Helle Thorning-Schmidt To Become Denmark’s First Female PM

Posted September 16th, 2011 at 12:25 pm (UTC-5)
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Social Democrat leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt is poised to become Denmark's first female prime minister after her party won a narrow majority over the country's center-right party in Thursday's parliamentary elections.

The vote ended 10 years of right-wing political control, but gives Thorning-Schmidt the difficult job of creating an effective coalition that will have to address tough issues like the economy and immigration.

The 44-year-old Thorning-Schmidt is part of a large European political family. Her husband is the son of Neil Kinnock, a former British Labor Party leader, and Glenys Kinnock, a former European parliamentary deputy.

Thorning-Schmidt was a European lawmaker based in Brussels for five years, and was elected leader of the Social Democratic party in 2005. She was defeated in Denmark's elections four years ago.

The prime minister-designate has promised to raise taxes and increase public spending to stimulate the economy, and soften — but not eliminate — the stringent immigration policies of her predecessor, Lars Loekke Rasmussen.

Thorning-Schmidt earned a master's degree in political science from the University of Copenhagen in 1994. She moved to Belgium where she met Stephen Kinnock.

The two are married but live apart. She lives with her two daughters in Denmark, and he lives in Switzerland, where he works for the World Economic Forum.

Thorning-Schmidt has been criticized for her expensive tastes which earned her the nickname “Gucci Helle.”