Søren Gade Jensen (born 27 January 1963) is a Danish politician who has been Speaker of the Folketing since November 2022, representing the Liberal party, Venstre. He was a Liberal member of the Folketing from 2001 to 2019 and again in 2022. Before entering politics, he was a military officer and businessman. He was formerly a Member of the European Parliament from 2019 to 2022.
He was also CEO of the Danish business organization Landbrug & Fødevarer from 2012 to 2014.[1]
Political career
Minister of Defence, 2004–2010
Gade served as Defence Minister from 2004 to 2010, when he replaced Svend Aage Jensby. During his time in office, he led Danish efforts to maintain public support for the deployment of 750 troops in Afghanistan.[2] Gade resigned from his position due to a long time conflict with the media after the publishing of a fake Arabic translation of Thomas Rathsack's book, telling the defence's methods in the Afghan war.
Member of the European Parliament, 2019–2022
Gade was elected to the European Parliament in 2019.[3] A member of the Renew Europe group, he served as chair of the Committee on Fisheries and as member of the Committee on Transport and Tourism. Within the Committee on Transport and Tourism, he was part of the Tourism Task Force (TTF).[4] In 2020, he also joined the Special Committee on Beating Cancer.[5]
In addition to his committee assignments, Gade was the chair of the Parliament's delegation for relations with India.[6]
Return to national politics
In 2022 following his re-election to the Folketing, a majority of parties supported Gade's candidacy for the position of speaker of the Folketing.[7] Gade was officially confirmed as speaker on 16 November 2022.[8][9]
Controversy
In 2015, the newspaper Jyllands-Posten published a document that it said proved that Gade tried to hide the Danish military's agreement with security company Blackwater whose contractors killed 17 Iraqi civilians and wounded 20 in Baghdad's Nisour Square in 2007.[10]
Other activities
- European Leadership Network (ELN), Member of the Advisory Board[11]
Personal life
In January 2008 Gade lost his wife Helle Buskbjerg Poulsen after years of cancer.[12]
Awards and decorations
|
Commander 1st class of the Order of the Dannebrog | |
| Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon (Iceland) | ||
| Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit (Spain) | ||
| Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile (Egypt) | ||
|
Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise 2nd class (Ukraine) | |
|
Homeguard Medal of Merit | |
| Defence Medal for Meritorious Service | ||
| Defence Medal for International Service 1948-2009 | ||
|
Reserve Long Service Medal with 40 year oak leave | |
|
Homeguard 25 Years Service Decoration with 40 year oak leave | |
|
Badge of Honor of the Reserve Officers Association of Denmark | |
|
Peace Prize Medal (Denmark) | |
|
The Nordic Blue Berets Medal of Honour | |
| Distinguished Public Service Award (USA) | ||
| UNTSO Medal for Service in the Middle East | ||
| Nijmegen Medal 2-4 times |
References
- ^ ritzau (2012-05-07). "Søren Gade bliver landbrugets nye førstemand". Politiken. JP/Politikens Hus. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
- ^ Alistair MacDonald (February 24, 2010), [1] Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "Valgresultat EP-valg Danmark - Følg resultatet for EP-valget her | DR". www.dr.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2020-05-16.
- ^ Composition of the Tourism Task Force (TTF) European Parliament.
- ^ Members of the Special Committee on Beating Cancer European Parliament, press release of July 9, 2020.
- ^ Søren GADE European Parliament.
- ^ "Flertal i Folketinget: Søren Gade skal være ny formand for Folketinget". DR (in Danish). 2022-11-12. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
- ^ "Søren Gade valgt som ny formand for Folketinget - TV 2". nyheder.tv2.dk (in Danish). 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
- ^ "Søren Gade valgt som ny formand / Folketinget". 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
- ^ Court orders Denmark to compensate 18 Iraqis over torture Al Jazeera, June 15, 2018.
- ^ Advisory Board European Leadership Network (ELN).
- ^ [2] Archived March 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Biography on the website of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget)
Media related to Søren Gade at Wikimedia Commons
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
