Photo: Christian Ursilva from København, Danmark, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons²⁵

Anders Fogh Rasmussen

Danish politician (born 1953)

Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Danish: [ˈɑnɐs ˈfɔwˀ ˈʁɑsmusn̩]; born 26 January 1953) is a Danish politician who was the prime minister of Denmark from November 2001 to April 2009 and the secretary general of NATO from August 2009 to October 2014. He became founder of political consultancy Rasmussen Global and founded the Alliance of Democracies Foundation.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Anders Fogh Rasmussen (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Jan 26, 1953.¹

About

He serves as a senior adviser to Citigroup. He also served as a senior advisor at the Boston Consulting Group.

Rasmussen was first elected to the Folketing in 1978 and served in various ministerial positions, including Minister of Tax (1987–1992) and Minister of Economic Affairs (1990–1992). In his early career, Rasmussen was a strident critic of the welfare state, writing the classical liberal book From Social State to Minimal State in 1993. However, his views moved towards the political centre through the 1990s. He was elected the leader of the conservative-liberal party Venstre in 1998 and headed a centre-right coalition with the Conservative People's Party which took office in November 2001 and won its second and third terms in February 2005 and in November 2007. Rasmussen's government relied on the Danish People's Party for support, keeping with the Danish tradition of minority government.

His government introduced tougher limits on immigration and a freeze on tax rates (skattestoppet in Danish). Certain taxes were lowered, but his coalition partners in the Conservative People's Party repeatedly argued for more tax cuts and a flat tax rate at no higher than 50%. Rasmussen's government implemented an administrative reform reducing the number of municipalities (kommuner) and replacing the thirteen counties (amter) with five regions which he referred to as "the biggest reform in thirty years". He authored several books about taxation and government structure.

He resigned as prime minister in April 2009 to become Secretary General of NATO, a military alliance that was expanding into Eastern Europe. His term ended on 30 September 2014. He was the first former prime minister since Paul-Henri Spaak of Belgium in 1961 to become Secretary General of NATO.

From Wikipedia’s article on Anders Fogh Rasmussen, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Companies

VenstreChair 1998 to Apr 2009²⁴

Early life and education

Date not recordedViborg Katedralskole³
Date not recordedAarhus School of Business³
Date not recordedAarhus University³

Career

Occupation: politician, economist.^{9 10}

2009 to 2014Secretary General of NATO⁵
2007 to 2009Member of the Folketing⁵
2005 to 2007Member of the Folketing⁵
2001 to 2009Prime Minister of Denmark⁵
2001 to 2005Member of the Folketing⁵
1998 to 2009Chairman of Venstre^{5 7}
1998 to 2001Member of the Folketing⁵
1998 to 2009Chair, Venstre⁸
1994 to 1998Member of the Folketing⁵
1990 to 1992Minister for Economic Affairs⁵
1990 to 1994Member of the Folketing⁵
1988 to 1990Member of the Folketing⁵

More of their career (8)

1987 to 1992Tax Minister of Denmark⁵
1987 to 1988Member of the Folketing⁵
1984 to 1987Member of the Folketing⁵
1981 to 1984Member of the Folketing⁵
1979 to 1981Member of the Folketing⁵
1978 to 1979Member of the Folketing⁵
1974 to 1976Leader of Venstres Ungdom^{5 6}
Date not recordedFounded Alliance of Democracies⁴

Known for: The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan.¹¹

Personal life

BornJan 26, 1953, Ginnerup Parish¹²
CitizenshipKingdom of Denmark¹³
SpouseAnne-Mette Rasmussen¹⁴
Children3¹⁵

Rasmussen was born in 1953 in Ginnerup, Jutland, Denmark, to farmer Knud Rasmussen and Martha Rasmussen (née Fogh). His surname is Rasmussen; Fogh, his mother's maiden name, is his middle name and not considered part of his last name. He is correctly referred to as Rasmussen (not Fogh Rasmussen), unless his full name (including his given name) is used. In Danish media and society, he has often been popularly referred to as Fogh Rasmussen, or merely Anders Fogh, when not referred to by his full name, mainly to distinguish him from other prominent politicians in the country with the same family name.

He matriculated in languages and social studies from Viborg Cathedral School, in 1969–1972 and studied economics at the University of Aarhus, graduating in 1978. He has been active in politics most of his life and has authored several books about taxation and government structure. He and his wife Anne-Mette married in 1978 and have three children and six grandchildren.

As an amateur cyclist, Rasmussen completed part of the notorious Alpe d'Huez stage of the 2008 Tour de France the day after the professional race took place. His attendance at Le Tour was at the invitation of Danish former cyclist Bjarne Riis.

He is of no relation to either his predecessor Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, nor his successor Lars Løkke Rasmussen as Prime Minister of Denmark.

Rasmussen received the America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation in 2017.

Gay marriage

Civil unions between gay couples became legal in Denmark in 1989. In January 2004, Rasmussen stated his belief that homosexuals should be able to marry in religious ceremonies, which were not allowed at the time in the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Denmark, but he has said it should be up to religious communities to decide whether to perform ceremonies for gay couples.

From Wikipedia’s article on Anders Fogh Rasmussen (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Philanthropy

Alliance of Democracies Foundation

In 2017 Rasmussen founded the Alliance of Democracies Foundation a non-profit organisation dedicated to the advancement of democracy and free markets across the globe. Its initiatives include the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, an annual conference bringing together political and business leaders, including current and former heads of government, from the world's democracies. The first summit in 2018 was addressed by Joe Biden and other speakers have included Tony Blair, Mike Pompeo and John Kerry.

The Foundation also hosts the Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity, which 'helps advance solutions to protect integrity of democratic elections.' The commission was founded by Rasmussen, Former US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Joe Biden.

From Wikipedia’s article on Anders Fogh Rasmussen (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Politics

He has held positions in government and opposition throughout his career, first winning a seat in the Folketing (Danish parliament) in 1978.

In general, Rasmussen is in favour of centralisation, privatisation and limiting the size of government.

Rasmussen wrote the book From Social State to Minimal State (Danish: Fra socialstat til minimalstat) in 1993, in which he advocated an extensive reform of the Danish welfare system along classic liberal lines. In particular, he favours lower taxes and less government interference in corporate and individual matters. In 1993 he was awarded the Adam Smith award by the libertarian society Libertas, partly because of this book.

Resignation as Minister of Taxation

From 1987 to 1990 he was Minister for Taxation and from 1990 Minister for Economy and Taxation in the Conservative-led Poul Schlüter government.

In 1992 Rasmussen resigned from his ministerial posts after a report from a commission of inquiry had decided that he had provided the Folketing with inaccurate and incomplete information regarding his decision to postpone payment of several bills from Regnecentralen and Kommunedata from one accounting year to the next. Rasmussen disagreed with the findings of the commission, but faced with the threat of a motion of no confidence, he left his posts voluntarily.

2001 election

His Liberal (Venstre) Party won power in the November 2001 election, defeating the Social Democratic government of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and enabling him to form his first cabinet. That election marked a dramatic change in Danish politics. It was the first time since 1920 that the Social Democratic Party lost its position as the largest party in the Folketing (parliament), mainly due to a loss of working class votes to Dansk Folkeparti (The Danish People's Party).

From Wikipedia’s article on Anders Fogh Rasmussen (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Awards

2010Honorary craftsman^{16 20}
2009Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog¹⁶
2006Order of Stara Planina without swords, 1st class¹⁶
2004Grand Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas^{16 19}
2004Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania¹⁶
2003Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown¹⁶
2003Robert Schuman Medal¹⁶
Date not recordedCommanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star¹⁶
Date not recordedCross of Recognition¹⁶
Date not recordedGrand Cross 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany¹⁶

More awards (14)

Date not recordedGrand Cross of the Order of Merit of Portugal^{16 18}
Date not recordedGrand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland¹⁶
Date not recordedGrand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau¹⁶
Date not recordedGrand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great¹⁶
Date not recordedGrand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross¹⁶
Date not recordedKnight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George¹⁶
Date not recordedMedal of Merit in Gold^{16 17}
Date not recordedOrden de la Independencia Cultural Rubén Darío¹⁶
Date not recordedOrder of Leopold¹⁶
Date not recordedOrder of Liberty¹⁶
Date not recordedOrder of Vytautas the Great¹⁶
Date not recordedOrder of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class¹⁶
Date not recordedOrder of the Three Stars, 2nd Class¹⁶
Date not recordedhonorary doctorate of Haifa University¹⁶

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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WikidataAnders Fogh Rasmussen on Wikidata
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WikipediaAnders Fogh Rasmussen on Wikipedia
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WikidataAnders Fogh Rasmussen: education, on Wikidata
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WikidataAnders Fogh Rasmussen: Founded Alliance of Democracies, on Wikidata
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WikidataAnders Fogh Rasmussen: Leader of Venstres Ungdom, on Wikidata
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WikidataLeader of Venstres Ungdom, as reported
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WikidataChairman of Venstre, as reported by Politiken
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WikidataAnders Fogh Rasmussen: Chair, Venstre, on Wikidata
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WikidataAnders Fogh Rasmussen: occupation, on Wikidata
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Wikidataoccupation, as reported
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WikidataAnders Fogh Rasmussen: notable work, on Wikidata
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WikidataAnders Fogh Rasmussen: place of birth, on Wikidata
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WikidataAnders Fogh Rasmussen: citizenship, on Wikidata
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WikidataAnders Fogh Rasmussen: spouse, on Wikidata
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WikidataAnders Fogh Rasmussen: number of children, on Wikidata
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WikidataAnders Fogh Rasmussen: award, on Wikidata
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Wikidataaward, as reported
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Wikidataaward, as reported
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Wikidataaward, as reported
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Wikidataaward, as reported
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WikidataAnders Fogh Rasmussen: X, on Wikidata
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WikidataAnders Fogh Rasmussen: Facebook, on Wikidata
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WikidataAnders Fogh Rasmussen: IMDb, on Wikidata
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WikidataVenstre, Chair
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Wikimedia CommonsAnders Fogh Rasmussen photo by Christian Ursilva from København, Danmark, CC BY-SA 4.0

About

Companies

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

Gay marriage

Philanthropy

Alliance of Democracies Foundation

Politics

Resignation as Minister of Taxation

2001 election

Awards

Links

Sources