Rasmus Prehn (born 18 June 1973 in Høje-Taastrup) is a Danish politician who is currently serving as the Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries. He previously served as Minister for Development Cooperation from 2019 to 2020. He has been 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 ...

since the 2005 Danish general election.

Background

Prehn was born in Høje-Taastrup to Flemming Prehn and Birte Hanne Prehn, and is married to Heidi Linnemann Prehn. He studied at

Aalborg University Aalborg University (AAU) is a Danish public university with campuses in Aalborg, Esbjerg, and Copenhagen founded in 1974. The university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD degrees in a wide variety of subjects within humanitie ...

and the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, graduating with a Master's degree in social science.

Political career

Prehn has been a member of

Folketinget 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 ...

for 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 ...

since the 2005 national elections. During his time in parliament, he served as chairman of the Committee on Research, Education and Further Education. Prehn was appointed Minister for Development Cooperation 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 ...

on 27 June 2019. In this capacity, he pledged a total of US$51 million in contributions of Denmark to

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (or simply the Global Fund) is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to "attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, t ...

for the 2020-2022 period. In 2022 it was revealed the Prehn had used his ministerial credit card to pay for a dinner in 2020 which he stated had been with journalist Søren Wormslevs. Wormslevs denied ever having dined with Prehn, and Prehn confirmed he had never dined with Wormslevs. As a result of the scandal, the state accountants decided that all ministers use of their ministerial credit cards from 2015 and onward was to be investigated. Prehn said it saddened him that he had contributed to the investigation being launched. Also in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, Prehn was re-elected as

Member of the Folketing In Denmark, Members of Parliament sit in the Folketing. The title is almost always shortened to the initialism "MF". Since the general election on 22 September 1953, which was the first under the Constitution of 1953, there have been 179 membe ...

, though with only a third of the votes he got in 2019.

Personal life

Prehn has three children. One of his children, Nikoline Prehn (born 2002), is also a Social Democrat, and was a candidate in the 2022 election, but did not get a seat.

References

External links

Biography on the website of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget)
, - 1973 births Living people People from Høje-Taastrup Municipality Government ministers of Denmark Social Democrats (Denmark) politicians 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 {{Denmark-politician-stub