Pia Merete Kjærsgaard (; born 23 February 1947) is a Danish politician who was Speaker of the Danish Parliament from 2015 to 2019, and former leader of the

Danish People's Party The Danish People's Party ( da, Dansk Folkeparti, DPP/DF) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Denmark. It was formed in 1995 by former members of the Progress Party (FrP). The DPP lent its support to the Venstre– C ...

. She is a co-founder of the

, and led the party from its creation in 1995 to 2012. She previously led the Progress Party from 1985 until founding the People's Party in 1995. She has become one of the best-known politicians in Denmark during recent years, both for her consistent and vocal stance against

multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...

and immigration, and for her parliamentary support for the center-right governments of

Anders Fogh Rasmussen Anders Fogh Rasmussen (; born 26 January 1953) is a Danish politician who was the 24th Prime Minister of Denmark from November 2001 to April 2009 and the 12th Secretary General of NATO from August 2009 to October 2014. He became CEO of politi ...

and

Lars Løkke Rasmussen Lars Løkke Rasmussen (; born 15 May 1964) is a Danish politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2022. He previously served as the 25th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2019. He was the lead ...

from 2001 to 2011. Her success has been an inspiration for anti-immigration and anti-Islamic movements throughout Europe. On 7 August 2012, Kjærsgaard announced her resignation from the leader position of the Danish People's Party. She appointed

Kristian Thulesen Dahl Kristian Thulesen Dahl (born 30 July 1969) is a Danish director and former politician who served as Leader of the Danish People's Party (DPP) from 2012 to 2022. He was a Member of the Folketing (MF) from September 1994 until July 2022, first repr ...

as her successor, and he took office on 12 September 2012, promising to maintain the course laid out by Kjærsgaard.

Early life

Kjærsgaard was born in

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 ...

to Poul Kjærsgaard, a paint merchant, and Inge Munch Jensen, a housewife. After completing

Danish Folkeskole Education The folkeskole ( en, people's school) is a type of school in Denmark covering the entire period of compulsory education, from the age of 6 to 16, encompassing pre-school, primary and lower secondary education. Historical overview Legend has ...

in 1963, she attended the Commercial School in Copenhagen (1963–1965). From 1963 to 1967, she worked as a home care assistant for the elderly in

Gentofte Gentofte () is a district of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Major landmarks include Gentofte Town Hall, Gentofte Hospital and Gentofte Church. Gentofte Lake with surrounding parkland and nature reserves form ...

. From 1978 to 1984, she was employed as an office assistant in connection with insurance and advertising activities.. Accessed on 29 June 2019.

Political career

Member of Parliament

Kjærsgaard began her political career as the Progress Party's candidate in the Ryvang nomination district (1979–1981), followed by the

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 ...

and

Gladsaxe Gladsaxe Kommune is a municipality (Danish, ''Commune (subnational entity), kommune'') near Copenhagen in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and ...

nomination district (1981–1983), the

Hvidovre Hvidovre is the main town in Hvidovre Municipality, Denmark. The town, a suburb of Copenhagen, is about 10 km southwest of the capital's center. It is the 2nd biggest suburb of Copenhagen, only beaten by Frederiksberg. History Hvidovre has ...

nomination district (1983–1984), and finally, the

Middelfart Middelfart is a town in central Denmark, with a population of 16,277 . The town is the municipal seat of Middelfart Municipality on the island of Funen ( da, Fyn). Etymology The name Middelfart, first recorded as "Mæthælfar" in Valdemar's Cen ...

nomination district (1984–1995). In 1984, while still with the Progress Party, she secured her first seat in 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 ...

(Danish parliament), representing the

Copenhagen County Københavns Amt () is a former county (Danish, ''Amt (subnational entity), amt'') on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. It covered the municipalities in the metropolitan Copenhagen area, with the excepti ...

constituency (10 January 1984 – 8 September 1987). She next represented the

Funen County Funen County ( da, Fyns Amt) is a former county (Danish: ''amt'') in central Denmark, comprising the islands of Funen, Langeland, Tåsinge, Ærø, and approximately 90 other islands, of which only 25 are inhabited. The county was formed on 1 Apri ...

constituency (8 September 1987 – 6 October 1995). In 1995, as things were growing increasingly chaotic and anarchic in the Progress Party, Kjærsgaard broke away to co-found the

(DPP). She stood as the DPP candidate in the

Glostrup Glostrup is a Danish town in Region Hovedstaden, forming one of the western suburbs of Copenhagen. It is the administrative seat of Glostrup Municipality, with an estimated population of 22,357 . During the 20th century Glostrup developed from ...

nomination district in 1997, followed by the

Hellerup Hellerup () is a very affluent district of Gentofte Municipality in the suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. The most urban part of the district is centred on Strandvejen and is bordered by Østerbro to the south and the Øresund to the east. It compri ...

and Gentofte nomination district (1997–2005). As a DPP candidate, she won a seat in the Folketing, representing the Funen County constituency (6 October 1995 – 11 March 1998). As support for the Progress Party subsequently dwindled away, the DPP grew. By 2001, it had become the third largest party in the Folketing, securing 12% of the vote. In the 2005 election, the DPP's share grew to 13.2%, with Kjærsgaard receiving 38,347 "personal votes", second to only the

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 ...

Speaker of the Folketing

On 3 July 2015, following the success of Kjærsgaard's party in the June 2015 parliamentary election, she was elected the first female speaker of the

(but not the first female speaker in ''parliament'' since, in 1950 when Denmark still had a bicameral system, Ingeborg Hansen became the first Danish female parliamentary speaker when she was elected speaker of the Landsting). Kjærsgaard was proposed both by the four parties supporting

's new government, and from the opposition by 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 ...

and the Greenlandic

Siumut Siumut (, ) is a political party in Greenland in the social democratic tradition. Since the establishment of home rule in 1979, it has been the dominant party in Greenland. Siumut is led by Erik Jensen, who beat the then-incumbent Prime Ministe ...

The Danish People's Party

The Danish People's Party advocates a primarily

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

and nativist platform, and is, in that regard, aligned ideologically with other European

far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

parties. The DPP's platform also includes toughening the criminal code and supporting social welfare policies that have traditionally been championed by the center-left

. The DPP achieved considerable success 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 ...

, becoming the third largest party in the

. As such, the DPP was able to provide key parliamentary support for the center-right,

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

led by

. In this capacity the DPP was able to push through many of its platform's policies. In both the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

and the 2007 election the DPP kept its position as third largest in the

and was thus able to maintain its substantial role in policy-setting through both the remainder of

's Liberal-Conservative government and through that of successor

Political positions

Kjærsgaard's most outspoken political goals are to limit immigration to

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 , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, that society should take better care of the elderly, and that Denmark should maintain its sovereignty, especially with regards to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. In the euro referendum of 2000 she campaigned successfully against the adoption of the

Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

. Her view on immigration has often led to her being compared to politicians such as

Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (, born 20 June 1928) is a French far-right politician who served as President of the National Front from 1972 to 2011. He also served as Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015. Le Pen graduated fro ...

in France and

Pim Fortuyn Wilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuijn, known as Pim Fortuyn (; 19 February 1948 – 6 May 2002), was a Dutch politician, author, civil servant, businessman, sociologist and academic who founded the party Pim Fortuyn List (Lijst Pim Fortuyn or LPF) ...

in The Netherlands. She is also known to be an ardent supporter of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

's bid to gain admission to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Controversies

Assault and accusations

In 1998, Kjærsgaard was assaulted by members of an angry mob during a demonstration by the far left autonome movement in the

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station ...

district of Copenhagen. In 1999, accusations of nepotism were levied against the DPP after it was revealed that Kjærsgaard's husband, Henrik Thorup, had been paid by the party as an independent consultant for over two years. The accusations came from parties on both sides of the political spectrum. The DPP refused to reveal Thorup's salary and defended its actions, claiming that Pia Kjærsgaard's husband was the right man for the job and that his employment had nothing to do with his marriage to the party leader.

Criminal cases

In 2001, Kjærsgaard, in the DPP's weekly newsletter, referred to Muslims as people who "...lie, cheat and deceive." Kjærsgaard was subsequently reported to the police by Denmark's Center for Racial Discrimination, for making racist remarks. Police declined to prosecute Kjærsgaard, stating that there was no reason to believe that her statement violated any laws regarding racism. In 2002, Kjærsgaard was fined DKK 3,000 for threatening a woman with

pepper spray Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, cr ...

, the use of which is illegal in Denmark. Kjærsgaard said she pulled out the spray after feeling 'intimidated and threatened' by the woman's behaviour. Kjærsgaard subsequently proclaimed her intention to lobby for a change in weapon possession legislation. In 2003, Kjærsgaard lost a

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

suit in the

Danish Supreme Court The Supreme Court (, lit. ''Highest Court'', , ) is the supreme court and the third and final instance in all civil and criminal cases in the Kingdom of Denmark. It is based at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen which also houses the Danish ...

against Karen Sunds, an anti-EU activist, who had characterized Kjærsgaard's viewpoints as

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

. The Court ruled that Sunds' remarks had only implied that Kjærsgaard had a negative opinion of immigrants, and were not properly interpreted as an accusation of espousing biologically-grounded racism or Nazi racial theory.

Personal life

In 1967, Kjærsgaard married Henrik Thorup, an insurance underwriter. Thorup went on to become a chairperson and regional council member in the DPP, and currently works as a government accountant. The couple has two children, a daughter named Nan and a son named Troels.

Honours

Order of the Dannebrog, Commander 1st Class (2 October 2018) * Ordre national du Merite GC ribbon

National Order of Merit, Grand Cross (28 August 2018) * BEL Kroonorde Grootkruis BAR

Order of the Crown, Grand Cross (28 March 2017) * ISL Icelandic Order of the Falcon - Grand Cross BAR

Order of the Falcon, Grand Cross (24 January 2017) * The Nordic Blue Berets Medal of Honour ribbon

Nordic Blue Berets Medal of Honour, Gold * MEX Orden del Aguila Azteca 2011 Insignia BAR

Order of the Aztec Eagle The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle ( es, Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca) forms part of the Mexican Honours System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners in the country. History It was created by decree on December 29, 193 ...

Order of Brilliant Star Order of Brilliant Star () is a civilian order of the Republic of China (Taiwan) recognizing outstanding contributions to the development of the nation. The order is instituted in 1941 and can be awarded to both domestic and foreign nationals. ...

Bibliography

*''Fordi jeg var nødt til det'' (2013, co-author) *''Digteren og partiformanden'' (2006, co-author) *''... men udsigten er god - midtvejdserindringer'' (1998)

References

External links