A new edition of Kraks Blue Book is out today. The latest version of Kraks Blue Book, which contains both new and familiar names from various fields, is set to be released on Thursday. It includes everyone from singers and authors to ministers and royals. Among the new additions is Crown Prince Christian, who has been included automatically, which is an exception to the usual principle where inclusion is based on merit rather than heritage. This principle has been in place since the book’s debut in 1910, but since 1989, the royals have been included in a separate section when they come of age.
Bolette Rud. Pallesen, the editor-in-chief of Kraks Blue Book since 2017, explains that the selection of new names is done through a close collaboration with 35 external, anonymous field consultants who work unpaid. The list of potential names is kept up to date in extensive Excel sheets, currently containing between 700 and 800 names. To be included in Kraks Blue Book, one must have made a mark in their field and achieved recognition. Some of the new names in this year’s edition include singer Annika Aakjær, state archivist Morten Ellegaard, Noma chef Mette Brink Søberg, and author Kim Blæsbjerg.
The list also includes directors, ambassadors, ministers, and even a royal opera singer. Once included in the book, one remains there until their passing. Kraks Blue Book is more than just a collection of biographies; it is a mirror of society’s development over time. Bolette Rud. Pallesen emphasizes that the book should reflect the diversity that characterizes our society, even though quotas are not used. In this year’s edition, 47 percent of the new names are women, while 53 percent are men. However, the overall gender distribution shows that 26 percent of those included are women and 74 percent are men. This distribution has changed over time; in the first edition from 1910, only five percent were women.
Kraks Blue Book is considered an important cultural-historical work that documents how society has changed over the years.