Søren Vandsø (born 19 April 1973) is a Danish politician who is the Secretary General of the Conservative People's Party in
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
Them
Them or THEM, a third-person singular or plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to:
Books
* ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet''
* '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fict ...
south of
Silkeborg
Silkeborg () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 52,571 (1 January 2025). He was national chairman for two years until he chose to resign at the national council in 1998, after Vandsø had publicly criticised the election of the Conservative People's Party's group chairman
Hans Engell
Hans Engell (born 8 October 1948) is a Danish former politician and journalist, who until 6 September 2007 was the editor-in-chief of the tabloid ''Ekstra Bladet'', a position he had held for seven years. As a member of the Conservative People's ...
.
Vandsø is previously known to have had a sceptical attitude towards the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. During his time as national chairman of the Conservative Youth, Vandsø was distinctly
Eurosceptic
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...
. Several times, Vandsø led campaigns for a 'no' vote in the 1998 Amsterdam Treaty referendum. Shortly after his election as national chairman of Young Conservatives, he stated that both the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
and the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two 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 ...
should be abolished and that all decisions should be made in the
Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
.
In 1999, Vandsø had to resign as chairman of the Silkeborg
constituency
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
European Parliament election
Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's.
Until 2019, 751 ...
.
Vandsø had previously attempted to run in the 2004 EP elections, but shortly before the regional council in 2003, he decided to abandon his plans to run when he experienced strong opposition within the Conservative People's Party.
In 2007, Vandsø left the Conservative People's Party and joined the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
, citing that there were "higher ceilings". However, he later returned to the Conservatives and became party secretary in 2015.