Birte Weiss (born 1 May 1941) is a Danish journalist and social democrat politician, who served in various capacities in the

government of Denmark The Cabinet of Denmark (), officially the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark (), is the national cabinet of the Kingdom of Denmark. It has been the chief executive body and the government of the Danish Realm—Denmark proper together with the ...

. She works as a journalist for the newspaper ''

Weekendavisen ''Weekendavisen'' (meaning ''The Weekend Newspaper'' in English) is a Danish weekly broadsheet newspaper published on Fridays in Denmark. Its circulation (as of 2007) is approximately 60,000 copies, about ten per cent of which cover subscription ...

''.

Early life and education

Weiss was born on 1 May 1941. She was trained as a journalist with the social democrat press from 1960 to 1963. Later she attended the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

and studied there comparative literature.

Career

Weiss began her career as a journalist, working for '' Demokraten'' and then for ''

Information Information is an Abstraction, abstract concept that refers to something which has the power Communication, to inform. At the most fundamental level, it pertains to the Interpretation (philosophy), interpretation (perhaps Interpretation (log ...

''. Next she involved in politics and became a member of the

Danish Parliament The Folketing ( , ), 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 and Greenland. E ...

for the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

for two terms; from 1971 to 1973 and from 1975 to 2001. She was the chairperson of the council of Denmark’s Radio/TV from 1981 to 1986. She served as the deputy chairperson of the social democrats from 1994 to 1996 and first vice-chairperson of the Parliament from 1998 to 1999. She assumed various cabinet positions. Her first ministerial post was the minister of interior, and she served in the office from 1993 to 1997. She resigned from the post on 20 October, and

Thorkild Simonsen Thorkild Simonsen (7 July 1926 – 4 September 2022) was a Danish politician and member of the Social Democrats. He was mayor of Århus municipality from 1982 to 1997 and Interior Minister of Denmark from 1997 to 2000 in the Cabinets of Poul N ...

succeeded her in the post. She was also the minister of church affairs which she held from 1994 to 1996. She was appointed minister of health in 1996, and her tenure lasted until 1998. Lastly she served as the minister of research and information technology from 1999 to 2001.

Activities

When she was the interior minister Weiss delivered a bill in 1996, stating that a foreigner, who is guilty of drug-related crime, should be deported from Denmark. A documentary, ''En minister krydser sit spor'' (Danish: A Minister Backtracks), filmed by Danish director Ulrik Holmstrup in 2000 is about her activities as interior minister. It narrates the dilemma she faced in dealing with Bosnian refugees in the country.

Personal life

Weiss is married and has two sons.

References