Karen Moustgaard Jespersen (born 17 January 1947 in Copenhagen) is a Danish journalist and former

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 party Venstre.

Early life

Born in

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 ...

, she's the daughter of labourer Knud Jespersen and

delicatessen A delicatessen or deli is a grocery that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessens originated in Germany (contemporary spelling: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the mid-19th centur ...

owner Anna Jespersen. She attended Nansensgade School from 1954 to 1964. Then, she graduated in History and Archaeology at

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. ...

. She's married to Ralf Pittelkow.

Career

Jespersen served as the editor of now defunct '' Politisk Revy'' magazine from 1974 to 1977. She was a member of the Left Socialists, represented 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 ...

and was Social Minister from 25 January 1993 to 28 January 1994 in the Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen I, and 27 September 1994 to 23 February 2000 in the Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen II, III and IV. She was

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

23 February 2000 to 27 November 2001 in the Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen IV. She has been a member of the

Folketing 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 ...

since 12 December 1990. On 12 September 2007 she replaced Eva Kjer Hansen as Social Minister and Minister for Equal Rights in the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen II, thus becoming the first Danish politician to have represented both political wings as a government minister. On 23 November 2007, the Ministry of Interior Affairs, Ministry of Family and Consumer Affairs and the Social Ministry were merged into a Ministry of Welfare, and Jespersen became Minister of Welfare in the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen III. She held this post until April 2009 when Denmark changed prime ministers to Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

Eisenhower Fellowships Eisenhower Fellowships (EF) is a private, non-profit organization created in 1953 by a group of American citizens to honor President Dwight D. Eisenhower for his contribution to humanity as a soldier, statesman, and world leader. The organization ...

selected Karen Jespersen in 1987 to represent Denmark. In the book ''Islamister og Naivister: et anklageskrift'' (Islamists and Naivists: a bill of indictment), which she wrote together with her husband, political commentator Ralf Pittelkow, she warns of an underestimation of the Islamist threat. On 14 January 2007, she declared that she was no longer member of the Social Democrats. In a press release 1 February 2007, the Liberal Party '' Venstre'' announced that Karen Jespersen had joined the party and would be a candidate for parliament (

Folketinget The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral List of legislatures by country, national legislature (parliament) of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper to ...

) in the next election. 18 June 2015 was her last day in the Folketing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jespersen, Karen 1947 births Living people Ministers of the interior of Denmark Politicians from Copenhagen Government ministers of Denmark Venstre (Denmark) politicians Social Democrats (Denmark) politicians 20th-century Danish journalists 21st-century Danish women politicians Women government ministers of Denmark Women members of the Folketing Female interior ministers Members of the Folketing 1990–1994 Members of the Folketing 1994–1998 Members of the Folketing 1998–2001 Members of the Folketing 2001–2005 Members of the Folketing 2007–2011 Members of the Folketing 2011–2015 21st-century Danish journalists 21st-century Danish women journalists 20th-century Danish women journalists 21st-century Danish women writers