Lars Løkke Rasmussen

Prime Minister of Denmark
Incumbent

Assumed office 5 April 2009

Monarch Margrethe II

Deputy Lene Espersen

Preceded by Anders Fogh Rasmussen

Leader of Venstre
Incumbent

Assumed office 17 May 2009

Preceded by Anders Fogh Rasmussen

Minister of Finance of Denmark
In office
23 November 2007 – 7 April 2009

Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen

Preceded by Thor Pedersen

Succeeded by Claus Hjort Frederiksen

Minister of the Interior and Health of Denmark
In office
27 November 2001 – 23 November 2007

Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen

Preceded by Karen Jespersen (Interior) Arne Rolighed (Health)

Succeeded by Karen Jespersen (Social Welfare) Jakob Axel Nielsen (Health and Prevention)

Born 15 May 1964 (age 45) Vejle, Denmark

Political party Venstre

Spouse(s) Sólrun Løkke Rasmussen

Alma mater University of Copenhagen

Religion Danish National Church

Website http://larsloekke.dk/

Lars Løkke Rasmussen (born 15 May 1964) is the current Prime Minister of Denmark and the acting leader of the centre-right Liberal party, Venstre.
He was the Interior and Health Minister from 27 November 2001 as part of Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s first and second Cabinets, and Minister of Finance in Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s third Cabinet from 23 November 2007. On 5 April 2009 he succeeded Anders Fogh Rasmussen as Prime Minister following Fogh Rasmussen’s appointment as Secretary General of NATO.
Rasmussen has been a member of the Danish parliament (Folketinget) since 21 September 1994. He also served as County Mayor of Frederiksborg County from 1998 to 2001. In spite of their common surname, Rasmussen is related neither to his immediate predecessor nor to the prime minister before that, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen.[1]

Early life

Lars Løkke Rasmussen was born in Vejle to Jeppe Rasmussen and Lise Løkke Rasmussen (née Løkke). His last name is Rasmussen, while Løkke, his mother’s maiden name, is his middle name. He graduated from high school in 1983, and was the president of the youth branch of Venstre from 1986 to 1989. He graduated with a law degree (cand. jur) from the University of Copenhagen in 1992. From 1990 to 1995 he worked as a self-employed consultant.
Lars Løkke Rasmussen is married to Sólrun Løkke Rasmussen. Together they have three children.

Political career

Venstres Ungdom chairmanship and Afghanistan mission
Lars Løkke Rasmussen served as chairman of the youth branch of Venstre from 1986 to 1989. One of his initiatives was to establish an alternative to Operation Dagsværk — an annual one day fundraising campaign by high school students collecting money to third world countries — since Operation Dagsværk at the time was spearheaded by members of the Danish Communist Youth.[2] Løkke’s campaign was supported by the party youth branch, and raised 600,000 DKK which were spent on school equipment[2] in Soviet occupied Afghanistan. Lars Løkke Rasmussen led a Danish delegation to Afghanistan delivering the collected funds, and a photograph taken by photographer Jørn Stjerneklar shows him and two other delegation members disguised as Afghans. Another photo shows him holding an AK47, while standing together with three Mujahideen.[3] The photos have generated a lot of media attention in Denmark, after the Danish participation in the war in Afghanistan and especially as Rasmussen moved up the rankings at Venstre.