Birthe Johanne Sparrevohn Rønn Hornbech (born 18 October 1943 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

) is a Danish politician, member of the

Folketing The Folketing ( , ), 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 and Greenland. E ...

(the national parliament of Denmark) for Venstre, the liberal

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

, elected in the constituency of

Køge Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a Danish seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland (Zealand), Denmark. In 2025, the ...

, and former Minister for Refugees, Immigrants and Integration and for Ecclesiastical Affairs. Hornbech graduated as ''cand.jur.'' (

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

) from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

in 1971. After that, she worked as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

at the

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

and in 1981 she was promoted to deputy police commissioner. She was first elected to the Folketing in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. Hornbech is known for her pronounced views and has on numerous occasions disagreed with the leadership of her own party; for instance, she voted against an increase of public

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

. Following the 2007 election, she became minister, although having previously denied offers of such appointment on more than one occasion. In 2010, Hornbech came under public scrutiny as the Minister of Integration, when it was discovered that young stateless Palestinians living in Denmark were being illegally denied Danish citizenship, with her knowledge.Rønn ignorerede ulovlig sagsbehandling i over et år
/ref> On 8 March 2011, she was fired from her ministries because of this.

Bibliography

Hornbech has expressed her views and her experiences in a number of books: * ''Og så gik'', 1990 * ''Udlændinge i Danmark'', 1993 * ''Så gik der politik i det'',

Gyldendal Gyldendalske Boghandel, Nordisk Forlag A/S, usually referred to simply as Gyldendal (), is a Danish publishing house. Founded in 1770 by Søren Gyldendal, it is the oldest and largest publishing house in Denmark, offering a wide selection of ...

, 1997 * ''En lige venstre'', Gyldendal, 2001 * ''Ret og rimeligt'', Gyldendal, 2004, (Hornbech deals out clips on the ears of politicians, voters and non-voters) * Kirsten Jacobsen: ''På livet løs - En samtale mellem Lise Nørgaard og Birthe Rønn Hornbech'', Gyldendal, 2004 (a conversation with

Lise Nørgaard Lise Nørgaard (born Elise Jensen; 14 June 1917 – 1 January 2023) was a Danish journalist and writer known for her precise and often humorous portrayals of Danish cultural life. Nørgaard wrote novels, compilations of essays and short stories. ...

) * ''Tale er guld'', Gyldendal, 2006, * ''Fra krigsbarn til folkevalgt'', DR Multimedie, 2007 * ''Gud, Grundtvig, Grundlov'', Gyldendal, 2010, (about

N. F. S. Grundtvig Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig (; 8 September 1783 – 2 September 1872), most often referred to as N. F. S. Grundtvig, was a Danish pastor, author, poet, philosopher, historian, teacher and politician. He was one of the most influential p ...

) * ''Det evigt menneskelige'', Gyldendal, 2014, (fairy tales by

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

) * ''Politierindringer'', Gyldendal, 2018, (about her 37 years in the police force)

References

External links