Svend Gunnarsen Auken (; 24 May 1943 – 4 August 2009) 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 represented 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 ...

as a member of the Danish parliament (

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 a ...

) from 1971 until his death. He was married to journalist and editor Bettina Heltberg from 1966 to 1993. At his death he was married to film director Anne Wivel. He had four children.

Margrete Auken Margrete Helle Auken (born 6 January 1945) is a Danish politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2004. She is a member of the Socialistisk Folkeparti, part of the European Green Party. She was also former ...

is his sister. He died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

on 4 August 2009.

Political career

Auken held a degree in political science from the

University of Aarhus Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Gr ...

and also taught there for a period in the very early 1970s. He was Minister of Employment from 1 October 1977 to 10 September 1982 in the

Cabinet of Anker Jørgensen II Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

, III, IV, and V. In 1987 Svend Auken succeeded Jørgensen as leader of the Danish

, at that time an opposition party to the government of

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 ...

Poul Schlüter Poul Holmskov Schlüter (; 3 April 1929 – 27 May 2021) was a Danish politician who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1982 to 1993. He was the first member of the Conservative People's Party to become Prime Minister, as well as the first ...

. After making big gains in the 1990 general election, he was subsequently unable to put together a workable coalition, partly because of bad personal relations with prominent politicians in the traditional coalition party of the Social Democrats, ''

Det Radikale Venstre The Danish Social Liberal Party ( da, Radikale Venstre, , Radical Left) is a Social liberalism, social-liberal List of political parties in Denmark, political party in Denmark. The party was founded as a split from the Venstre (Denmark), Venstre ...

'' (The Social Liberal Party of Denmark). His position as leader of the Social Democrats was challenged in 1992 by

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 ...

, who went on to win the internal election. That gave Auken the dubious distinction of being the first Social Democratic leader since 1910 to not become prime minister. (Subsequently, this has happened to

Mogens Lykketoft Mogens Lykketoft (; born 9 January 1946) is a Danish politician who served as Leader of the Social Democrats (''Socialdemokraterne'') from 2002 to 2005. He succeeded Poul Nyrup Rasmussen as party leader. After losing the 2005 parliamentary elec ...

, leader from 2002 to 2005, as well.) Poul Nyrup Rasmussen went on to become Prime Minister of Denmark in 1993, and Auken served as Minister for the Environment from 25 January 1993 to 27 September 1994 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 ...

and was

Minister for the Environment and Energy The Australian Minister for the Environment and Water is a position which is currently held by Tanya Plibersek in the Albanese ministry since 1 June 2022, following the Australian federal election in 2022. In the Government of Australia, the ...

from 27 September 1994 to 27 November 2001 in the

Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen II After the 1994 Danish parliamentary election, the sitting Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen was able to form a government coalition of his own Social Democrats, the Danish Social Liberal Party and the Centre Democrats. The resulting cab ...

, III and IV. After the defeat of Rasmussen's government in the general election of 2001, Svend Auken continued to serve as a member of the Danish parliament. He was the EU-affairs spokesman of his party until his death, and he maintained a high profile on environmental issues. Svend Auken was generally acknowledged to be one of the most naturally gifted and charismatic Danish politicians of his generation, and he is sometimes referred to as "the best Prime Minister Denmark never had". He is one of the few Danish politicians to be honoured in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

References

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