Mette Gjerskov (born 28 July 1966 in

Gundsø Gundsø was a municipality (Danish language, Danish, ''Commune (subnational entity), kommune'') in Roskilde (county), Roskilde county on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in East Denmark. 1 January 2007 the municipality of Gun ...

) 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

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 ...

political party. She was elected into parliament at the

2005 Danish general election General elections were held in Denmark on 8 February 2005.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p525 Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen's Venstre remained the largest party in the Folketing and his go ...

. She is a former minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries.

Background

She finished her studies as an

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...

at the

Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University ( da, Kongelige Veterinær- og Landbohøjskole, abbr. KVL) was a veterinary and agricultural science university in Denmark. It was founded in 1856 and operated until 2007, when it became a part of t ...

in 1993. Before this she studied mathematics, physics and chemistry at an evening school for adults in

Ballerup Ballerup is a Danish town, seat of the Ballerup Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. There are approximately 25 schools in Ballerup Municipality. Ballerup has its own educational institution specialized in the study, training and research of ...

Political career

She worked as a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

of the minister of Agriculture from 1995 to 2004. She was elected as deputy of ''

'' for the 2005 election. After central-left and left won the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

on 15 September 2011, she was nominated as the minister of food, agriculture and fisheries in the cabinet of

Helle Thorning-Schmidt Helle Thorning-Schmidt (; born 14 December 1966) is a Danish retired politician who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015, and Leader of the Social Democrats from 2005 to 2015. She is the first woman to have held each p ...

. Gjerskov lost her ministry to

Karen Hækkerup Karen Angelo Hækkerup (née Schmidt; born 12 June 1974) is a Danish politician representing the Social Democrats. She was Justice Minister of Denmark The Danish Minister for Justice ( da, Justitsministeren) is the head of the Ministry of Justi ...

after the

cabinet reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parlia ...

of 9 August 2013.

References

External links

* 1966 births Living people People from Roskilde Municipality Social Democrats (Denmark) politicians Agriculture ministers of Denmark Food ministers of Denmark Fisheries ministers of Denmark 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 Members of the Folketing 2022–2026 {{Denmark-politician-stub