Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership

DANISH FEMALE PARTY LEADERS  
- and holders of other
high party offices

Also see List of Danish Female Ministers and Danish Party Leaders


1968-69 Group-Chairperson of Venstresocialisterne Hanne Reintoft
Parliamentary leader of the Left Socialists. (b. 1934-).

1974-75 Group-Chairperson of De Uafhængige Birgit Busk
The "Independent's" broke away from Fremskridtspartiet

1977-91 Group-Chairperson of Socialistisk Folkeparti Ebba Strange
In 1979 the Socialistisk Folkeparti, which is moderate socialist, had a majority of female MPs. (b. 1929-).

1978-79 Group-Chairperson of Retsforbundet Lis Starcke
1977-78 and 1979-82 Deputy Group-Chairperson of Retsforbundet, which is translated into the Justice Party

1981-84 Group-Chairperson of Venstresocialisterne 
1982-86 Political Spokesperson Anne-Grete Holmsgård
MF for the  Left Wing Socialist Party 1979-86, she left the party and later represented the Socialist People's Party until 1987 and again from 2001. A number of administrative management posts and director of the Technical University of Denmark 1995-2002. (b. 1948-).

1982-84 Group Chairperson Centrum-Demokraterne Yvonne Herløv Andersen
1979-89 General Secretary of the party, 1994 Minister of Social Affairs, 1994-96 Minister of Health. (b. 1942-)

1985-86 Group-Chairperson Venstresocialisterne Elisabeth Bruun Olesen
1984 Group-Secretary of the Leftwing Socialists and MP through a number of years.

1985-94 Political Spokesperson, Deputy Party-Chairperson and Party Leader of Fremskridtspartiet Pia Kjærsgaard
1995-  Leader of Dansk Folkeparti 
1996- Party Chairperson and Political Spokesperson

1984-87 Group-Secretary of Fremskridtspartiet. She founded Danish People's Party after a split in the likewise right-wing Progress-Party where she had been leader since the founder, Mogens Glistrup went to prison for tax-fraud. (b. 1947-)


1985-89 Party Chairperson of Fremskridtspartiet Anette Just
1994-97 Group Secretary. (b. 1947-).

1986-87 Political Spokesperson of Det Konservative Folkeparti Grethe Fenger Møller
MF 1977-93, Rådmand/ Councillor of Culture of Frederiksberg 1981-82, 1982-86 Minister of Labour, Chairperson of the Equality Council of the Premier Minister. She was involved in a scandal that brought along the fall of the conservative-liberal government in 1993 and convicted for not telling the truth in court. (b. 1941-)  

1987-91 Group-Chairperson Socialdemokraterne Ritt Bjerregaard
1973 and 1975-78 Minister of Education 
1979-82 Minister of Social Affairs,
1982  Deputy Group Chairperson and 1982-87 1. Deputy Group Chairperson, 1990-94, Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe 1992-94, European Union Commissioner for Environment and Atomic Security 1995-99, Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries 2000-01 and Lord Mayor of Copenhagen from  2006. (b. 1941-).

1987-88 Group-Chairperson of Kristelig Folkeparti Inger Stilling Petersen
1973-73, 1977-78 and 1987-90 Group-Secretary, 1984-87 and 1990-94 Deputy Group-Chairperson. The Christian People's Party is a very small christian party. (b. 1929-)

1988-93 and 2001-07 Group-Chairperson and Political Spokesperson of Det Radikale Venstre Marianne Jelved
1990-2007 Party Leader
1993-2001 Vice-Premier Minister, 1993-2002 Minister of Economic Affairs, 1994-2002 Minister of Nordic Co-operation. (b. 1943-).

1989-2005 Party Chairperson and Leader of Centrum-Demokraterne 
1997-2000 Political Spokesperson Mimi Jacobsen
1980-81 Deputy Group-Chairperson, 1981-82 and 1988-92 Political Spokesperson. 1982-84 Minister of Cultural Affairs, 1986-88 Minister of Social Affairs, 1987 Minister for Greenland and 1993-94 1. Vice-Premier and Minister for Coordination of Business-Policy, 1994 Minister of Co-ordination and of Industry, 1994-96 2. Vice-Premier and Minister of Business and Industry. The moderate Center Democrats was founded by her father in 1973 as a break-away Faction from the Social Democrats. From 2001 onwards the party did not re-enter the Folketing, she later left the party and it was abolished in 2008. (b. 1948-).

1989 Group-Chairperson of Fremskridtspartiet Kirsten Jacobsen
1995-97 Political Spokesperson and Party Leader
1999-2000  Co-Leader Frihed 2000 (Freedom 2000)
1974-75 and 1977-78 Deputy Group-Chairperson of Fremskritspartiet, which means Progress Party. In 1999 she and the other three MP's left, when the founder of the Party, Mogens Glistrup, was readmitted to the party. They formed a parliamentary grouping named "Freedom 2000" and did not stand in the 2001-elections. She was Deputy Chairperson of the Folketing 1990-96. (b. 1942-)

1989-90 Political Spokesperson of Det Konservative Folkeparti Conni Hedegaard
From 2004 Minister of Environment. Journalist

1990-93 Chairperson of Kommunistist Forum (KF)
1993-2003 Chairperson of Dansk Kommunistisk Parti (DKP)
2003- Chairperson of Kommunistisk Parti i Danmark (KiD) Betty Frydenberg Carlsson
KF was the orthodox Communists - when the majority of the party joined the Leftwing Alliance, (Enhedslisten) she took over as leader of the tiny leftovers of the old DKP. (b. 1944-).

1991-93 Party Chairperson of Det Radikale Venstre Grethe Erichsen
1990-91 Deputy Party-Chairperson 

1993-94 Group-Chairperson Centrum-Demokraterne Bente Juncker
MF 1981-94, 1982-93 Group-Secretary and 1984-85 Deputy Group-Chairperson, 1994 Minister of Social Affairs. (b. 1944-)  

1993-97 Party-Chairperson Det Radikale Venstre
2007- Group Chairperson and Party Leader Margrethe Vestager
1998-2001 Minister of Education and Deputy Party Leader and Vice-Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group 2001-07. Mother of 3 children. (b. 1968-).

1993-98 Organisatorial Party-Chairperson of Centrum Demokraterne Inger Boriis
The party leader was and is Mimi Jacobsen, but Inger Boriis was in charge of the party organisation. 

1994-98 and 2002-05 Group-Chairperson of Socialdemokraterne Pia Gjellerup
1987-2007 MP, 1990-93 and from 2001 Group-Secretary. As Group-Secretary she was also Secretary of the Presidium of the Folketing 1994-98. Minister 1993 and 1998-2001. Unmarried and no children. (b. 1959-)

1994-95 and 2000-01 Group-Chairperson of Enhedslisten Jette Ryde Gottlieb
The Unity List is a merger of a number of former small leftwing parties. (b. 1948-)

1995-97 Political Spokesperson and Deputy Party-Leader of Det Konservative Folkeparti Anne Birgitte Lundholt
1991-94  2. Deputy Group-Chairperson, 1994-95 Deputy Group-Chairperson and in 1997 she was candidate for the leadership of the Party. 1989-93 Minister of Industry 
1990-93 Minister of Energy.
Unmarried and no children. (b. 1952- ).  

1998-99 Party-Leader and Political Spokesperson of Det Konservative Folkeparti Pia Christmas-Møller
2001-07 Political Spokesperson
Political Spokesperson 2001-07, Vice-President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly from 2005. Left the Conservative People's Party in 2007 after she was dumped as Spokesperson, independent MP since then. Unmarried and no children. (b. 1961-)

1998-2002 Chairperson of Fælles Kurs Gitte Thomsen
Common Course was no longer in the Folketing since 1997 and in 2002 it merged with Denmark's Communist Party. Vice-Chairperson of DKP from 2003.

1999-2001 Political Spokesperson Lene Espersen
After a long feud in the party a new leadership was elected under group-Chairperson Bendt Bendtsen with her as deputy. Minister of Justice from 2001. (b. 1965-)

2000-01 Group Chairperson of Det Liberale Højre Inge Refshauge
Together with another MP she left the Danish People's Party and joined the new The Liberal Right, which had not previously been represented in Parliament. It brought the number of parties in the parliament to 12. Later founding member of Democratic People's Party.

2000-01 Group-Chairperson of Det Radikale Venstre Elisabeth Arnold
1990-94 Group-Secretary and 1994-2000 Deputy Group-Chairperson. She was Vice-Chairperson of the Folketing 1996-98 and Secretary from 2005. (b. 1941-)

2000-01 Acting Chairperson of Det Radikale Venstre Lone Loklindt
1997-2000 Deputy Party-Chairperson. 2001 she was candidate for the post of party chairperson. (b. 1960-).

2001-03 Party Chairperson of Fremskridtspartiet Åse Heskjær
Former Vice-Chairperson.The Progress Party is a rightwing populist and xenophobic party which was represented in the parliament until 2000.

2002-05 Chairperson of Kristendemokraterne Marianne Karlsmose
Former Candidate to the European Parliament, Primary School Teacher. Candidate for the Folketing in 2005 but the party did not pass the 2% limit in order to enter the parliament and she resigned. Gift med cand.theol. Birger Nielsen. Mother of 2 sons. (b. 1973-).

2004-07 and 2007- Group-Chairperson of Enhedslisten Line Barfod
A solicitor and MP of the leftwing Unity List from 2001. Vice-Chairperson of the Group in 2007. Mother of four children. (b. 1964-).

2005 Acting Group Chairperson of Venstre Rikke Hvilshøj (10.02-18.02)
MP from 1998 and Deputy Group Chairperson since 2001, Deputy Mayor of Frederiksberg 1998-2002. She became Acting Chair since the previous chair lost his seat during the elections. Minister of Integration and Refugees from 2005. Married to Karsten Anker Petersen and mother of a daughter (b. 1999) and a son (b. 2003). She is (b. 1970-).

2005 Acting Group Chairperson of Det Konservative Folkeparti Else Theill Sørensen
MF 2001-05, Group Secretary 2001-04 and  Deputy Group Chairperson 2004-05. As the previous chairperson did not stand for reelection she became Acting Chairperson on 09.02 but the next day it became clear that she had lost her seat to the Social Liberals after a recount of the votes. (b. 1941-).

2005- Chairperson of Socialdemokraterne Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Social Democrat Member of the European Parliament 1999-2004 and MF from 2005. Married to Stephen Kinnock and mother of two daughters. (b. 1966-)

2005-06 Political Spokesperson of Socialdemokraterne Lotte Bundsgaard

Teacher and MF for the Social Democrats since 1997, 2000-01 Minister of  Housing and Cities and Minister for Equality, 2002-05 Vice-Chairperson of the Social Democrats. In 2006 she was offered the post of Vice-Chairperson of the Group, but said no. Lotte Koed Bundsgaard is married to Søren Thorsager and mother of a daughter born 1999, and a son born in February 2002. (b. 1973-)  

2005- Chairperson of Junibevægelsen Hanne Dahl

Until 2005 the EU-Sceptical June Movement had got a collective leadership and she was its chief spokseperson from 2004. She is a priest. (b. 1970-).

2005 Acting Chairperson of Socialistisk Folkeparti Trine Bendix Knudsen  (02.04-29.04)

Vice-Chairperson 2004-05. She acted as leader after the previous Chairman resigned until the election of a new, a 53 year old man who won over two female candidates. (b. 1968-).

2005- Chairperson of Kristendemokraterne Bodil  Kornbek
Member of the Parliament 2001-05 and Group Secretary of the Christian Democrats 2002-04. (b. 1961-).

2007 Joint Leader of Ny Alliance Gitte Seeberg
1999-2001 Group-Secretary of Det Konservative Folkeparti (Conservative People's Party and Secretary of the Folketing (Diet) and 2001-04 Deputy Group Chairperson. Member of the European Parliament 2004-07. Left her party and formed The New Alliance with two former members of the New Alliance and was elected to parliament again. After the 2007-elections she left the leadership, and in 2008 she left the party and became an independent. Mother of one daughter. (b. 1960-).

2007 Group Chairperson of the Centrumsdemokraterne Louise Frevert
Member of Copenhagen City Council for the Conservative People's Party 1994-97 and 1998, for the xenophobe Danish People's Party 1999-2007 and for the strongly pro-immigrant Centrumsdemokraterne from 2007, Member of Folketinget from 2001 for Danish People's Party from 2001 and the Centrumsdemokraterne from 2007 as their only MP for a few months until the elections. Mother of 4 children with her 2 first husbands, now married to Susanne Christiansen. (b. 1953-).

2007- Political Spokesperson of Venstre Inger Støjberg
Member of the City Council of Viborg 1994-2002, MP from 2001 and Deputy Group Chairperson 2005-07. (b. 1973-)

2007- Political Spokesperson of Det Konservative Folkeparti Henriette Kjær  

She is a librarian-student, and has been Conservative MF from 1994, Minister of Social Affairs and Minister of Equality 2001-04 and Minister of Family and Consumer Affairs 2004-05, until she resigned after it was revealed that she and her partner had been convicted twice for not paying their bills. She Lives together with Erik Skov Petersen and is mother of two sons born in 1996 and 1998. (b. 1966-)


Last update 29.01.08


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