Søren Pind (born 11 November 1969)[1] is a Danish politician. A member of the center-right party Venstre, he was appointed Minister for Refugees, Immigrants and Integration in March 2011.[2]
Pind was born in Herning, and served in the Copenhagen city government from 1994 to 2005.[1] Søren Pind is considered more liberal than most other members of his party. In 2003, he was part of a group of party members who issued the "ten liberal theses", a document unsuccessfully challenging the direction the party was taking under Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.[3]
He was appointed to the cabinet of Lars Løkke Rasmussen during a cabinet reshuffle in February 2010, becoming Minister for Development Cooperation.[4] He was appointed Minister for Integration on 8 March 2011, thus holding double ministerial office.[2] Søren Pind quickly became the subject of much public scorn, following his proclamations that immigrants in Denmark should become assimilated rather than integrated into the Danish society, remarking that “the way I see it, when you choose Denmark, you choose Denmark because you want to become Danish.”[5]. With his appointment as Minister for Integration, the Danish center-right government is believed to have taken a closer step towards the nationalist conservative Danish People's Party not in government. [6] [7] [8] On 4 February 2008, the minister wrote on his personal blog:
"I am well-disposed towards a certain form of immigration – but I will fight tooth and nail (that is, of course democratically...) against multiculturalism. This deceitful assertion that all cultures are equal"[9]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ulla Tørnæs |
Minister for Development Cooperation of Denmark 2010-2011 |
Succeeded by Christian Friis Bach |
| Preceded by Birthe Rønn Hornbech |
Minister for Refugees, Immigrants and Integration 2011-2011 |
Succeeded by abolished |