Agnete Laustsen (25 September 1935 – 23 October 2018) was a Danish Conservative People's Party politician. She served as a member of the

Folketing The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands an ...

representing the Søndre Storkreds constituency from October 1979 to March 1998. Laustsen was appointed the first Danish

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Poul Schlüter Poul Holmskov Schlüter (; 3 April 1929 – 27 May 2021) was a Danish politician who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1982 to 1993. He was the first member of the Conservative People's Party to become Prime Minister, as well as the first ...

, a post she held between September 1987 and June 1988, and was subsequently appointed as the first woman to hold the position of

Minister of Housing A Housing minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for Housing Policy. Country-related articles and lists * Australia: Minister for Housing ** Victoria: Minister for Housing ** Western Australia: Minister for ...

between June 1988 and December 1990. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1989.

Biography

Laustsen was born in Copenhagen, on 25 September 1935, to the civil engineer Otto Laustsen and his wife Else Laustsen. She was brought up with a conservative outlook on life and with bourgeois values in Copenhagen. Laustsen began studying at

N. Zahle's School N. Zahle's School ( Danish: N. Zahles Skole) is a private school located on Nørre Voldgade in Copenhagen, Denmark. Named after its founder, Natalie Zahle (1827–1913), it now consists of two independently run primary schools and a Gymnasium. ...

in 1954 and graduated with

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast ...

and

Candidate of Law Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries. N ...

degrees from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

seven years later. Whilst she was studying, she was active in student politics. Laustsen was chair of the Law and Political Science Student Council prior to its shift to the political left and a member of the Danish Bar Association's board from 1958 to 1960. Following her graduation, she was employed as a secretary in the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

in 1961. Laustsen was promoted to the role of clerk and assistant lawyer nine years later and was appointed the Consumer Ombudsman's office manager in 1977. She also became active in the political scene. From 1962 to 1987, Laustsen was a member of the

Copenhagen City Council The Copenhagen City Council (Danish: ) is the municipal government of Copenhagen, Denmark, and has its seat at Copenhagen City Hall. The city council is Copenhagen's highest political authority and sets the framework for the committees' tasks. ...

(), and she was elected to serve as its second chairman between 1982 and 1986. She unsuccessfully stood for election in the City Hall constituency of the

on behalf of The Conservative People's Party (DKF) at both the

1964 Danish general election General elections were held in Denmark on 22 September 1964.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p524 The Social Democratic Party remained the largest in the Folketing, with 76 of the 179 seats. Vote ...

and the

1975 Danish general election General elections were held in Denmark on 9 January 1975.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p524 The result was a victory for the Social Democratic Party, who won 53 of the 179 seats. Voter turnout wa ...

. Laustsen also was unsuccessful in being elected to represent the Hvidovre constituency on behalf of the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...

at the

1973 Danish general election General elections were held in Denmark on 4 December 1973 and in the Faroe Islands on 13 December.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p524 It has since been referred to as the ''Landslide Election'' ( ...

. She was a member of the Copenhagen Municipality Cultural Foundation's board from 1970 and on the board of the Thorvaldsens Museum between 1972 and 1980. From 1971 to 1997, Laustsen served as president of the European Union of Women's Danish section, which has both conservative and Christian Democratic women from 12 member nations. At the

1979 Danish general election General elections were held in Denmark on 23 October 1979.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p524 The Social Democratic Party remained the largest in the Folketing, with 68 of the 179 seats. Voter tur ...

, she gained election to the Folketing on her fourth attempt when she voted to represent the Søndre Storkreds for the DKF. Laustsen had interests in housing and social policy. She was a second alternate

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Commu ...

from 1979 to 1984; a member of the

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomo ...

in 1983; was on the

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek ("ny" means "new" in Danish; "Glyptotek" comes from the Greek root ''glyphein'', to carve, and ''theke'', storing place), commonly known simply as Glyptoteket, is an art museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. The collection ...

board between 1986 and 1987; and served as chair of the Folketing's Social Affairs Committee between 1983 and 1987. Laustsen was appointed by

, the

, to serve as Denmark's first

from 10 September 1987 to 3 June 1988. She had to moderate the debate on AIDS in Denmark and talks concerning health sector priorities. Laustsen supported private and public hospitals and wished to emphasise preventative efforts in healthcare. Laustsen was subsequently promoted by Schlüter to become the first woman to be made the

; she held the post from 3 June 1988 to 18 December 1990. She was able to raise funding for urban renewal even though residential areas had experienced heavy savings and also put much effort into preserving historical buildings and raising construction exports. Laustsen received much criticism, particularly from

Kirsten Jacobsen Kirsten Jacobsen ( Larsen; 18 February 1942 – 2 December 2010) was a Danish real estate agent and politician who was an elected member of the Folketing for the North Jutland County constituency for two non-consecutive periods from 1973 to 1981 a ...

, the spokesperson of the Progress Party, who accused her of over-borrowing. Following her resignation from government after the

1990 Danish general election General elections were held in Denmark on 12 December 1990.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p525 Although the election resulted in a strong gain for the Social Democratic Party, Poul Schlüter's co ...

, she was the DKF's foreign affairs spokesperson between 1990 and 1998 and became part of its cultural policy rapporteur in 1995. After losing her seat in the Folketing in the

1998 Danish general election General elections were held in Denmark on 11 March 1998.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p525 Although the centre-right parties led by Venstre had been expected to win, the Social Democratic Party- ...

, Laustsen was a member of the board of the nursing home Rosenborgcentret from 1998 to 2014, and authored multiple articles in Danish as well as in foreign magazines and newspapers. In 1989, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog.

Personal life

From 20 January 1996 to his death in 2004, Laustsen was married to the director Svend Ole Tjellesen. She died on 23 October 2018.

References

External links