Alice Vestergaard Ellemann-Jensen (born 29 July 1937 in

Aabybro Aabybro or Åbybro is a town in North Jutland, Denmark. The town is the seat of Jammerbugt Municipality, and is the biggest town in the municipality. Aabybro is located 17 km southwest of Brønderslev, 16 km northwest of Aalborg and 30 km nor ...

) is a former Danish journalist, newspaper editor-in-chief and television news coordinator. Now retired, she is remembered in particular as being the first woman to read the radio news on

Danmarks Radio DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enter ...

in 1963 and for being appointed to head TV 2's newly established news service in 1988. In 1971, she married

Uffe Ellemann-Jensen Uffe Ellemann-Jensen (; 1 November 1941 – 18 June 2022) was a Danish politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark in the Det Konservative Folkeparti, Conservative-led Poul Schlüter Administration from 1982 to 1993. He was ...

(1941–2022), who served as Denmark's foreign minister.

Early life, family and education

Alice Vestergaard was born on 29 July 1937 on a farm in Aabybro in the north of

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. After a teacher had noticed her talent for writing, she served an apprenticeship with the local newspaper ''Haslev Folketidende''. She gained experience writing obituaries and reporting on local football matches and parish council meetings. Vestergaard first married in 1955 with the actor Per Wiking with whom she had her first child. The marriage was dissolved in 1971. In 1971 she married the politician Uffe Ellemann-Jensen until his death in June 2022. Together they had a son, Jakob, in 1973.

Career

After her parents divorced, Vestergaard had to earn her own living. As a result, in 1959 she worked for the newspaper ''Vendsyssel Tidende'' before moving to Danmarks Radio. In 1963, she became the first woman to read the radio news, causing quite a stir. Two years later, she went on to present the television news, TV Avisen, soon acting as news anchor. In 1985, Vestergaard was appointed editor-in-chief for the women's journal ''Søndags B.T.''. Two years later, she gained wide attention for becoming head of the news service for the newly created channel TV 2.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vestergaard, Alice 1937 births Living people People from Jammerbugt Municipality 20th-century Danish journalists 20th-century Danish women journalists 20th-century Danish newspaper editors Danish television personalities Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog