Astrid Krag
DenmarkMette Frederiksen
Early Life and EducationMette Frederiksen was born on November 17, 1982, in Vejle, Denmark. Her father was a copywriter, and her mother was a high school teacher. From 1998 to 2001, she attended Tørring Gymnasium, earning a diploma in linguistics. She led the student council from 1999 to 2001.
Political Career
Frederiksen's political career began in 2001 when she worked as an assistant teacher at Frederiksberg Children's Hospital. From 2003 to 2007, she studied political science at the University of Copenhagen, earning a bachelor's degree.
Initially a member of the Danish Socialist People's Party (SF), she served as chair of its youth wing from 2005 to 2007. Within SF, she aligned with the party's right-wing and self-identified as a "reform-socialist" in the "pragmatic center."
In 2012, Frederiksen ran for leader of SF but lost to Annette Vilhelmsen, the party's left-wing candidate. She subsequently left SF in 2014 and joined the ruling Social Democrats.
Parliamentary and Ministerial Career
Frederiksen was elected to the Folketing, the Danish parliament, in 2007 from the Zealand constituency. She has been reelected in subsequent elections.
From 2011 to 2014, she served as Minister of Health in the government of Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt. On June 27, 2019, she was appointed Minister of Social Affairs and the Interior in the government of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (not related).
