Poul Holmskov Schlüter (; 3 April 1929 – 27 May 2021) was a Danish politician who served as

Prime Minister of Denmark The prime minister of Denmark ( da, Danmarks statsminister, fo, Forsætisráðharri, kl, Ministeriuneq) is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark comprising the three constituent countries: Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islan ...

from 1982 to 1993. He was the first member of the Conservative People's Party to become Prime Minister, as well as the first conservative to hold the office since 1901. Schlüter 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 ...

(Danish parliament) for the Conservative People's Party from 1964 to 1994. He was also Chairman of the Conservative People's Party from 1974 to 1977 and from 1981 to 1993.

Early life

Born in

Tønder Tønder (; german: Tondern ) is a town in the Region of Southern Denmark. With a population of 7,505 (as of 1 January 2022), it is the main town and the administrative seat of the Tønder Municipality. History The first mention of Tønder might ...

, south

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

, he graduated from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

in 1957 with a degree in law, and joined the bar in 1960.

Political career

President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan with Poul Schluter and Lisbeth Schluter

In 1964, Schlüter was elected to the

for the Conservative People's Party. He was elected leader of the Conservatives from 1974, defeating

Erik Ninn-Hansen Erik Ninn-Hansen (12 April 1922 – 20 September 2014) was a Danish politician. He served in the Cabinet of Hilmar Baunsgaard, first as Defence Minister, and later as Finance Minister. In the early 1970s he became leader of the Conservative P ...

. Though he lost the position in 1977, he regained it two years later. In 1982, after Prime Minister

Anker Jørgensen Anker Henrik Jørgensen (13 July 1922 – 20 March 2016) was a Danish politician who served at various times as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Denmark. Between 1972 and 1982 he led five cabinets as Prime Minister. Jørgensen was Presiden ...

was forced to resign, Schlüter cobbled together a four-party coalition and was appointed his successor. During his time as Prime Minister, he was named "Nordic Politician of the Year" (in 1984). He was subsequently granted a large number of Danish and international awards and medals. Previously, he had served as a member of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

from 1971 to 1974, and had headed the Danish Delegation to the

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomou ...

, where he served as a member of the Council Presidium, in 1978 and 1979. He retired as Prime Minister in 1993 after an inquiry found that he had misinformed the Danish Parliament. The case was known as the

Tamil Case The Tamil Case (Danish: Tamilsagen) was a case about family reunification in Denmark of Tamil refugees from the Sri Lankan Civil War. The affair led to the resignation of the government led by Poul Schlüter in 1993. The scandal was first uncove ...

( da, Tamilsagen), as it involved asylum requests from

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

refugees. When Schlüter resigned in 1993, he attempted to have Uffe Ellemann Jensen ( Venstre) appointed acting prime minister until the Conservative

Henning Dyremose Henning (surname), Henning is a surname, also used as a given name, with origins in East Prussia (now part of Germany). Henning may also refer to: People with Henning as a surname * A. J. Henning (born 2002), American football player * Andrew ...

could take over. The attempt was dropped as royal cabinet secretary Niels Eilschou Holm considered the maneuver unconstitutional. Instead,

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen Poul Oluf Nyrup Rasmussen (, informally Poul Nyrup, born 15 June 1943) is a retired Danish politician. Rasmussen was Prime Minister of Denmark from 25 January 1993 to 27 November 2001 and President of the Party of European Socialists (PES) from ...

(

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 ...

) was appointed prime minister following a " Queen's round". Following his retirement as Prime Minister in 1993, Schlüter served as a member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

from 1994 to 1999, the first three years as Vice-President of the body.

Other ventures

In 2003, Schlüter was appointed by the Swedish Minister of Co-operation as her special envoy to promote freedom of movement in the Nordic countries. Schlüter was to work on ways of increasing individual freedom of movement and present specific proposals to the

Session in October 2003. In 2004, Schlüter co-founded the first Danish free-market think tank

CEPOS Centre for Political Studies, also known as CEPOS, is an independent association which works as a classical liberal/free-market conservative think-tank in Denmark. It is a strongly right-leaning and highly political association. History Inspired ...

, and gave the opening speech at CEPOS' opening reception at the

Hotel D'Angleterre The Hotel d'Angleterre is one of the first deluxe hotels in the world. Situated in the heart of Copenhagen, Denmark, it is located on Kongens Nytorv opposite Charlottenborg, the Royal Opera and Nyhavn. While its history dates back to 1755, it h ...

in Copenhagen.

Personal life

Schlüter was married three times. On 16 March 1963, he married Majken Steen-Andersen, but the couple divorced in 1978. Their only child, Peter, was born in 1963. Schlüter then married Lisbeth Povelsen on 20 September 1979. She died during her husband's premiership on 17 February 1988. On 21 July 1989, while still prime minister, Schlüter married the Danish ballet dancer

Anne Marie Vessel Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

as his third wife.

Honours

National honours

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

3 orders worn by Poul
24 March 20171 danish and 2 foreign orders worn by Poul
24 March 2017

Foreign honours

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Oak Crown The Order of the Oak Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne de chêne, german: Eichenlaubkronenorden, lb, Eechelaafkrounenuerden) is an order of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. History The Order of the Oak Crown was established in 1841 by Grand ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Royal Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

Bibliography

References

External links

''Regeringen Poul Schlüter I'' (First Government of Poul Schlüter)
— Statsministeriet (Prime Minister's Office)

— Statsministeriet

— Statsministeriet

— Statsministeriet {{DEFAULTSORT:Schluter, Poul 1929 births 2021 deaths Danish Lutherans Danish Justice Ministers Prime Ministers of Denmark University of Copenhagen alumni Members of the Folketing Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Conservatism in Denmark Recipients of Nersornaat 20th-century Danish politicians People from Tønder Municipality Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class Leaders of the Conservative People's Party (Denmark)

Early life

Political career

Other ventures

Personal life

Honours

National honours

Foreign honours

Bibliography

References

Further reading

External links