Bjørn Westh (born 1944) is a Danish politician from 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 ...
. He held several cabinet posts in the 1980s and 1990s.
Early life and education
Westh was born in
Overlade Parish on 2 February 1944, and his parents are Hans Rømer Westh, a headmaster, and Ingrid Westh, a kindergarten teacher.
Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University
The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (, abbr. KVL, , abbr. RVA) was a veterinary and agricultural science university in Denmark. It was founded in 1856 and operated until 2007, when it became a part of the University of Copenhagen. It ...
.[
]
Career
Following graduation Westh worked as an assistant land surveyor
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...
in a town planning company in Viborg from 1972 to 1981.[
Westh was first elected to 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 representing Viborg County
Viborg County () is a former county ( Danish: '' amt'') in the north-central part of the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark. The county was abolished on 1 January 2007, when most of it merged into Region Midtjylland
The Central Denmark Re ...
on 15 February 1977.[ He served as a temporary deputy between 1998 and 2004. He held various ministerial posts in the period 1981–1998: ]minister of agriculture
An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
(20 January 1981–10 September 1982; 25 January 1993–27 September 1994); minister of fisheries (25 January 1993–27 September 1994); minister of justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
(27 September 1994–30 December 1996) and minister of transport (30 December 1996–23 March 1998).[
Westh replaced Kent Kirk as minister of fisheries in January 1993.][ Westh's successor as minister of fisheries was ]Henrik Dam Kristensen
Henrik Dam Kristensen (born 31 January 1957) is a Danish politician and a former speaker of the Danish parliament. He has been a member of the Danish parliament for the Social Democrats from 1990 to 2004 and again from 2007, during which he serve ...
who was appointed to the post in September 1994.[ Until 2006 he was a member of Viborg County Council.][ Westh also ran for the office in the local elections for the Social Democrats in 2017, but he did not win the seat.]
Personal life
Westh married Grete Laustsen, a ceramicist, in Skals
Skals is a town in Viborg Municipality, Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutio ...
on 28 December 1967.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westh, Bjorn
1944 births
Living people
Members of the Folketing 1977–1979
Social Democrats (Denmark) politicians
University of Copenhagen alumni
Agriculture ministers of Denmark
Ministers of justice of Denmark
Transport ministers of Denmark
Fisheries ministers of Denmark