Morten Bødskov (born 1 May 1970 in

Karup Karup is a town in Viborg Municipality, Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , su ...

) is a Danish

Social Democratic 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 soci ...

politician, and 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 ...

, currently serving as the Minister for Business since 2022. He previously served as

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

from February to December 2022 and Minister for Taxation under Frederiksen and

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

in the Government 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 ...

Political career

Early beginnings

At age 15 Bødskov joined the

Social Democratic Youth of Denmark The Social Democratic Youth of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Socialdemokratiske Ungdom, DSU) is the national youth wing of the Danish Social Democrats. It is not to be confused with Frit Forum, which is for those in higher education, and whose membership ...

(DSU), where he quickly assumed numerous positions of trust. In 1996, he took over as federal president of the DSU from

Henrik Sass Larsen Henrik Sass Larsen (born 29 May 1966 in Virum) is a Danish politician. He is a former member of the Folketing for the Social Democrats political party. He sat in parliament from 2000 to 2019. He was the Danish Minister of Business Affairs and Gr ...

. In 2001, he was elected to the

and in 2005 Helle Thorning-Schmidt appointed him as deputy chairman of the parliamentary group.

Career in government

From 3 October 2011 to 11 December 2013, Bødskov served as Minister of Justice. As Minister of Justice, Bødskov was among those who spearheaded austerity measures, new restrictions on

air guns An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles pneumatically with compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized ''without'' involving any chemical reactions, in contrast to a firearm, which pressurizes gases ''chemical ...

, a new

Probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

system and the creation of 200 new prison spots. an increased focus on gang and biker-related crime, ⁣ and the highly controversial amendment to the Public Records Act. On 27 June 2019, Bødskov became the Minister of Taxation in the

Frederiksen Cabinet Frederiksen Cabinet may refer to the following cabinets of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen: * Frederiksen I Cabinet (2019-Dec 2022) * Frederiksen II Cabinet (Dec 2022-present) {{disambiguation ...

. In a February 2022

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 ...

, he was transferred to the role of

Personal life

Bødskov has since 2005 been married to Anna Elisabeth Bødskov.

References

External links

* Danish Justice Ministers Danish Tax Ministers Social Democrats (Denmark) politicians 1970 births Living people People from Viborg Municipality Members of the Folketing 2001–2005 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 Danish Defence Ministers {{Denmark-politician-stub