Mogens Jensen (born 31 October 1963) is a Danish politician, 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

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 ...

political party. He served as the Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Minister for Gender Equality, and Minister for Nordic Cooperation from 2019 to November 2020, when he was forced to resign following a botched handling of

Cluster 5 Cluster 5 is a designation used by the Danish Statens Serum Institut for a virus variant described by the institute in autumn 2020, in connection with investigations of SARS-CoV-2 infection among mink and humans in the north of Jutland, Denmark. ...

resulting in an order to cull the

mink Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...

population during the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark.

Political career

Jensen was elected member of

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 ...

for the

in the 2005 Danish general election. In the government of Prime Minister

Helle Thorning-Schmidt Helle Thorning-Schmidt (; born 14 December 1966) is a Danish retired politician who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015, and Leader of the Social Democrats from 2005 to 2015. She is the first woman to have held each p ...

, Jensen served as Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation from 2013 until 2014. In response to the introduction of an

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

n law imposing harsh penalties for homosexuality in 2014, he led Denmark's move to divert 50 million crowns ($9 million) of development aid away from the Ugandan government. Also, under his leadership, Denmark joined the

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank and international financial institution that aims to collectively improve economic and social outcomes in Asia. It is the world's second largest multi-lateral d ...

(AIIB) in 2015. Jensen was appointed Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Minister for Gender Equality and Minister for Nordic Cooperation in the

Frederiksen Cabinet Frederiksen Cabinet may refer to the following cabinets of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen: * Frederiksen I Cabinet (2019-Dec 2022) * Frederiksen II Cabinet (Dec 2022-present) {{disambiguation ...

from 27 June 2019. He saw himself forced to resign as minister on 18 November 2020 due to the mishandling of a case, where – in an attempt to prevent harmful

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...

mutations in the

population – the Danish mink fur industry had been ordered by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration to cull the entire Danish mink population without proper legal provision. In addition to his role in parliament, Jensen served as member of the Danish delegation to the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up of ...

from 2008 until 2019. He has in the past served as the Assembly's rapporteur on sports governance (2018).

Personal life

Jensen was born in

Nykøbing Mors Nykøbing Mors is the largest town on the island of Mors in the Limfjord in Denmark. The town received its charter in 1299 and has a population of 8,859, as of 1 January 2025.

to Harry Jensen and Ebba Møller Jensen. He is openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

. On 7 March 2023, he publicly expressed his intention to marry his through five years boyfriend Markus Hjortshøj.

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Mogens 1963 births Living people People from Morsø Municipality Government ministers of Denmark Social Democrats (Denmark) politicians Danish LGBTQ politicians Danish gay men Members of the Folketing 2005–2007 Members of the Folketing 2007–2011 Members of the Folketing 2011–2015 Members of the Folketing 2015–2019 Members of the Folketing 2019–2022 Members of the Folketing 2022–2026