Karen Ellemann | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) | |
| Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers | |
| Assumed office 1 January 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Paula Lehtomäki |
| Member of theFolketing | |
| In office 13 November 2007 – 1 November 2022 | |
| Constituency | Greater Copenhagen |
| Minister ofGender Equality andNordic Cooperation Fisheries from 2017 | |
| In office 28 November 2016 – 2 May 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
| Minister ofInterior and Social Affairs | |
| In office 28 June 2015 – 28 November 2016 | |
| Prime Minister | Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
| Minister ofEnvironment andNordic Cooperation | |
| In office 23 February 2010 – 3 October 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
| Minister ofInterior and Social Affairs | |
| In office 7 April 2009 – 23 February 2010 | |
| Prime Minister | Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1969-08-26)26 August 1969 (age 55) Charlottenlund,Denmark |
| Political party | Venstre |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent |
|
| Relatives | Jakob Ellemann-Jensen (brother) |
Karen Ellemann Kloch, formerlyKaren Ellemann Karabian, (born 26 August 1969) is aDanish politician, who serves as the currentSecretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers. She was previously a member of theFolketing for theVenstre political party. She is a former minister, having held the positions of Minister of Fisheries, Equality and Nordic Cooperation, Minister of the Environment and Minister of the Interior and Social Affairs.
Ellemann is the daughter of formerForeign Minister,Uffe Ellemann-Jensen. She has a background as a teacher.[citation needed] She is married and has two children.[1]
Ellemann was elected in the municipal council ofRudersdal Municipality at the2005 Danish local elections. It was the first time she ran for a political office and became one of the most voted-for politicians in the municipality, receiving 1,502 votes. She ran with an agenda focused on children and healthcare.[2][3][4]
Following the2007 Danish general election Ellemann was elected into parliament. She received 13,513 votes, which gave her a direct seat in theGreater Copenhagen constituency. She was appointed Minister ofInterior andSocial Affairs in theLars Løkke Rasmussen I Cabinet, starting 7 April 2009. On 23 February 2010 there was a cabinet reshuffle, which resulted in Ellemann becoming the new Minister forEnvironment andNordic Cooperation. At the time she had not been involved in environmental politics, which was commented on by theDanish Society for Nature Conservation and the opposition parties. They were worried that she would be unable to stand up to the new Minister of AgricultureHenrik Høegh.[5][6]
She was reelected at the2011 Danish general election, receiving 8,476 votes. This was the second-most votes received by a Venstre-politician in the municipality, with onlySøren Pind receiving more votes with 15,101. She was elected again in the2015 election with 7,020 votes. After the election Venstre had majority support in the Folketing, andLars Løkke Rasmussen became the prime minister again. In hiscabinet Ellemann was appointed Minister ofthe Interior andSocial Affairs. She held this position until 28 November 2016, where Venstre went into a coalition government withLiberal Alliance andConservative People's Party in theLars Løkke Rasmussen III Cabinet. She became Minister forGender Equality andNordic Cooperation. 7 August 2017 she also became the Minister for Fisheries after a scandal involving the former Minister of Food, Agriculture and FisheriesEsben Lunde Larsen forced him to resign that part of his ministry. On 2 May 2018 Ellemann left the government to become the leader of Venstre's parliamentary group. She was the first woman holding that position.[7][8][9][10][11]
Ellemann was reelected in the2019 Danish general election, receiving 8,238votes.[12] In 2023, she became the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers.[13]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of the Interior 2009–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ministry of Social Affairs 2009–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for the Environment 2010–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Nordic Cooperation 2010–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Social Affairs 2015–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of the Interior 2015–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Gender Equality 2016–2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Nordic Cooperation 2016–2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Fisheries 2016–2018 | Succeeded by |
