Anders Fogh Rasmussen

Anders Fogh Rasmussen (born January 26, 1953 in Ginnerup, Jutland) is the current Prime Minister of Denmark. His Liberal (Venstre) Party won power in the November 2001 election, defeating the government of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and enabling him to form the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen I. That election marked a dramatic change in Danish politics. It was the first time since 1920 that the Social Democratic Party lost its position as the largest party in the Folketing (parliament). Since then, the Liberal Party has operated in coalition with the Conservative People's Party to form a minority government, surviving the 2005 election. Rasmussen's government's agenda is significantly more right wing than has been the case in Denmark for a long time. He is in favour of deregulation, privatization, and limiting the size of government. His government has also enacted tough measures designed to limit the number of immigrants coming to Denmark.

Basic ideology

The Prime Minister is known for his writing the book Fra socialstat til minimalstat (eng: From social state to minimal state), where he advocates an extensive reform of the Danish welfare system, along classic liberal lines, i.e. lower taxes, less government interference in corporate and individual matters etc. In 1993 he was awarded the Adam Smith award by the libertarian society Libertas, partly on account of his authoring Fra socialstat til minimalstat. Rasmussen has however since then moved quite a bit away from the extreme libertarian views expressed in the book.

Related Topics:
Welfare system - Liberal - Tax - Corporate - Libertarian - Libertas

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