Nicolai Halby Wammen (born 7 February 1971, in

Holbæk Holbæk () is a town in Denmark and the seat of Holbæk municipality with a population of 29,608 (1 January 2022).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 ...

who has been serving as

Minister for Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

in the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Mette Frederiksen Mette Frederiksen (; born 19 November 1977) is a Danish politician who has been Prime Minister of Denmark since June 2019, and Leader of the Social Democrats since June 2015. The second woman to hold either office, she is also the youngest prime ...

since 2019. A native and lifelong resident of Denmark's second-largest city,

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

, he served as mayor. On the national level, he has served as Minister of European Affairs (2011–2013) and as Minister of Defence (2013–2015).

Political career

While studying, Wammen became the chairman of the university’s Social Democrat organisation, Frit Forum., and was first elected to the Aarhus City Council in 1998. In the

2001 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2001. Africa * 2001 Beninese presidential election * 2001 Cape Verdean parliamentary election * 2001 Cape Verdean presidential election * 2001 Chadian presidential election * 2001 Gabonese legislat ...

, he was elected to Parliament and served one term. After almost a full term as the party’s shadow finance minister, he pulled out of national politics and was then elected Mayor of Aarhus in 2006. At this time he was also elected vice president of the Social Democrats. When

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 ...

led the Social Democrats to victory in Denmark's 2011 elections, Wammen returned to

Danish Parliament 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 an ...

(representing Aarhus), securing the fifth-highest number of personal votes. He was appointed to the newly created position of Minister of European Affairs in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

; he held the office from October 2011 to August 2013. In this capacity, he chaired the meetings of the

General Affairs Council The General Affairs Council is a configuration of the Council of the European Union and meets once a month. Meetings bring together the Foreign Ministers of the Member States. Ministers responsible for European Affairs also participate depending o ...

when Denmark held the rotating presidency of the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

in 2012. On 9 August 2013, Prime Minister Thorning-Schmidt announced her first

reshuffle, changing six ministers, including moving Nicolai Wammen to

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

, and moving Minister of Defence Nick Hækkerup to Minister of European Affairs and Trade.

Personal life

After a year and a half studying law, Wammen switched to political science, and earned a master's degree from the

University of Aarhus Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Gr ...

in 2001. Wammen is currently married to Karen Lund, and was formerly engaged with

Mai Mercado Mai Mercado (born 20 August 1980 in Tønder) is a Danish politician, who is a member of the Folketing for the Conservative People's Party. She was elected at the 2011 Danish general election. From 2016 to 2019 she was the Minister for Children ...

, and

Kirsten Brosbøl Kirsten Brosbøl (born 14 December 1977 in Odder) is a Danish politician. She represented the Social Democrats in the Folketing from 2005 to 2019, and served as Minister for the Environment from 2014 to 2015. Political career From 2001 to 20 ...

. In 2011 Danish newspaper ''

Ekstra Bladet ''Ekstra Bladet'' is a Danish tabloid newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen.About
(in Danish) ''E ...

'' reported that Wammen fathered a son, Carl, (born 9 October 2011) with Julie Rademacher, a former member of the Parliament whom the paper described as "a friend". Upon the birth of their son, she resigned from Parliament and moved to Greenland to be with her parents.

References

External links

Nicolai Wammen's website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wammen, Nicolai Halby 1971 births Living people People from Holbæk Municipality Mayors of places in Denmark Aarhus University alumni Social Democrats (Denmark) politicians Government ministers of Denmark Danish Defence Ministers Danish Finance Ministers Danish municipal councillors Members of the Folketing 2001–2005 Members of the Folketing 2011–2015 Members of the Folketing 2015–2019 Members of the Folketing 2019–2022 Members of the Folketing 2022–2026