Svend Bergstein (1941–2014) was a Danish military officer and politician who was the first minister of higher education and science.

Biography

Bergstein was born in Copenhagen on 7 July 1941. He joined the Royal Danish Air Force in 1971. He was promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1975 and became a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in 1980. He was an advisor at the Ministry of Defense between 1988 and 1993. He was a national secretary of the Center Democrats. In 1993 he was appointed minister of higher education and science for the party in the

cabinet 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 ...

led by Poul Nyrup Rasmussen. Bergstein was dismissed from the post in 1994 and he resigned from the Center Democrats following his dismissal. He then taught at the Defense Academy. He served as a military expert on the Danish television channels during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

in 1991. In 1995 he joined the Conservative People's Party. He served as a

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

of Denmark in Sweden and Finland from 1995 to 1999. He was a section chief at the Defense Academy until 2001 when he retired with the rank

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. In 2007 Bergstein was elected as the head of Copenhagen branch of the Conservative People's Party. Bergstein died on 8 March 2014 due to complications related to

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergstein, Svend 1941 births 2014 deaths Danish Ministers of Higher Education and Science Conservative People's Party (Denmark) politicians Centre Democrats (Denmark) politicians Deaths from Alzheimer's disease 20th-century Danish diplomats Military attachés Politicians from Copenhagen