Mikkel Bjørn | |
|---|---|
 Bjørn in 2023 | |
| Member of theFolketing | |
| Assumed office 1 November 2022 | |
| Constituency | Funen |
| National chairman ofNye Borgerliges Ungdom | |
| In office 8 October 2016 – 16 October 2021 | |
| Succeeded by | Malte Larsen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1995-10-19)19 October 1995 (age 30) |
| Political party | Danish People's Party (2023–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Young Conservatives (2014–2016) Nye Borgerlige (2016–2023) |
| Alma mater | Jelling Seminarium |
| Occupation | Politician,teacher |
| Website | https://mikkelbjorn.dk |
Mikkel Bjørn Sørensen (born 19 October 1995) is a Danish politician and former teacher. In November 2022, he became a member of theFolketing for theNye Borgerlige (NB) party, but in January 2023 changed his party allegiance to theDanish People's Party (DF). Formerly, in 2016-2021 he was the first national chairman of Nye Borgerlige'syouth wing. Growing up nearJuelsminde inJutland, Bjørn has since 2022 lived inNyborg onFunen.
Mikkel Bjørn was born on 19 October 1995 inRårup, a village inJuelsminde Municipality (nowHedensted Municipality) close to the town ofJuelsminde and the city ofHorsens,[1] where he went to As Friskole and afterwards received astudentereksamen (high school diploma) in 2014 from Horsens Statsskole.[2] He attended theteacher-training college of Jelling Seminarium from 2016 to 2020[3][4] and afterwards worked as a school teacher from 2020 to 2022.[5]
Having previously lived in Jylland, lastly inRanders, in 2023 Bjørn moved toNyborg on the island of Funen, being situated in the constituency for which he had been elected toFolketinget in 2022.[6]
Aftergymnasium, in 2014 Mikkel Bjørn joined theYoung Conservatives (KU), the youth wing of theConservative People's Party (DKF), where he became local chairman for KU Vejle.[7] Within the KU, he was considered an affiliate of Hvid Fløj (White Wing), thenational conservative fraction in the youth wing.[8]
In 2016 he was expelled from the organisation, allegedly after having indicated in an internal member forum on Facebook that he would vote for another party than the Conservative People's Party at an election,[8] and because of his harsh rhetoric, according to the leader of the Young Conservatives bordering onracism, in various internal debates on immigrants and refugees.[9][10]
Bjørn then joined Nye Borgerlige's youth wing namedNye Borgerliges Ungdom (NBU), and in October 2016 he was elected as the first chairman of the organisation.[11] He remained chairman until October 2021, when he was succeeded by Malte Larsen.[12] From 2016 until 2022, he simultaneously held a position in the NB's national committee (hovedbestyrelse).[13]
In the2017 local elections, Bjørn ran for Nye Borgerlige inVejle Municipality, receiving 33 personal votes[14] without the party winning any seats in themunicipality.[15]
At the2019 general election, the NB's first, in June 2019, Bjørn gained 46 personal votes as a candidate inSouth Jutland, coming in last among the party's eight candidates in the constituency.[16]
In April 2022, the party national executive appointed Mikkel Bjørn Nye Borgerlige's lead candidate inFunen Greater Constituency for the next general election.[17] The centrally made appointment caused dissatisfaction among some party members in Funen and caused three local politicians to leave the party, accusing the national executive fornepotism.[18] The executive subsequently in August 2022 made a reverse, deciding to arrange a primary voting for the lead candidate position among the party members in Funen,[19] which was subsequently won by Bjørn, receiving 133 votes whereas 212 votes were split between the four competing local candidates.[20]
At the general election on 1 November 2022, Bjørn was elected a member of the Folketing with 888 personal votes as one of sixMFs for Nye Borgerlige.[21] At the constitution of the NB's parliamentary group in November, he took over the position as group vice-chairman afterMette Thiesen – who had left NB six days after the election – and became, among other things, culture, children's and education spokesman.[22] On 5 January, he took the title of chairman of the Folketing's Naturalisation Committee (Indfødsretsudvalget),[23] the main function of which is deciding who acquirescitizenship.[24]
In January 2023, Nye Borgerlige chairmanPernille Vermund announced that she would resign her post as chairman. Most political observers pointed at MPLars Boje Mathiesen as her most likely successor as party leader, though some thought that Bjørn might also make a bid for the party leadership.[25][26][27] The two were seen as representing separate wings in the party, the formerLiberal Alliance member[28] Boje Mathiesen representing the liberal wing and Bjørn the national conservative wing.[29][30]
On 17 January, Boje announced his candidacy for the party leadership position,[31] receiving support from the remaining parliamentary group with the exception of Bjørn (and Vermund, who as outgoing chairman had announced that she would abstain from commenting on the choice of her successor).[32] In the end, no other candidates entered the race for chairman, ensuring Boje's unanimous election as party leader[33] on 7 February.[34]
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On 24 January, Mikkel Bjørn announced that he left Nye Borgerlige and joined theDanish People's Party,[35] citing internal dissension with Boje and a lack of belief in his abilities to lead.[36] Boje retaliated by blaming Bjørn for putting himself before the party,[37] whereas Vermund criticized Bjørn for leaving his post prematurely and taking his seat to another party, having been elected for Nye Borgerlige with the lowest personal number of votes of all the party's parliamentarians.[38]
Three days after his change of party allegiance, Bjørn, continuing as chairman of the Naturalisation Committee, received his first Danish People's Party spokesmanships, which were culture,media,ecclesiastical affairs,gender equality,Nordic cooperation and naturalisation.[39]
Mikkel Bjørn is characterised as national conservative.[40][29][28] He takes a special interest in cultural and religious matters[40] and is an advocate forDenmark leaving the EU.[3]
Men kendere af partiet peger på, at den nyvalgte Mikkel Bjørn – sin unge alder til trods og totale mangel på Christiansborg-erfaring – også kunne være et bud. Han repræsenterer den meget nationalkonservative fløj i partiet, mens Boje Mathiesen, som også har en fortid i Liberal Alliance, er, ja, meget liberal
Den 24. januar 2023 brød også Mikkel Bjørn Sørensen med Nye Borgerlige og meldte sig ligeledes ind i Dansk Folkeparti