 |
| Uffe Elleman-Jensen |
| Courtesy Baltic Area Development
Forum |
Uffe Ellemann-Jensen - A Portrait of the Father
of Modern Danish and Baltic Regional Foreign Policy
Uffe Ellemann-Jensen was minister for Foreign Affairs
in the Conservative-led Poul Schlüter Administration
from 1982-1993. He was leader of the Danish Liberal
Party (“Venstre”) from 1984-1998 and President
of the European Liberals (ELDR) from 1995-2000.
Uffe has been a consistent supporter of both NATO
and the European Union and of close relations with
the U.S., often in the face of constant political
battles with the left-wing opposition in Denmark
and in other European countries. Several times,
domestic and external opposition tried to topple
him on issues of solidarity within NATO, but he
managed to outmaneuver his opponents at every turn.
In fact, using his prodigious oratorical skills
and his uncanny ability to point out the emperor’s
new clothes, in 1990, Uffe was able to convince
a majority in the Danish Parliament to actively
support the U.S.-led coalition against Iraq during
the Gulf War. Furthermore, he instigated and led
Danish recognition of the renewed independence of
the three Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia, and
Lithuania in 1991, when Denmark was the first country
to re-establish diplomatic relations with the three
countries.
His proactive approach to Danish foreign policy
continued after his eleven-year term as foreign
minister, which ultimately became the turning point
in Danish foreign and defence policy.
After the fall of the center-right government in
1993, in which he served also served as deputy prime
minister, he became leader of the opposition until
the elections in 1998, which he lost by a single
seat. Had his party had only 85 more votes in the
popular election, he would have been able to form
a new center-right government as prime minister.
At that point, Uffe decided to leave politics in
order to pave the way for a younger generation of
leadership of his party. His strategy ultimately
succeeded, resulting in the election of his successor
as liberal leader, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who since
2001 has served as prime minister of Denmark and
who is presently the President of the European Union.
Uffe Ellemann-Jensen was a candidate for the post
of secretary-general of NATO when Willy Claes was
forced to leave it in 1995. He had the full support
of the U.S. government, but France blocked his candidacy,
allegedly because of his well-known pro-American
attitudes.
As a young man, Uffe Ellemann-Jensen was a reserve
officer in the Danish army, and worked in the intelligence
services of the Defence Staff. He later took a master’s
degree in Political Economy at the University of
Copenhagen. He worked several years as a newspaper
journalist, and for a short period he was editor
in chief of the Danish financial daily “Borsen.”
For five years, Uffe was a popular political and
economic commentator and newscaster on Danish TV.
When he left journalism to become a politician
in 1976, he made a rapid ascent through the party
ranks. Elected to parliament in 1977, he was appointed
political spokesman for the Liberal Party in 1978,
and minister for Foreign Affairs in 1983. He became
party leader in 1994.
After leaving parliament in 2001, Uffe Ellemann-Jensen
has divided his time between international activities,
as an activist board member in Danish and international
companies, and writing. He has authored several
books on economics and politics – and his “Impressions
– but not Memoirs” became an instant bestseller
in Denmark: 70,000 sold on the relatively small
Danish market, an all-time success for a work of
nonfiction. He has since written a book about his
favorite pastime – angling and fly-fishing
– with many humorous references to fishing
pals all over the world.
Since the Danish recognition of the renewed independence
of the three Baltic countries in 1991, Uffe Ellemann-Jensen
has been a tireless supporter and advocate for Baltic
membership in NATO as well as in the European Union.
He was the co-founder of Baltic Development Forum,
where he now is a very active chairman, spending
most of his time advocating the abolition of borders
and obstacles to the fulfillment of his dream, the
Baltic Sea Region as a new growth center in the
new Europe and the world.
Uffe Ellemann-Jensen is member of several boards
of a number of Danish and international companies
in the region, first of all the A. P. Møller
Group. He is also a trustee of Reuters Founders
Share Company in London.
Among several think tanks and international groupings,
Uffe is a member of the International Crisis Group,
chaired by former president of Finland, Martti Ahtissaari.
Furthermore, he is member of the International Commission
on Missing Persons, chaired by founding CEO and
chairman emeritus of America Online, Inc., James
V. Kimsey. Kimsey follows in the footsteps of former
secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, who was appointed
chairman in 1996 and former U.S. Senator Bob Dole,
who was appointed chairman in 1997.
The Danish government recently appointed Uffe chairman
of a newly formed Danish Center for International
Studies and Human Rights. This Center will collect
under one roof all existing institutes that deal
with these issues, with the ambition of becoming
a Danish “Chatham House.”
Uffe Ellemann-Jensen received an honorary doctorate
from the University of Gdansk. In 1993, he received
the Hansa Prize, and in 1987 he was awarded the
Robert Schumann Prize.
|
