On Thursday, a government reshuffle in Denmark resulted in the appointment of three new ministers to key positions within the government. Copenhagen’s Lord Mayor, Sophie Hæstorp Andersen from the Social Democrats (Socialdemokratiet), has been appointed as the new Minister of Social Affairs and Housing. According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (Statsministeriet), Rasmus Stoklund, the political spokesperson for the Social Democrats, is taking over as Minister of Taxation in his first ministerial role. Stoklund replaces Jeppe Bruus, who will now focus on the implementation of the green tripartite agreement, a collaborative framework for climate action involving government, businesses, and labor unions.
Rasmus Stoklund previously served as the spokesperson for immigration policy for the Social Democrats and worked as head of business policy at Dansk Metal, a trade union for metalworkers, before being elected to the Danish Parliament (Folketinget) in 2019.
Another significant appointment is Caroline Stage Olsen, who has become the new Minister for Digitalization. Until now, she has served as a special advisor to Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and she has prior experience as a political chief for the Moderates (Moderaterne) and as a member of the Copenhagen City Council (Københavns Borgerrepræsentation) for the Liberal Party (Venstre). In her new role, she will take on responsibilities from the recently dissolved Ministry of Digitalization and Gender Equality, with the gender equality portion now falling under the Ministry of Environment (Miljøministeriet) led by Magnus Heunicke.
Current Minister for Elderly Affairs, Mette Kierkgaard from the Moderates, will remain in her position but within a newly established independent Ministry of Elderly Affairs. This is a shift from the previous Ministry of Social Affairs, Housing, and Elderly Affairs, which will now focus solely on social and housing-related matters under Sophie Hæstorp Andersen’s leadership.
These adjustments signify substantial changes in the government’s structure and the allocation of key areas of responsibility.