Niels Lolk Helveg Petersen (; informally Niels Helveg; 17 January 1939 – 3 June 2017) 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 a ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1993 to 2000, having previously held the role of Minister for Economic Affairs between 1988 and 1990. He was 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

Danish Social Liberal Party The Danish Social Liberal Party ( da, Radikale Venstre, , Radical Left) is a social-liberal political party in Denmark. The party was founded as a split from the Venstre Reform Party in 1905. Historically, the centrist party has played a cent ...

from 1966 to 1974, 1977 to 1993, and again from 1994 to 2011.

Early life

Niels Helveg Petersen was born in Odense in 1939. His parents were former cabinet minister Kristen Helveg Petersen and former Mayor of Copenhagen Lilly Helveg Petersen. He graduated from the University of Copenhagen in 1965, earning a

cand.jur. Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries. ...

degree. From 1961 to 1962, he spent a year as an exchange student at Stanford University studying Government. During his years in Copenhagen he was an active member of the youth branch of the Danish Social Liberal Party, editing their paper 'Liberté'.

Political career

Member of Parliament 1966–2011

Niels Helveg Petersen ran for election to the Danish Parliament for the first time in 1964. In 1966, he was elected a Member of Parliament for the first time in the Frederiksborg County. In 1974, he left Denmark to become a civil servant in the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

. He returned to Danish politics in 1977, this time being elected to parliament standing in the Funen constituency. He became leader of the Danish Social Liberal Party (Danish: Radikale Venstre) in 1978 and kept this role until 1990. During the 1980s, he supported the economic policies of the Conservative-Liberal government. At the same time, he supported the opposition on other questions such as security policies. In doing so, his party created majorities without the parties in government, a practice that became known as 'footnote politics'. In supporting different sides of parliament, he was sometimes referred to by the Danish media as a 'king maker', deciding which policies would pass and which would not. The Social Liberal's footnote politics ended in 1988 when the party entered the government coalition. In April 2008, Niels Helveg Petersen announced that he was not standing at the next election that took place in September 2011.

Minister for Economic Affairs 1988–90

He was

Minister for Economic Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

in the Cabinet of Poul Schlüter III from 3 June 1988 to 18 December 1990, when his party left the government coalition after poor election results in 1990. He consequently also stepped down as party leader.

Minister of Foreign Affairs 1993–2000

He was appointed

Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

from 25 January 1993 to 21 December 2000 in the

Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen I When the conservative Prime Minister Poul Schlüter resigned on the 15 January 1993 because of the Tamil Case, the leader of the Social Democrats Poul Nyrup Rasmussen formed his first cabinet on the 25 January 1993. The cabinet consisted of the So ...

, II, III, and IV (except for the last part of the IV cabinet). When the European Union's

Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the ...

was rejected by the Danish people in 1992, it was accepted after a referendum in 1993 adding certain opt-out concessions for Denmark. As the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Niels Helveg Petersen had to work to implement those concessions, although he had been a long supporter of greater internationalisation of Danish foreign policy. When he left the position of Foreign Minister in 2000, the official reason given was that he could no longer accept the opt-outs. He joined the newly created

Council of the Baltic Sea States The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) is a regional intergovernmental organisation working on three priority areas: Regional Identity, Safe & Secure Region and Sustainable & Prosperous Region. These three priority areas aim to address ...

, which in 1993 successfully established the

EuroFaculty EuroFaculty was an educational institution in the Baltic states in reforming higher education in Economics, Law, Public Administration and Business Administration. History At the founding meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) ...

in Tartu, Riga, and Vilnius, of which he became an active supporter.

Personal life

Niels Helveg Petersen was married to Kirsten Lee, who is also a former member of the Danish Parliament for the Social Liberal Party. His son

Morten Helveg Petersen Morten Helveg Petersen (born 14 September 1966) is a Danish politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2014. He is a member of the Danish Social Liberal Party, which is affiliated to the Alliance of Liberal ...

was member of the parliament from 11 March 1998 and until August 2009. His son Rasmus Helveg Petersen was member of parliament 2011-2015 and again from 2019, and a cabinet minister 2013–2015. Niels Helveg Petersen died of esophageal cancer, aged 78.Tidligere udenrigsminister Niels Helveg Petersen er død
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References

External links

*
Personal webpage
from the official website of the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Niels Helveg 1939 births 2017 deaths People from Odense Danish Social Liberal Party politicians Foreign ministers of Denmark Members of the Folketing

Niels Niels is a male given name, equivalent to Nicholas, which is common in Denmark, Belgium, Norway (formerly) and the Netherlands. The Norwegian and Swedish variant is Nils. The name is a developed short form of Nicholas or Greek Nicolaos after Sai ...

21st-century Danish politicians Deaths from esophageal cancer Deaths from cancer in Denmark Leaders of the Danish Social Liberal Party