Lars Løkke Rasmussen
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Lars Løkke Rasmussen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Prime Minister of Denmark | |
| Assumed office 5 April 2009 | |
| Monarch | Margrethe II |
| Deputy | Lene Espersen |
| Preceded by | Anders Fogh Rasmussen |
| Minister of Finance of Denmark | |
| Assumed office 23 November 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Thor Pedersen |
| Minister of the Interior and Health of Denmark | |
| In office 27 November 2001 – 23 November 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Arne Rolighed |
| Succeeded by | Karen Jespersen (Minister of Welfare) Jakob Axel Nielsen (Minister of Health and Prevention) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 May 1964 Vejle, Denmark |
| Political party | Venstre |
| Spouse | Sólrun Løkke Rasmussen |
| Alma mater | University of Copenhagen |
Lars Løkke Rasmussen (born May 15 1964 in Vejle) is the current Prime Minister of Denmark and the designate leader of the Liberal Party Venstre.
Rasmussen was the Interior and Health Minister from November 27 2001, as part of the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen I and II and Minister of Finance in the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen III from November 23 2007. On April 5 2009 he succeeded Anders Fogh Rasmussen as Prime Minister following Fogh Rasmussen's appointment as Secretary General of NATO.
Rasmussen has been a member of the Danish parliament (Folketinget) since September 21 1994. He also served as County Mayor of Frederiksborg County from 1998 to 2001. In spite of their common surname, Rasmussen is related neither to his immediate predecessor nor to the prime minister before that, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen.[1]
Early life
Lars Løkke Rasmussen was born in Vejle to Jeppe and Lise Løkke Rasmussen. He graduated high school in 1983, and was the president of the youth branch of Venstre from 1986 to 1989. He got a degree in law from the University of Copenhagen in 1992. From 1990 to 1995 he worked as a self-employed consultant.
Political career
Municipal reform of 2007
As Minister of the Interior and Health, Lars Løkke Rasmussen spearheaded the municipal reform that reduced Denmark's 271 municipalities to 98, and abolished the 14 counties and replaced them with five regions[2].
Accusations of financial irregularities
In the spring of 2008, Lars Løkke Rasmussen was accused of having charged his official accounts with expenses he should have paid himself, e.g. restaurants, cigarettes, taxis, and hotels, both as county mayor and as minister[3][4]. In May 2007, Løkke was accused of letting his ministry pay for a hotelroom in Copenhagen when Lars Løkke Rasmussen attended a Paul McCartney concert in Horsens in 2004[5][6][7].
Tax reform of 2009
In February 2009, Lars Løkke Rasmussen was the chief negotiator in the political agreement behind a major tax reform, implementing the government's ambition of reducing income-tax and increasing taxes on pollution[8]. The reform was, according to Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the biggest reduction of the marginal tax rate since the introduction of the income tax in 1903[9]. The opposition accused it of being historically skewed in favouring those with high-income jobs and giving very little to those with low-income jobs[9].
Prime minister of Denmark
On April 4, 2009, NATO decided that prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen would replace Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as Secretary General of NATO[10]. On the same day, Anders Fogh Rasmussen declared that he would resign as prime minister on April 5. As deputy of the largest party in the government, Lars Løkke Rasmussen thus took over the post as prime minister of Denmark.[11] An opinion poll released on the day of Lars Løkke Rasmussen's takeover of the post as prime minister revealed that the Danes believe that he only beats Helle Thorning-Schmidt as the person most suited for bringing Denmark through the financial crisis, and that Thorning-Schmidt would be better suited in terms of reducing unemployment, reduce hospital waitinglists, secure the welfare-society of the future, and to represent Denmark internationally[12]. A common speculation is that current minister for taxation Kristian Jensen will take over as deputy-chair of Venstre, and that current Minister of Employment Claus Hjort Frederiksen will be appointed Minister of finance[13].
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Notes
- ^ According to Statistics Denmark, Rasmussen is the ninth-most common last name in Denmark: http://www.dst.dk/Statistik/Navne/pop/2009.aspx
- ^ "Regeringens populistiske narreværk" (in Danish). Politiken. 2009-03-24. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Amtsrådspolitikere vil undersøge Løkkes bilagsrod" (in Danish). Politiken. 2003-05-23. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Lars Løkke på flere hotelbesøg" (in Danish). Politiken. 2003-05-22. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Løkke tog på betalt hotel efter koncert - Politiken.dk
- ^ Ministerium fik hotelregning efter koncert - dr.dk/Nyheder/Politik
- ^ TV 2 Nyhederne - Løkke på hotel efter rockkoncert
- ^ "Nu er skattereformen på plads" (in Danish). Politiken. 2009-03-01. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b "Direktøren får 53.409 kr. - hjemmehjælper 2.779 kr" (in Danish). Jyllands-Posten. 2009-03-01. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Fogh bliver ny Nato-chef" (in Danish). Politiken. 2009-04-04. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Løkke tager over i morgen" (in Danish). Politiken. 2009-04-04. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Løkke slår kun Thorning på et punkt" (in Danish). Politiken. 2009-04-05. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Venstre lægger an til magtskifte" (in Danish). Politiken. 2009-04-05. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)