Bertel Haarder, President of the Nordic Council in 2021

Bertel Haarder has been active in Danish politics since 1973. He first became a member of the Danish parliament, the Folketing, in 1975 and has since held a variety of advisory and ministerial positions, including Minister for Nordic Co-operation.  Haarder is Denmark’s longest-serving minister since the introduction of parliamentarism in 1901. He has also served as a member of the European Parliament.  Haarder is a member of Venstre, Denmark’s Liberal Party. He previously contested the post of President of the Nordic Council for a short period in 2011.

In the Nordic Council, where Haarder is a member of the Centre Group and was chair of the Freedom of Movement Council in 2020, he has also been chair of the Danish delegation in 2019 and in the period 2011 to 2015. In the Folketing, he is currently chair of the Danish Foreign Affairs Committee and is Venstre’s spokesperson for matters concerning the Faroe Islands and Nordic co-operation. Bertel Haarder was elected as President of the Nordic Council for 2021 in connection with the Nordic Council’s digital session week in 2020.