Lilli Helletofte Gyldenkilde (13 February 1936 – 8 August 2003) was 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 who served as 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 ...

and 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 ...

. Born in

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in De ...

, Gyldenkilde was raised by her grandparents. She attended school in Allégade, but left at 14 to join the workforce. She worked in a radio factory and a television factory, which aggravated a skin condition she had, causing her to leave the workforce at 27 and receive a

disability pension A disability pension is a form of pension given to those people who are permanently or temporarily unable to work due to a disability. North America An example of a disability pension is from a private or Public Pension Plan, or the Canada Pens ...

. She was married three times – in 1958, 1963, and 1968 – and had three children. Gyldenkilde became part of Denmark's

Scouting Association Scouting and Guiding in the United Kingdom is served by several different organisations: *The Scout Association, member of World Organization of the Scout Movement *Girlguiding UK, member of World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts ** Tref ...

, running a branch of it in 1973 and 1974. She also became interested in politics after leaving the workforce, joining the Social Democrats in the 1960s, then joining the Socialist People's Party in 1971. She became a member of the party out of Horsens, which led to her being nominated to the

in 1977 via a

leveling seat Leveling seats ( da, tillægsmandat, sv, utjämningsmandat, no, utjevningsmandater, is, jöfnunarsæti, german: Ausgleichsmandat), commonly known also as adjustment seats, are an election mechanism employed for many years by all Nordic countrie ...

. During her time on the Folketing, she served on the Labor Market Committee and was a major supporter of unemployment benefits and opponent of the minimum pension. In 1984, Gyldenkilde was named a member of the

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 ...

, serving until 1991. She was originally critical of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, but after the fall of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

she opened up to the idea of it, and as a result ran for the European Parliament. She received 119,449 votes and won a spot as the lone representative of the Socialist People's Party, allying herself with the European United Left–Nordic Green Left. In the European Parliament, she was the primary representative for the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

, as well as a member of the Employment Committee and the Women's Committee. In 1996, Gyldenkilde was forced out of the European Parliament due to a battle with cancer; she died from it seven years later in 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyldenkilde, Lilli 1936 births 2003 deaths MEPs for Denmark 1994–1999 20th-century women MEPs for Denmark Socialist People's Party (Denmark) MEPs People from Horsens