Poul Nyrup Rasmussen

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (born June 15, 1943, Esbjerg, Denmark) is a Danish economist and politician, leader of the Social Democrats from 1992 to 2002, who was prime minister of Denmark from 1993 to 2001.

After receiving a degree in economics from the University of Copenhagen in 1971, Rasmussen worked for the Danish Trade Union Council until 1986. He became its chief economist in 1980. He served as the managing director of the Employees’ Capital Pension Fund and as chairman of Lalandia Invest from 1986 to 1988. In 1987 he became deputy chairman of the Social Democrats and in 1988 a member of the Folketing, or parliament. He became the leader of the Social Democrats in 1992. His positions on major issues were generally left-leaning and included support for increases in spending for Denmark’s extensive welfare programs.

When the Conservative-Liberal coalition government that had ruled Denmark for a decade fell in January 1993, Rasmussen formed a four-party coalition and became the country’s prime minister. One of his first tasks was to persuade voters, including Social Democrats, to support the Maastricht Treaty establishing the European Union (EU). Danish voters had rejected a referendum on the treaty the previous year, but they approved a revised version of the treaty that included special exemptions for Denmark. The referendum’s passage was widely seen as an indication of Rasmussen’s ability as a political leader.

In the 1994 elections the Social Democrats lost ground to both the right and the left, primarily to opponents of European unification. Nonetheless, Rasmussen was able to continue in office as head of a coalition government. In the 1998 elections Rasmussen once again held on to office when his coalition won a one-seat majority in parliament. As prime minister, he continued to promote Denmark’s participation in the EU; he campaigned vigorously for the country to adopt the euro as its currency, but the move was narrowly rejected by Danish voters in a 2000 referendum. In 2001 Rasmussen resigned after his coalition was defeated in parliamentary elections.

Rasmussen was elected president of the Party of European Socialists (PES) in 2004. He also became a member of the European Parliament (EP) that year; in that capacity he pushed for greater regulation and transparency. In 2009 he left the EP, and two years later he resigned as leader of the PES.