Niels Helveg Petersen

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Niels Lolk Helveg Petersen (born 17 January 1939 in Odense) is a Danish politician, member of parliament (Folketinget) for the Danish Social Liberal Party 1966-1974, 1977-1993 and again from 1994. Graduated in Law. Entered Parliament at a young age and became a civil servant in the European Commission in 1974. When he returned from Brussels, he soon became party leader, a position he held until 1990. He was Minister for Economic Affairs from June 3, 1988 to December 18, 1990 in the Cabinet of Poul Schlüter III, and Minister for Foreign Affairs from January 25, 1993 to December 21, 2000 in the Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen I, II, III, and IV (except for the last part of the IV cabinet). In April 2008 he announced that he is not standing at the next election to take place in November 2011 at the latest. ^[1]

Niels Helveg Petersen is the son of the former minister Kristen Helveg Petersen and former mayor of Copenhagen Lilly Helveg Petersen.

Political offices
Preceded by Knud Enggaard	Minister for Economic Affairs June 3, 1988 – December 18, 1990	Succeeded by Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Preceded by Uffe Ellemann-Jensen	Foreign Minister of Denmark January 25, 1993 – December 21, 2000	Succeeded by Mogens Lykketoft
Party political offices
Preceded by Svend Haugaard	Parliamentary group leader of the Danish Social Liberal Party 1978–1988	Succeeded by Marianne Jelved