Mette Frederiksen is only the second woman to be elected as Prime Minister of Denmark and is the youngest person to ever hold the position. She was elected in June 2019 after leading the Social Democrats since June 2015. Born in 1977 in Aalborg, she is the 4th generation in a social-democratic family. She has always been employed in politics except for a short stint as a trade unionist from 2000-2001. Frederiksen was the first generation of her family to go to university, and she obtained her degree in Business Administration and Social Sciences as well as a Master of Science degree in African Studies.
At the age of 24 in 2001, Frederiksen was first elected to the Danish parliament, representing Copenhagen County. She was still a student at the time and the youngest member ever at that point. Following her election to parliament, she was named her party’s spokesperson for culture, media, and gender equality.
Frederiksen’s political star continued to rise. From 2005 until 2011, she was vice-leader of the Social Democrats in the Danish parliament. After the Social Democrats won the 2011 general election, she was appointed Minister of Employment by Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt. She was then promoted to Minister of Justice in 2014.
The Social Democrats gained three seats in the Danish parliament in the 2015 general election under Frederiksen’s leadership. The party moved to the left on economic issues while taking a conservative stance on immigration. “For me, it is becoming increasingly clear that the price of unregulated globalization, mass immigration, and the free movement of labor is paid for by the lower classes,” she said in a recent biography.
Frederiksen also has a strong desire to protect children and in 2021, she presented the "Law of Children," which puts children at the front in social cases, including giving municipalities more resources to take children away from violent parents and to give children more rights in divorce cases. She is also a vocal opponent of prostitution because she considers it violence against women. Boosting welfare spending and tackling climate issues are currently two of her main priorities.