Connie Hedegaard | |
|---|---|
 Hedegaard in 2005 | |
| European Commissioner for Climate Action | |
| In office 9 February 2010 – 31 October 2014 | |
| President | José Manuel Barroso |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Miguel Arias Cañete(Climate Action andEnergy) |
| Minister for Climate and Energy | |
| In office 23 November 2007 – 24 November 2009 | |
| Prime Minister | Anders Fogh Rasmussen Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Lykke Friis |
| Minister for Nordic Cooperation | |
| In office 18 February 2005 – 23 November 2007 | |
| Prime Minister | Anders Fogh Rasmussen |
| Preceded by | Flemming Hansen |
| Succeeded by | Bertel Haarder |
| Minister for the Environment | |
| In office 2 August 2004 – 23 November 2007 | |
| Prime Minister | Anders Fogh Rasmussen |
| Preceded by | Hans Christian Schmidt |
| Succeeded by | Troels Lund Poulsen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1960-10-15)15 October 1960 (age 65) Holbæk, Denmark |
| Political party | Conservative People's Party |
| Alma mater | University of Copenhagen |
Connie Hedegaard Koksbang (born 15 September 1960) is a Danish politician and public intellectual. She was European Commissioner forClimate Action in the (second Barroso)European Commission from 10 February 2010 through 31 October 2014.[1][2][3]
On behalf of Denmark, Hedegaard hostedthe UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.[4] She was Danish Minister forClimate and Energy from 23 November 2007 as a member of theCabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen III and that ofLars Løkke Rasmussen and had been theDanishMinister for the Environment from 2 August 2004 to 23 November 2007, as a member of theCabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen I andII.
In Denmark, Hedegaard is a member of theConservative People's Party (DKF), and elected member of parliament (Folketing) from 10 January 1984 to 3 October 1990 and again in the2005 Danish parliamentary election. Prior to becoming a minister, she worked as a journalist atDR, the Danish national broadcaster.
Connie Hedegaard holds an MA in Literature and History. She has been a member of theConservative Party and active in government on and off since 1984, when she was elected as the hitherto youngest member of theFolketing, the Danish national parliament, where she sat for six years.[5] In 1990, she left politics to pursue a career in journalism. Over the next 14 years, she worked as a journalist at the newspaperBerlingske Tidende, took the post of Director ofDR Radio News, and was the anchor for Deadline, a Danish TV news program.
Diving back into politics in 2004, she became Minister of the Environment. A year later, she became Minister for Nordic Cooperation. After the November 2007 general election, she was chosen as Minister for Climate and Energy. In May 2008, she told Denmark, "Sustainable economic growth is an attainable objective. The Nordic Region has made great progress with solutions based on environmental technology, and some day it will be possible to stockpile energy generated from renewable sources such as windmills, and to run vehicles purely on excess energy."[6][7]
Hedegaard was also in charge of preparing and hosting theUnited Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 inCopenhagen.[8]
From 2007, Hedegaard was behind Denmark's energy policies. In April, she signed an action plan withIndia on renewable energy.[9] One notable achievement was her role in introducing Denmark's Energy Policy 2008–2011. The policy made her country the first in the world to commit to an overall energy reduction, not just a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. It includes the following language.
Taking up her new position at the European Commission on 10 February 2010, Hedegaard stressed the importance of climate change in the 21st century. She hoped that by the end of her five-year term, Europe would be the most climate friendly region in the world. Her priorities would be to implement the EuropeanClimate and Energy package and to continue her efforts towards an ambitious international climate agreement.[10]
According to the mandate outlined byPresident Barroso, her principal responsibilities as Commissioner for Climate Action was to:
In order to carry out her responsibilities, Hedegaard was in charge of the newly createdDirectorate-General for Climate Action which builds on the climate directorate which was previously in theDirectorate-General for Environment.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister for the Environment 2004–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Nordic Cooperation 2005–2007 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Minister for Climate and Energy 2007–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Danish European Commissioner 2010–2014 | Succeeded by |
| New office | European Commissioner for Climate Action 2010–2014 | Succeeded byas European Commissioner for Climate Action andEnergy |
| Awards and achievements | ||
| Preceded by | European of the Year (by the Danish European Movement) 2014 | Succeeded by |
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