Margrethe Vestager
| Margrethe Vestager | |
|---|---|
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| European Commissioner for Competition | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 November 2014 | |
| President | Jean-Claude Juncker |
| Preceded by | Joaquín Almunia |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Denmark | |
| In office 3 October 2011 – 2 September 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Helle Thorning-Schmidt |
| Preceded by | Lars Barfoed |
| Succeeded by | Morten Østergaard |
| Minister of the Economy and Interior | |
| In office 3 October 2011 – 2 September 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Helle Thorning-Schmidt |
| Preceded by | Brian Mikkelsen (Economy) Bertel Haarder (Interior) |
| Succeeded by | Morten Østergaard |
| Minister of Education | |
| In office 23 March 1998 – 27 November 2001 | |
| Prime Minister | Poul Nyrup Rasmussen |
| Preceded by | Ole Vig Jensen |
| Succeeded by | Ulla Tørnæs |
| Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs | |
| In office 23 March 1998 – 21 December 2000 | |
| Prime Minister | Poul Nyrup Rasmussen |
| Preceded by | Ole Vig Jensen |
| Succeeded by | Johannes Lebech |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 April 1968 Glostrup, Denmark |
| Political party | Social Liberal Party |
| Alma mater | University of Copenhagen |
Margrethe Vestager (born 13 April 1968 at Glostrup, Zealand) is a Danish politician, who served as a Member of Parliament (Folketing) since 20 November 2001, representing the Danish Social Liberal Party (Radikale Venstre).
Early life and education
A daughter of Hans Vestager and Bodil Tybjerg,[1] she matricultaed from Varde Upper Secondary school in 1986. She studied at the University of Copenhagen, graduating in 1993 with a degree in Economics.[2]
Vestager speaks Danish, English and some French.[3]
Political career
At the age of 21, Vestager was appointed to the central board and executive committee of the SLP and its European Affairs Committee, and shortly afterwards as National Chairwoman of the Party.
In 2001, Vestager was elected to the Danish Parliament, becoming Chairwoman of its Parliamentary Group in 2007. She was appointed Minister of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs in 1998.
On 15 June 2007 Vestager secured election as her Party's parliamentary group leader in the Folketing, replacing Marianne Jelved.[4] From 2011 until 2014 she served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economic and Interior Affairs in the government of Helle Thorning-Schmidt.
European Commissioner for Competition, 2014–present
On 31 August 2014, Prime Minister Thorning-Schmidt nominated her as Denmark's EU Commissioner in the Juncker Commission.[5] Despite her repeated denials of campaigning for the Environment portfolio,[6][7] eventually she was designated the Competition dossier in the Juncker Commission.[8] She brought charges against Google within her few months in the office. Her predecessor, Joaquin Almunia, had opened investigation into Google in 2010. But after five years, three failed settlement attempts were all he had to show for his efforts. Due to this the case had taken on a political hue in Europe and once she announced a formal complaint, the reaction in United States was similarly charged. To United Stated, the case appeared as baseless, protectionist & a direct attack on the US. However, Vesteger played down these concerns with her statement to USA today, "As one of my daughter said to me: I don't think about Google as an American company instead of a European company, I just like the services they can give me". This comment provided some well-timed damage control & the final announcement about the charges in Google was made on April 15 which coincided with her trip to US. She is considered a good bureaucrat and a sophisticated politician for handling the Google case.
In this position below are her responsibilities:
1. Mobilising competition policy tools and market expertise to contribute, where appropriate, to creating jobs and promoting growth. 2. Developing the economic and legal approach of assessing competition issues and monitoring the market. 3. Effectively enforcing competition rules in the areas of antitrust, cartels, mergers and state aid. 4. Strengthening the Commission's reputation worldwide and promoting international cooperation in competition issues.
Other activities
- Royal Greenland, Member of the Board of Advisors (2004-2007)[10]
- UNICEF Denmark, Member of the Executive Committee (2007-2011)[11]
- Trilateral Commission, Member (2010-2011)[12]
- Blaagaards Seminarium, Chairwoman of the Board (2006-2009)[13]
- University College Copenhagen, Member of the Board (2006-2009)[14]
- Copenhagen Business School, Institute for Management, Politics, and Philosophy, Chairwoman of the Advisory Board (2003-2008)[15]
Personal life
Vestager’s husband is a high-school level maths-and-philosophy teacher. They have three daughters - Maria, Rebecca, and Ella. Her eldest daughter is preparing for medical university 2016 batch. She serves as an inspiration for the main character in Borgen (also the name of Denmark's parliament) , who tries to juggle family life and politics. [16]
References
- ↑ Margrethe Vestager Folketinget.
- ↑ Camesasca, Peter; Cole, Miranda; Geradin, Damien; Ysewyn, Johan (10 September 2014). "New EU Competition Commissioner--Margrethe Vestager". The National Law Review (Covington & Burling LLP). Retrieved 15 September 2014.
- ↑ Danny Hakim (April 15, 2015), The Danish Politician Who Accused Google of Antitrust Violations New York Times.
- ↑ Vestager, Margrethe.
- ↑ "Vestager træder ud af regeringen og bliver EU-kommissær" (in Danish). Danmarks Radio. 31 August 2014.
- ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: The Juncker team revealed". Retrieved 4 September 2014.
- ↑ "Vestager afviser rygter: Jeg skal ikke være miljøkommissær". Retrieved 4 September 2014.
- ↑ "The new structure of the Juncker Commission". Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ↑ http://ec.europa.eu/commission/2014-2019/vestager_en
- ↑ Margrethe Vestager: Declaration of interests European Commission.
- ↑ Margrethe Vestager: Declaration of interests European Commission.
- ↑ Margrethe Vestager: Declaration of interests European Commission.
- ↑ Margrethe Vestager: Declaration of interests European Commission.
- ↑ Margrethe Vestager: Declaration of interests European Commission.
- ↑ Margarethe Vestager: Declaration of interests European Commission.
- ↑ Danny Hakim (April 15, 2015), The Danish Politician Who Accused Google of Antitrust Violations New York Times.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Margrethe Vestager. |
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Grethe Erichsen |
Chairperson of the Social Liberal Party 1993–1997 |
Succeeded by Johannes Lebech |
| Preceded by Marianne Jelved |
Leader of the Social Liberal Party in the Folketing 2007–2011 |
Succeeded by Marianne Jelved |
| Leader of the Social Liberal Party 2007–2014 |
Succeeded by Morten Østergaard | |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Ole Vig Jensen |
Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs 1998–2000 |
Succeeded by Johannes Lebech |
| Minister of Education 1998–2001 |
Succeeded by Ulla Tørnæs | |
| Preceded by Lars Barfoed |
Deputy Prime Minister of Denmark 2011–2014 |
Succeeded by Morten Østergaard |
| Preceded by Brian Mikkelsen as Minister of the Economy |
Minister of the Economy and Interior 2011–2014 | |
| Preceded by Bertel Haarder as Minister of the Interior | ||
| Preceded by Connie Hedegaard |
Danish European Commissioner 2014–present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Joaquín Almunia |
European Commissioner for Competition 2014–present | |
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