Anker Boye (born 12 February 1950) is a Danish

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

representing the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

. He is a painter by profession. Anker Boye was elected as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

, Denmark's third-largest city, in 1993 and served in that capacity until 2005. In 2001, he got a historic number of votes and carried almost all fourteen members of the Social Democratic group into the City Council. He was defeated in the 2005 municipal elections by the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

challenger,

Jan Boye Jan Boye (19 January 1962 – 22 October 2011) was a Danish politician, representing the Conservative Party. From 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2009, he was mayor of Odense, Denmark's third largest city. He served as County Mayor of Funen Count ...

, county mayor of

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

(no relation). The elections were a massive defeat for the Social Democrats, losing four of their fourteen seats in Odense City Council. The election on 15 November 2005 resulted in a tie with both wings carrying 14 of the 29 seats, the last being carried by Erik Simonsen from the Social Liberal Party. Anker Boye admitted defeat and tried to persuade Simonsen to become the new mayor with Social Democratic backing – in a live broadcast. Simonsen refused the offer and gave his support to

from the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

. Anker Boye's administration has been criticized in several respects, including his membership of a total of 47 committees taking time from his duties as mayor. Boye has also been criticized for the low number of jobs created in Odense, compared to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and

Århus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

, and for a number of slips in the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

; most importantly, the huge deficit created by a charity concert starring

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

. In the municipality-election 17 November 2009 Anker Boye reclaimed his former post as mayor of Odense, by winning the municipality election. The coalition made of ''Enhedslisten'', ''Socialistisk Folkeparti'' and the ''Socialdemocrats'' won 17 out of 29 seats in the city council, thereby winning the majority. Anker Boye resigned as mayor by the end of 2016 and announced that he would not seek re-election. By the end of 2017 he retired from politics.

References

1950 births Living people Mayors of Odense Social Democrats (Denmark) politicians {{Denmark-mayor-stub