Sofie Carsten Nielsen (born 24 May 1975) is a Danish politician, who was formerly the leader of the

Danish Social Liberal Party 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 centra ...

from October 2020 to November 2022. In the 2000s, Nielsen began her political career with 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 ...

as a consultant before working for the Ministry of Gender Equality as a deputy minister. After being elected to 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 ...

at the

2011 Danish general election General elections were held in Denmark on 15 September 2011 to elect the 179 members of the Folketing. Of those 179, 175 members were elected in Denmark, two in the Faroe Islands and two in Greenland. The incumbent centre-right coalition led by ...

for the

Greater Copenhagen The urban area of Copenhagen (also known as Greater Copenhagen) ( da, Storkøbenhavn or ), lying mostly in the Capital Region of Denmark but also in Region Zealand, consist of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg municipalities and the former Copenhagen ...

constituency, Nielsen became the Minister for Higher Education and Science in 2014. Nielsen remained in her minister position until she was replaced by

Esben Lunde Larsen Esben is a Norwegian and Danish male given name. Origin and variants It originated as a variant of Asbjørn. A common variant is Espen Notable people Notable people with this name include: * Esben Esther Pirelli Benestad, Norwegian physician and ...

in 2015.

Political career

In an interview with '' Naturejobs'', Nielsen mentioned that she originally did not plan to become involved in politics. She started her career at the

as a consultant from 2002 to 2004 before becoming a deputy minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality until 2009. After a brief position at the

Danish Society of Engineers IDA, The Danish Society of Engineers, ( da, Ingeniørforeningen) is a Danish trade union and interest group for highly educated professionals with a background in technology, science or IT. It has the abbreviation IDA (''Ingeniørforeningen i Da ...

, Nielsen was elected to the

for the

riding at the

. During her term, Nielsen was a spokesperson for several topics including gender equality and the European Union. With the

, Nielsen became their vice-chairperson in 2011 before being promoted to chair in 2012. After holding her chair position for two years, Nielsen became the Minister for Higher Education and Science in 2014. As Minister for Higher Education and Science, Nielsen declared in 2014 that 4,000 student admissions to low turnover programs would be cut. Universities Denmark later negotiated a deal with her to have the number of cuts lowered and implemented starting in 2018. On 28 June 2015, Nielsen was replaced by

for the position of Minister for Higher Education and Science. After her minister position ended, Nielsen returned to her position as the Danish Social Liberal Party's vice-chairperson in 2015. In October 2020, Nielsen was named

Morten Østergaard Morten Østergaard (born 17 June 1976 in Aarhus) is a Danish politician who served as Denmark's Minister for Economic and Interior Affairs from 2 September 2014 to 28 June 2015. Leader of the Danish Social Liberal Party from September 2014 to Oct ...

's replacement as head of the Danish Social Liberal Party after Østergaard resigned from his leadership position. As a result of the Commission of Inquiry into the Case of the Killing of Mink, she announced that, if Prime Minister

Mette Frederiksen Mette Frederiksen (; born 19 November 1977) is a Danish politician who has been Prime Minister of Denmark since June 2019, and Leader of the Social Democrats since June 2015. The second woman to hold either office, she is also the youngest prime ...

would not call a general election before 4 October 2022, her party would support a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

against Frederiksen. Frederiksen went on to announce a snap election on 5 October, with Nielsen and her party supporting a second term for Frederiksen. The Social Liberal Party went on to lose 9 out of 16 seats in the election. Receiving only a fourth of the votes she received in

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 ...

, Nielsen took responsibility for the poor result and resigned as leader the day after on 2 November 2022. She was succeeded by

Martin Lidegaard Martin Lidegaard (born 12 December 1966 in Copenhagen) is a Danish politician who since 2022 has been political leader of the Danish Social Liberal Party, Social Liberal Party. He was Foreign Minister of Denmark, Denmark's Foreign Minister in the ...

one day later.

Personal life

Nielsen was born on 24 May 1975 in

Hørsholm Hørsholm () is an urban area on the Øresund coast approximately north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers most of Hørsholm Municipality and straddles the borders neighbouring Fredensborg Municipality and Rudersdal Municipality. Hørsholm prope ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. Nielsen graduated with a politics

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from the

College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...

in 2001 and later a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

in 2002. Nielsen is married with two children.

References

External links

Biography on the website of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Sofie Carsten 1975 births Living people People from Hørsholm Municipality Danish Education Ministers Danish Social Liberal Party politicians College of Europe alumni Women government ministers of Denmark Women members of the Folketing 21st-century Danish women politicians University of Copenhagen alumni Members of the Folketing 2011–2015 Members of the Folketing 2015–2019 Members of the Folketing 2019–2022 Leaders of the Danish Social Liberal Party Members of the Folketing 2022–2026