Søren Gade Jensen (born 27 January 1963) is a Danish politician who has been Speaker of the Folketing since November 2022, representing the Liberal party, Venstre. He was a Liberal member of the Folketing from 2001 to 2019 and again in 2022. Before entering politics, he was a military officer and businessman. He was formerly a Member of the European Parliament from 2019 to 2022.
Søren Gade | |
|---|---|
 Gade in 2007 | |
| Speaker of the Folketing | |
| Assumed office 16 November 2022 | |
| Monarchs | Margrethe II Frederik X |
| Preceded by | Henrik Dam Kristensen |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 24 April 2004 – 23 February 2010 | |
| Prime Minister | Anders Fogh Rasmussen Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
| Preceded by | Svend Aage Jensby |
| Succeeded by | Gitte Lillelund Bech |
| Member of the Folketing | |
| In office 20 November 2001 – 13 November 2007 | |
| Constituency | Ringkøbing County |
| In office 13 November 2007 – 23 February 2010 | |
| Constituency | Western Jutland |
| In office 18 June 2015 – 5 June 2019 | |
| Constituency | North Jutland |
| Member of the European Parliament for Denmark | |
| In office 2 July 2019 – 14 November 2022 | |
| Succeeded by | Erik Poulsen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Søren Gade Jensen 27 January 1963 Holstebro, Denmark |
| Political party | Venstre |
| Spouse | Helle Buskbjerg Poulsen (died 2008) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Aarhus University |
| Occupation | Military officer, businessman |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Denmark |
| Branch/service | .svg){kind=small} Royal Danish Army |
| Years of service | 1983–present |
| Rank |  Major in the Reserve |
| Unit | Jutland Dragoon Regiment |
He was also CEO of the Danish business organization Landbrug & Fødevarer from 2012 to 2014.[1]
Political career
editMinister of Defence, 2004–2010
editGade served as Defence Minister from 2004 to 2010, when he replaced Svend Aage Jensby. During his time in office, he led Danish efforts to maintain public support for the deployment of 750 troops in Afghanistan.[2] Gade resigned from 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.
Member of the European Parliament, 2019–2022
editGade was elected to the European Parliament in 2019.[3] A member of the Renew Europe group, he served as chair of the Committee on Fisheries and as member of the Committee on Transport and Tourism. Within the Committee on Transport and Tourism, he was part of the Tourism Task Force (TTF).[4] In 2020, he also joined the Special Committee on Beating Cancer.[5]
In addition to his committee assignments, Gade was the chair of the Parliament's delegation for relations with India.[6]
Return to national politics
editIn 2022 following his re-election to the Folketing, a majority of parties supported Gade's candidacy for the position of speaker of the Folketing.[7] Gade was officially confirmed as speaker on 16 November 2022.[8][9]
Controversy
editIn 2015, the newspaper Jyllands-Posten 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's Nisour Square in 2007.[10]
Other activities
edit- European Leadership Network (ELN), Member of the Advisory Board[11]
Personal life
editIn January 2008 Gade lost his wife Helle Buskbjerg Poulsen after years of cancer.[12]
Awards and decorations
edit
|
Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog |
|
Reserve Long Service Medal |
|
Homeguard Medal of Merit |
|
Homeguard 25 Years Service Decoration |
|
Badge of Honor of the Reserve Officers Association of Denmark |
|
Peace Prize Medal (Denmark) |
|
The Nordic Blue Berets Medal of Honour |
|
Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (Ukraine) of second degree |
References
edit- ^ ritzau (2012-05-07). "Søren Gade bliver landbrugets nye førstemand". Politiken. JP/Politikens Hus. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
- ^ Alistair MacDonald (February 24, 2010), [1] Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "Valgresultat EP-valg Danmark - Følg resultatet for EP-valget her | DR". www.dr.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2020-05-16.
- ^ Composition of the Tourism Task Force (TTF) European Parliament.
- ^ Members of the Special Committee on Beating Cancer European Parliament, press release of July 9, 2020.
- ^ Søren GADE European Parliament.
- ^ "Flertal i Folketinget: Søren Gade skal være ny formand for Folketinget". DR (in Danish). 2022-11-12. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
- ^ "Søren Gade valgt som ny formand for Folketinget - TV 2". nyheder.tv2.dk (in Danish). 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
- ^ "Søren Gade valgt som ny formand / Folketinget". 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
- ^ Court orders Denmark to compensate 18 Iraqis over torture Al Jazeera, June 15, 2018.
- ^ Advisory Board European Leadership Network (ELN).
- ^ [2] Archived March 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
External links
edit- Biography on the website of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget)
Media related to Søren Gade at Wikimedia Commons
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