Søren Gade Jensen (born 27 January 1963) is 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 ...

who has been

Speaker of the Folketing The Speaker of the Folketing ( Danish: Folketingets formand) is the presiding officer of the Danish Parliament, Folketing The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is t ...

since November 2022, representing the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

party, Venstre. He was a Liberal 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 ...

from 2001 to 2019 and again 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; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

. Before entering politics, he was a military officer and businessman. He was formerly a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

from 2019 to 2022. He was also CEO of the Danish business organization ''Landbrug & Fødevarer'' from 2012 to 2014.

Political career

Gade served as

Defence Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

from 2004 to 2010, when he replaced

Svend Aage Jensby Svend Aage Jensby (born 10 September 1940) is a Denmark, Danish politician representing the Liberal Party (Denmark), Liberal Party. He was Defence Minister of Denmark, Defence Minister in the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen I from 27 November 2001 ...

. During his time in office, he led Danish efforts to maintain public support for the deployment of 750 troops in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. Gade resigned his position due to a long time conflict with the media after the publishing of a fake Arabic translation of Thomas Rathsack's book, telling the defence's methods in the Afghan war. Gade was elected to 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 ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. A member of the

Renew Europe Renew Europe (Renew) is a liberal, pro-European political group of the European Parliament founded for the ninth European Parliament term. The group is the successor to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group which exist ...

group, he has since been serving as chair of the

Committee on Fisheries The Committee on Fisheries (PECH) is a committee of the European Parliament. Chris Davies was the chairman (2019 – 2020) - until the United Kingdom left the European Union. Committee mandate PECH is the European Parliament committee respon ...

and as member of the

Committee on Transport and Tourism The Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) is a committee of the European Parliament. Its current chair is the French MEP Karima Delli of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance. Research service The Committee is directly supported by ...

. In 2020, he also joined the Special Committee on Beating Cancer. In addition to his committee assignments, Gade is Chair of the Parliament's delegation for relations with

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. In 2022 following his re-election to the Folketing, a majority of parties supported Gade's candidacy for the position of

speaker of the Folketing The Speaker of the Folketing ( Danish: Folketingets formand) is the presiding officer of the Danish Parliament, Folketing The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is t ...

. Gade was officially confirmed as speaker on 16 November 2022.

Controversy

In 2015, newspaper ''

Jyllands-Posten ''Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten'' (; English: ''The Morning Newspaper "The Jutland Post"''), commonly shortened to ''Jyllands-Posten'' or ''JP'', is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper. It is based in Aarhus C, Jutland, and with a weekday circula ...

'' published a document that it said proved that Gade tried to hide the Danish military's agreement with security company Blackwater whose contractors killed 17 Iraqi civilians and wounded 20 in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

's Nisour Square in 2007.

Other activities

European Leadership Network European Leadership Network (ELN) is a pan-European think-tank focusing on European foreign, defence and security issues based in London, United Kingdom. The ELN's Director is Sir Adam Thomson, former UK Permanent Representative to NATO. Histo ...

(ELN), Member of the Advisory Board

Personal life

In January 2008 Gade lost his wife Helle Buskbjerg Poulsen after years of cancer.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

Biography on the website of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget)
* 1963 births Living people People from Holstebro Venstre (Denmark) politicians Danish Defence Ministers Aarhus University alumni MEPs for Denmark 2019–2024 Members of the Folketing 2001–2005 Members of the Folketing 2005–2007 Members of the Folketing 2007–2011 Members of the Folketing 2015–2019 Members of the Folketing 2022–2026 {{Denmark-politician-stub