Lykke Friis (born 27 October 1969) is Prorector for Education at the University of Copenhagen and is a former

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 for the party Venstre and former Minister for Climate and Energy and equal rights."Lykke Friis meldte sig ind i Venstre i nat"
borsen.dk, 24 November 2009John Acher (November 24, 2009)
Denmark proposes Hedegaard for new EU climate job
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

''. Prior to her political career she has once before been Prorector at the University of Copenhagen and held the position from 2006 - 2009. Prior to her appointment as government minister, she was not a member of Venstre.

Early life and education

Friis is the daughter of a Danish father and a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

mother. She graduated from Øregaard Gymnasium and has studied

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 the University of Copenhagen. Lykke Friis obtained her

M.Sc. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in Economics and Political Science from

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

in 1992, followed by a M.Sc. in political science from University of Copenhagen in 1993. She got a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

international politics International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the Scientific method, scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities betwe ...

from the University of Copenhagen in 1997.

Eisenhower Fellowships Eisenhower Fellowships is a private, non-profit organization created in 1953 by a group of prominent American citizens to honor President Dwight D. Eisenhower for his contribution to humanity as a soldier, statesman, and world leader. The organiza ...

selected Lykke Friis in 2002 to represent Denmark.

Career

Friis has worked as an academic in the

Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

, and as a researcher in Dansk Udenrigspolitisk Institut. From 2003 until 2006, she was head of European Politics in the

Confederation of Danish Industries The Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) is Denmark's largest business organization (chambers of commerce) and employers' organization. DI's members are 18,000 private enterprises in manufacturing and the service industry, from virtually all sub-s ...

. She has taught at both the University of Copenhagen Faculty of Social Sciences and at

Copenhagen Business School Copenhagen Business School (Danish'': Handelshøjskolen i København'') often abbreviated and referred to as CBS (also in Danish), is a public university situated in Copenhagen, Denmark and is considered one of the most prestigious business schoo ...

in international relations. During her time as minister, Friis presided over the

2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 and 18 December. The conference included the 15th session of the Conference of the Partie ...

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 ...

. In 2011, she oversaw the Danish government's plan to wean itself off coal, oil and natural gas by 2050 by boosting energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources. Friis has contributed to newspapers, radio, TV, and seminars on EU-related issues, and has written a number of articles and books and such subjects. Her ability to make the EU material accessible secured her the Danmarks Radio Rosenkjærprisen in 2008.

Other activities

Corporate boards

* Vestas, Member of the Board of Directors (2014-2018)

Non-profit organizations

* Danish Foreign Policy Society, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors * Rockwool Fonden, Member of the Board of Directors * European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Co-chair (since 2019) *

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...

, Member of the European Group *

International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global ...

(ICG), Board of Trustees (since 2012)

Personal life

Friis is known as a connoisseur of

German football Association football, Football (or "soccer") is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund, link=no or ) is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members (roughly eight ...

and is a fan of

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which play ...

."Lykke Friis om Bayern, pigefodbold og AGF"
stiften.dk, 13 June 2011

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Friis, Lykke 1969 births Living people Government ministers of Denmark Danish people of German descent Academic staff of Copenhagen Business School Women's ministers Danish Ministers of Climate and Energy Venstre (Denmark) politicians Danish women academics Members of the Folketing 2011–2015