 26 February 2001 and came into force on 1 February 2003. It amended the Maastricht Treaty (or the Treaty on European Union) and the Treaty of Rome (or the Treaty establishing the European Co ...

, thus making a referendum avoidable. This was the opening shot in a campaign to turn the formerly EU-sceptic party into pro-Europeans, a process that culminated in late 2004, with the party's rank-and-file following Holger K. Nielsen's advice, and endorsing a pro-ratification stance towards the EU's Draft Constitution. Following the election in 2001 of a

liberal-conservative coalition A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

, the Socialist People's Party found themselves in opposition. After the 2005 parliamentary election, Holger K. Nielsen resigned as party leader. When

Annette Vilhelmsen Annette Lilja Vilhelmsen (born 24 October 1959) is a Danish politician who served as chairperson of the Socialist People's Party from 2012 to 2014. She served as Minister for Social Affairs and Integration from August 2013 to February 2014 and ...

became the new leader of the party in October 2012, Nielsen, who had been a strong supporter of Vilhelmsen's candidacy, was named new Minister of Taxation in the

Cabinet of Helle Thorning-Schmidt The cabinet of Prime Minister of Denmark, Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt was the Cabinet of Denmark, cabinet government of Denmark from 2011 in Denmark, 3 October 2011 to 3 February 2014. It was a coalition between the Social Democrats (Den ...

. He later became the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

in the same cabinet until 30 January 2014, when the Socialist People's Party left the coalition and the

Thorning-Schmidt II Cabinet The Second Cabinet of Helle Thorning-Schmidt was the Government of Denmark in office from 3 February 2014 to 28 June 2015. It was a coalition government between the Social Democrats and the Social Liberal Party. It was preceded by the First Ca ...

was inaugurated. Nielsen is in his second marriage and has four children, two from each of the marriages.

References

External links