Stephen Kinnock

The Hon. Stephen Kinnock (born 1 January 1970^[2]) is a British executive who held various senior positions with the British Council prior to joining the World Economic Forum in January 2009 as director, head of Europe and Central Asia.^[3] He is the son of Neil Kinnock, former leader of the Labour Party and ex-chair of the British Council, and Glenys Kinnock, a former Labour Member of the European Parliament. He is married to the Prime Minister of Denmark, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, whom he met when they were both studying at the elite College of Europe in Belgium during 1992–1993.

Career

Stephen Kinnock was a British Council Development and Training Services lobbyist based in Brussels from 1997 when his father was a European Commissioner and was promoted to British Council's Brussels Director in 2002. After his father became Chair of The British Council on leaving the European Commission, Stephen Kinnock was transferred to Russia as Director of The British Council in St. Petersburg until he was deported for drunk driving and his office was closed down by the Russian authorities for tax irregularities.

Personal life

Kinnock has been married to Helle Thorning-Schmidt since 1996. The couple have two daughters.^[4]

Kinnock was stopped by Russian police and accused of drunk driving in January 2008, a move that British officials initially suggested was part of a campaign of intimidation against the British Council staff in Russia following the fallout over the Alexander Litvinenko poisoning. The British Council was also involved in a major tax-dispute over its failure to register commercial activities in Russia and pay taxes.^[5][6][7][8] He was detained for an hour before being released, after claiming diplomatic immunity and refusing to take an alcohol breath test. Following the closure of the St. Petersburg office, Kinnock took up a position with the British Council in Sierra Leone.^[9]

In June 2010, the Danish tabloid B.T. accused Kinnock of tax evasion.^[10] He pays tax to Switzerland where his workplace is situated and he claims his main residence there, although his wife's political website states that 'The family lives in Østerbro in Copenhagen'.^[11] The couple had previously stated to the media that Kinnock would spend his weekends in Denmark, sometimes including Thursday, and that he regarded his home and base as being exclusively with his family in Copenhagen. According to the tabloid, he would possibly exceed 183 days a year in Denmark, meaning he would be fully taxable there. Helle Thorning-Schmidt repudiated the accusations, but said the couple would ask the Danish tax authority for an audit.^{[12] [13]}

References