Simon Emil Ammitzbøll-Bille (born 20 October 1977, in

Hillerød Hillerød () is a Danish town with a population of 35,357 (1 January 2022)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, and a former

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

member of the

Parliament of Denmark 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 ...

. He is former Minister of Economy and Interior. He was formerly a member of

Radikale Venstre 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 ...

and Liberal Alliance.

Political career

On 10 October 2008 he and a number of followers founded the party '' Borgerligt Centrum'' ( en, Civic Centre). On 13 October 2008 he left the Social Liberal Party, which he had represented in parliament since the 2005 elections. On 6 January 2009 the incorporation of Borgerligt Centrum was announced. On 16 June 2009, he announced that he had joined Liberal Alliance and dissolved Borgerligt Centrum. The dissolution was strongly contested by those members of the board who did not follow him in leaving the party. The remaining board members of the Borgerligt Centrum initiated legal proceedings against Ammitzbøll. He is notable for being the only Danish member of parliament to have been member of three different parties in less than a year. On 30 August 2011, and with 5.0% voter support, Ammitzbøll, told on air to Danish Radio, that a

vote Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an Constituency, electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision making, decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election camp ...

for the Liberal Alliance is a vote for free hashish. On 22 October 2019, Ammitzbøll-Bille left Liberal Alliance, citing political differences. On 7 November he founded the party Forward together with

Christina Egelund Christina Egelund (born 9 December 1977 in Hjørring) is a Danish politician, who was a member of the Folketing for the Liberal Alliance from 2015 to 2019. Political career Egelund was elected into parliament at the 2015 Danish general election ...

, also former MP from Liberal Alliance. On 8 October 2020 Ammitzbøll-Bille announced Forward was disbanded, and he would continue as an independent member of parliament.

Personal life

Ammitzbøll-Bille is openly bisexual, and was married to another man, Henning Olsen until Olsen died in August 2016, after a long battle with cancer. In June 2017 he began a relationship with Kristine Bille, whom he married in November 2017. In October 2017, they announced that they are expecting their first child in the Spring of 2018. He was named the year's politician in 2006 by

LGBT Danmark LGBT Danmark – Landsforeningen for bøsser, lesbiske, biseksuelle og transpersoner ( da, LGBT Denmark – The Danish National Organisation for Gay Men, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgender persons) is a lobby for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and t ...

. LGBT rights have also been among Ammitzbøll's political affairs. In November 2008, he proposed a parliamentary resolution that would allow couples in a

registered partnership A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

to adopt children from other countries. Thanks to the support of the members of Liberal Alliance in the vote on 17 March 2009, the proposal was adopted, and same-sex couples were able to adopt jointly in Denmark from 2010.

Baltic Pride

Ammitzbøll-Bille traveled to Latvia in July 2006 to attend the second Baltic Pride. However, the parade had to be canceled shortly before, when the police of Riga were unable to guarantee the safety of the participants. The organizers decided to hold a conference on LGBT rights in Riga to replace the parade. However, they were attacked by angry demonstrators who surrounded a church in which Ammitzbøll-Bille and the other participants were part of that day's program. For several hours, the protesters shouted slogans and threw eggs , tomatoes and stools against the participants. After the event, Ammitzbøll-Bille stated about his experiences in the media, and in conjunction with other EU politicians, called for more rights for minorities in the former Soviet countries.PinkNews: Latvia faces EU censure over attacks on gay activists
''Pinknews.co.uk" Retrieved 8 January 2021 On 3 June 2007 Ammitzbøll-Bille traveled again to Latvia, and this time it was possible to complete the parade with the protection of the Latvian authorities.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ammitzboell-Bille, Simon Emil 1977 births Living people People from Hillerød Municipality Danish Social Liberal Party politicians Liberal Alliance (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 Leaders of political parties in Denmark Danish LGBT politicians Danish bisexual people Bisexual male politicians LGBT legislators Danish Interior Ministers