Photo: Ulrik Jantzen, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons¹⁶

Bendt Bendtsen

Danish politician

Bendt Bendtsen (born 25 March 1954) is a Danish politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2009 until 2019. He was the leader of the Conservative People's Party from 1999 to 2008, and served as Minister of Economic and Business Affairs.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Bendt Bendtsen (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Mar 25, 1954.¹

About

As a MEP, he was part of the European People's Party.

Before being elected, Bendtsen worked as a member of Odense's police force; he became a member of the Odense City Council in 1989, and he was Vice-Chairman of the Odense Criminal Police Association from 1989 to 1992.

From Wikipedia’s article on Bendt Bendtsen, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Companies

Lauritzen FoundationBoard member¹⁵

Early life and education

Date not recordedTietgen Business College^{3 4}

Career

Occupation: police officer, politician, farmer.⁸

2014 to 2019Member of the European Parliament⁶
2009 to 2014Member of the European Parliament⁶
Until 2009Member of the Folketing⁶
Since 2009Board member, Lauritzen Foundation⁶
2008 to 2015Board member, Esvagt⁶
2002 to 2008Minister of Economic and Business Affairs⁶
1999 to 2008Chair, Conservative People's Party⁷
Date not recordedBoard member, Lauritzen Foundation⁵

Personal life

BornMar 25, 1954, Odense⁹
CitizenshipKingdom of Denmark¹⁰

Politics

Member of the Folketing

Bendtsen was a temporary member of the Folketing for the Conservative Party, representing Funen County constituency, from 5 April to 24 April 1994, and he was subsequently elected as a Conservative member of the Folketing from Funen County constituency in the parliamentary election held on 21 September 1994. In the November 2007 parliamentary election he was elected from the Funen greater constituency.

Minister of Economy

Following the November 2001 parliamentary election, Bendt Bendtsen became Minister for Economic and Business Affairs and Minister for Nordic Cooperation on 27 November 2001 in the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen I. He left the post of Minister for Nordic Cooperation on 18 June 2002, but remained Minister for Economic and Business Affairs. He retained the latter post in the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen II (2005) and III (2007). On 9 September 2008, he tendered his resignation as leader of the party, which then elected Lene Espersen as leader, also resigning from his post as minister.

European Parliament

Bendt Bendtsen was elected Member of the European Parliament in the 2009 elections. Throughout his time in parliament, he served as member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE). He was also a substitute member in the Committee on Budgets (BUDG) and Special Committee on the Financial, Economic and Social Crisis. In parliament, he was part of the European People's Party, which is the biggest political group in the parliament.

In addition to his committee assignments, Bendtsen was a member of the Parliament's delegation for relations with China from 2014 until 2019. In May 2012, he founded together with the Austrian MEP Paul Rübig and the Bulgarian MEP Nadezhda Neynsky a new organization called SME Europe, the pro-business organization within the European People's Party, which aims at improving the situation of small and medium-sized enterprises all across Europe. He held the position of First Vice-President. He was also a supporter of the MEP Heart Group, a group of parliamentarians who have an interest in promoting measures that help reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVD).