Mai Mercado (born 20 August 1980) 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 ...

, who is 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 ...

for the Conservative People's Party. She was elected at the

2011 Danish general election General elections were held in Denmark on 15 September 2011 to elect the 179 members of the Folketing. Of those 179, 175 members were elected in Denmark, two in the Faroe Islands and two in Greenland. The incumbent centre-right coalition led b ...

. From 2016 to 2019 she was the Minister for Children and

Social Affairs A ministry of social affairs or department of social affairs is the common name for a government department found in states where the government is divided into ministries or departments. While there is some variation in the responsibilities of su ...

in the

Lars Løkke Rasmussen III Cabinet The Third Cabinet of Lars Løkke Rasmussen (colloquially, ''VLAK-regeringen'' or ''trekløverregeringen'') took office on 28 November 2016, succeeding the Second Cabinet of Lars Løkke Rasmussen. It was a minority coalition government A coal ...

Political career

Mercado was a member of the municipal council of

Odense Municipality Odense Municipality () is a Danish municipality ('' kommune'') in Southern Denmark on the island of Funen in central Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 210,803 (1. January 2025). It is the most populous municipa ...

from 2006 to 2011, and served as the second deputy mayor from 2009 to 2011. From 2013 to 2016 she sat in the municipal council of

Frederiksberg Municipality Frederiksberg Kommune is a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in Denmark. Part of the Capital Region of Denmark and the city of Copenhagen, it is surrounded by Copenhagen Municipality. The municipality, ...

. She was elected to the

in the 2011 election. On 28 November 2016, she was appointed as Minister for Children and Social Affairs in the

. Shortly after introducing laws which would prohibit troublesome minority protests in

Freetown Christiania Freetown Christiania (), also known as Christiania or simply ', is an intentional community and anarchist commune in the Christianshavn neighbourhood of the Danish capital city of Copenhagen. It began in 1971 as a squatted military base. Its m ...

. Mai voiced public support for police enforcement action taken against illegal hash stalls in

Haderslev Haderslev (; ) is a Denmark, Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark with a population of 22,405 (1 January 2025).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 ...

Personal life

Mercado has a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

from the

University of Southern Denmark The University of Southern Denmark (, SDU) has campuses located in Southern Denmark and on Zealand. It offers a number of joint programmes in co-operation with the University of Flensburg and the University of Kiel. Contacts with regional indu ...

. She is married to Christopher Mercado, with whom she has a son, Winston, and a daughter, Elisa.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mercado, Mai 1980 births Living people People from Tønder Municipality Conservative People's Party (Denmark) politicians University of Southern Denmark alumni Government ministers of Denmark Women government ministers of Denmark Danish municipal councillors 21st-century Danish women politicians Women members of the Folketing Members of the Folketing 2011–2015 Members of the Folketing 2015–2019 Members of the Folketing 2019–2022 Members of the Folketing 2022–2026