Pernille Merete Sams (born 27 November 1959) is a Danish real estate agent, lawyer and former Conservative People's Party politician who was 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 ...
from 1987 to 2001. She was the lawyer of the Conservative People's Party and of its membership before gaining election to the Folketing in 1987. Sams established her real estate business in 1998 and focused on it full time after leaving politics in 2001. She has co- presented the TV 2 programme ' alongside and is chair of Denmark's independent real estate agents association, the Danish Independent Estate Agents, since its establishment in 2009. Sams was appointed Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1997.
Early life and education
On 27 November 1959, Sams was born in Kongens Lyngby, to the optician Gunnar Sams and Inga Sams. She became interested in a wide variety of topics during her youth. Between 1966 and 1975, Sams was educated at Hillerødsholm School, after she and her family relocated to
Hillerød
Hillerød () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 36,604 (1 January 2025)Frederiksborg Latin School in 1984. Sams graduated from 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.
...
in 1984 with a
Candidate of Law
Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe.
The de ...
degree.
Career
She briefly became a member of Hillerød City Council in 1982. While Sams did not enjoy judicial disputes, she was appointed the lawyer of the Conservative People's Party from 1981 to 1987 and of its conservative membership in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
between 1984 and 1985. In 1986, she was employed at the architectural firm Arne Meldgaard and became a director the following year.
Acting Conservative People's Party chairperson Knud Østergaard wanted Sams to run on behalf of the party at the in the 1987 Danish general election to elect members 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 ...
. She declined the offer because she was disinterested in national politics at that time. Sams changed her mind when she attended a group meeting in Randers and gained election to the on 8 September 1987. In 1992, she became a member of the , was made deputy chair of the Conservative parliamentary group in 1997 and the from 1998. Sams was also their housing and building rapporteur.
At the 1998 Danish general election, she gained election to represent the for the Conservative People's Party. That same year, Sams established an estate agency at her home in after becoming a state licensed estate agent. In 1999, she appeared on the
TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to:
Television
*Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso
* Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger
* Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala
* Can ...
programme ''Seksorama'' in which she discussed her sexual life and said that working at the
Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace (, ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament (), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme Court of Denmark. Also ...
was unexciting. Sams made the decision to not stand for reelection at the
2001 Danish general election
General elections were held in Denmark on 20 November 2001.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p525 For the first time since the 1924 elections, the Social Democrats did not win the most seats. Anders ...
to focus on running her estate agency.
She left the Folketing on 20 November 2001, and moved from
Slotsholmen
Slotsholmen (English language, English: The Castle Islet) is an island in the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, and part of Copenhagen Indre By, Inner City. The name is taken from the successive castles and palaces located on the island since Absal ...
to
North Zealand
North Zealand, also North Sealand (), refers to the northeastern part of the Danish island of Zealand. The Danish tourist authorities have recently introduced the term Danish Riviera to cover the area in view of its increasing importance for to ...
to work as an interior designer as well as an estate agent. In 2003, she was appointed by Flemming Hansen, the , to the boards of the financial company Sund & Bælt Partner A/S and the Øresund consortium. Sams moved into the television industry in 2005, becoming co-presenter of the TV 2 programme ' alongside . In early 2009, she helped to found the Danish Independent Estate Agents (DSE), an association for Denmark's independent real estate agents. Sams did so in protest against the attempts of larger bank-owned estate agent chains to become predominant in Danish real estate. She establishes cooperation agreements with real estate brokerage chains on behalf of the DSE. Sams has also presented the TV 2 programme ''Huse der aldrig kommer til salg''. She has served as chair of the anti-animal abuse organisation, the World Animal Protection Denmark, since 2017, is on the board of representatives of the pension association , and the .
Personal life
She is married to the former director Preben Pamsgaard since 1987 and is stepmother to his two children from a previous relationship; she has no biological children. Sams was appointed a Knight of the Order of Dannebrog in 1997. A black-and-white photograph of her taken by Jan F. Stephan during the 1990s is stored in the archives of Hillerød Library.