Isabella Arendt Laursen (born May 7 1993 in Fredericia) is a Danish politician who was the leader of the

Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

from 2019 to 2022. Arendt lives in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and is currently studying

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at Copenhagen University.

Political career

Arendt ran unsuccessfully for the Danish parliament,

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 ...

et, in the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

elections. In both elections, the Christians won less than the 2%

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

, and did not get any seats in the Folketing. After the 2011 election, she was briefly a member of the Danish Social Liberal Party. On 7 May 2019, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen announced that the 2019 election would be held on 5 June. A debate with all the party chairmen, including Stig Grenov of the Christian Democrats, was set to take place the following evening. However, Grenov became

malaise As a medical term, malaise is a feeling of general discomfort, uneasiness or lack of wellbeing and often the first sign of an infection or other disease. The word has existed in French since at least the 12th century. The term is often used ...

d shortly before the debate and Arendt, then deputy chairman, had to take his place. Arendt was hailed for her performance, and dubbed the "substitute from heaven". On May 13, one week into the election campaign, Grenov took a leave of absence due to stress, and Arendt was appointed acting chairman during the rest of the election campaign. Arendt was at the top of the party's list in the East Jutland constituency, but was not elected. Despite doubling its share of the vote compared to the previous election, the Christian Democrats still fell below the 2% threshold. On 13 October 2019, she was elected chairman of the Christian Democrats. On 17 May 2022 she stepped down from the leadership and resigned from the party with immediate effect, stating that she no longer felt she had support within the party. In June 2022, Arendt was selected by the Conservatives to stand as a candidate for the

. She was not elected in 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arendt, Isabella 1993 births Living people Christian Democrats (Denmark) politicians 21st-century Danish women politicians People from Fredericia Leaders of the Christian Democrats (Denmark) Conservative People's Party (Denmark) politicians