Mette Frederiksen

Mette Frederiksen K.1 (Danish: [ˈmetə ˈfʁeðˀəʁeksn̩] ^ⓘ; born 19 November 1977) is a Danish politician who has been the prime minister of Denmark since June 2019, and leader of the Social Democrats since June 2015. The second woman to hold either office, she is also the youngest prime minister in Danish history, the first to be born after Margrethe II's accession to the throne, and the first to serve under Frederik X.^[1]

Frederiksen worked briefly as a trade unionist (2000–2001) before embarking on a political career. She was first elected to the Folketing in the 2001 general election, representing Copenhagen County. After the Social Democrats won the 2011 general election, she was appointed Minister of Employment by Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt. She was promoted to Minister of Justice in 2014. After the Social Democrats' narrow defeat in the 2015 general election, Thorning-Schmidt stood down, and Frederiksen won the subsequent leadership election to replace her, becoming Leader of the Opposition.^[2][3] Frederiksen led her party into the 2019 general election, which resulted in the bloc of left-wing and centre-left parties (her Social Democrats, the Social Liberals, the Socialist People's Party, the Red–Green Alliance, the Faroese Social Democratic Party, and Greenland's Siumut and Inuit Ataqatigiit) winning a majority in the Folketing. Frederiksen was subsequently commissioned by Queen Margrethe II to lead negotiations to form a new government, and was sworn in as prime minister on 27 June. In December 2021, she became the longest-serving incumbent female head of government in the European Union.

In July 2022, Frederiksen's government was criticised by the Mink Commission for its handling of the COVID-19 mink outbreak, though she was cleared of deliberately misleading the public.^[4] Following political pressure from the Radikale Venstre, Frederiksen called an early election for 1 November 2022, in which the Social Democrats achieved their best result in twenty years, gaining two additional seats.^[5][6][7][8] Frederiksen herself secured the highest personal vote count. She subsequently formed a coalition government with Venstre and the Moderates, continuing as prime minister.^[9]

In domestic politics, Frederiksen has pursued an extremely hardline refugee and immigration policy, which has earned her both criticism and praise.^[10] With the red majority that secured her the prime ministerial post, she enacted the Climate Act, which requires a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, but has since been criticised by the Danish Climate Council for slow implementation and procrastination on climate issues, even though her government entered into a 2024 Green Tripartite agreement establishing tax on agricultural emissions, including flatulence by livestock, the first of its kind in the world.^[11][12][13] In social policy, she has extended pensions to a number of manual workers, who can retire earlier, strengthened vocational education, and curtailed master's programmes, much to the dismay of many in the Folketing and the academic world.^[14][15][16] Her first cabinet also led Denmark through the COVID-19 pandemic.^[17]

In foreign policy, Frederiksen initially expressed scepticism towards the EU, particularly with regard to immigration and the economy, and was even considered one of the most EU-sceptical prime ministers in Danish history.^[18] However, this has since changed dramatically, particularly as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.^[19] In light of this, she has subsequently abandoned fiscal conservatism, now supports European common debt, and has officially withdrawn from the Frugal Four.^[20][21] In the area of defence and security policy in particular, Frederiksen has repeatedly emphasised the importance of NATO, and especially the United States.^[22] She is regarded as one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, and under her tenure Denmark became its largest economic and military contributor relative to GDP.^[23][24] Under her leadership, Denmark increased defence spending to over 2% of GDP in 2024 and surpassed 3% in 2025–26.^[25] She also won a referendum on abolishing Denmark's EU defence opt-out, extended conscription and expanded it to include women.^[26][27]