Helle Thorning-Schmidt facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Helle Thorning-Schmidt
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Thorning-Schmidt in 2024
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| Prime Minister of Denmark | |
| In office 3 October 2011 – 28 June 2015 |
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| Monarch | Margrethe II |
| Deputy | Margrethe Vestager Morten Østergaard |
| Preceded by | Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
| Succeeded by | Lars Løkke Rasmussen |
| Leader of the Social Democrats | |
| In office 12 April 2005 – 28 June 2015 |
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| Deputy | Frank Jensen Mogens Jensen |
| Preceded by | Mogens Lykketoft |
| Succeeded by | Mette Frederiksen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 December 1966 Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Political party | Social Democrats |
| Other political affiliations |
Labour Party (UK) |
| Spouse |
Stephen Kinnock
(m. 1996) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Copenhagen (cand.scient.pol.) College of Europe (MA) |
| Signature |  |
Helle Thorning-Schmidt (born 14 December 1966) is a Danish former politician. She was the Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015. She also led the Social Democrats political party from 2005 to 2015. She was the first woman to hold both of these important jobs in Denmark.
After her time as Prime Minister, she worked as the chief executive of the international charity Save the Children until June 2019. Since 2020, she has been a Co-Chair of the Meta Oversight Board, which helps make decisions about content on Facebook and Instagram.
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Early Life and Education
Helle Thorning-Schmidt was born in Rødovre, a town near Copenhagen, Denmark. Her father, Holger Thorning-Schmidt, taught mathematics at the University of Copenhagen. Her parents divorced when she was 10 years old. She grew up in the Copenhagen suburb of Ishøj and finished high school there in 1985.
She studied political science at the University of Copenhagen and earned her degree in 1994. She also earned a master's degree in European studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, where she studied from 1992 to 1993. She speaks Danish, English, and French.
During her studies in Belgium, she became interested in social democracy, which is a political idea focused on fairness and equality. She joined the Social Democratic Party in 1993.
Political Career
Working in the European Parliament
From 1994 to 1997, Helle Thorning-Schmidt worked for the Danish Social Democrats in the European Parliament. This is a group of elected officials from different European countries who work together on laws for Europe.
After this, she worked as a consultant for the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions. In 1999, she was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) herself. For five years, she worked on committees dealing with jobs and social issues.
Serving in the Danish Parliament
In 2005, Thorning-Schmidt was elected to the Folketing, which is the Danish Parliament. After the 2005 election, the Social Democrats lost some seats. The party leader, Mogens Lykketoft, stepped down.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt decided to run for party leader. She was chosen by the party members on 12 April 2005. She then led the Social Democrats in the 2007 election. Even though her party lost a couple of seats, her leadership was still strong.
She wanted to make it easier for asylum seekers and immigrants to come to Denmark. She also wanted to put more money into welfare programs instead of cutting taxes. Her party also focused on fighting climate change by getting more energy from renewable sources.
As the leader of the biggest opposition party, she was seen as the main leader against the government. Other parties, like the Social Liberal Party and the Socialist People's Party, said they would support her if her party won the next election.
Becoming Prime Minister of Denmark
The 2011 Election
In the 2011 Danish general election, Helle Thorning-Schmidt was re-elected to parliament. Even though her party lost one seat, the group of opposition parties she led won more seats than the government. This meant her group had enough votes to form a new government.
On 16 September 2011, the sitting Prime Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, officially resigned. After talks with other parties, Helle Thorning-Schmidt was appointed Prime Minister by Queen Margrethe II on 3 October 2011.
First Government Term
Helle Thorning-Schmidt started her first term as Prime Minister on 3 October 2011. Her government worked on finding common ground with different political groups. They passed several new laws with support from both sides of the parliament.
One of the first things her government did was to change some strict laws about immigration. They also passed a tax reform. This reform aimed to encourage more people to work by lowering taxes for higher earners and gradually reducing welfare payments. The idea was to make working more appealing than receiving welfare. Even with these changes, tax money collected by the government actually increased during her time in office.
Second Government Term
In January 2014, the Socialist People's Party left Thorning-Schmidt's government. This happened because they disagreed about selling shares of a company called DONG Energy to Goldman Sachs. Even though they left the government, they still said they would support Thorning-Schmidt.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt led her party into the 2015 Danish general election. Her party actually gained more votes and seats in this election. However, her main allies, the Social Liberals, lost many seats. This meant that her group of parties no longer had enough support to stay in power. Within an hour of the election results, she announced that she would step down as both Prime Minister and leader of the Social Democrats.
Life After Politics
After leaving her roles in Danish politics in 2015, Helle Thorning-Schmidt took on new challenges. She became the CEO of Save the Children, a large international charity that helps children around the world. She held this position from 2016 until 2019.
In May 2020, she joined the Meta Oversight Board. This independent group helps make important decisions about what content is allowed on Facebook and Instagram. She is one of twenty board members who review appeals about deleted posts.
She has also held other important roles, including:
- Being a member of the Board of Directors for Vestas, a company that makes wind turbines (since 2019).
- Chairing a commission for the DBU to promote women's football in Denmark (since 2016).
- Serving on the International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity (since 2015).
- Being a member of the Board of Trustees for the International Crisis Group, which works to prevent conflicts (since 2016).
Personal Life
Helle Thorning-Schmidt married Stephen Kinnock in 1996. He is a Welsh politician. They met while they were both studying at the College of Europe. They have two children.
See also
In Spanish: Helle Thorning-Schmidt para niños
