Anders Samuelsen

Early life and education

Samuelsen was born in Horsens and is the son of former Folketing member Ole Samuelsen and household economics teacher Anna Holm.

From 1994 to 1998 he worked as a consultant and project coordinator at Castberggård Døves Højskole, a folk high school and training centre for deaf people near Hedensted.

Political career

Danish Social Liberal Party

Samuelsen began his political career in the Danish Social Liberal Party (Radikale Venstre). He was the party's parliamentary candidate in the Horsens constituency from 1994 to 1998 and in the Holbæk constituency from 1998 to 2004. He initially sat in the Folketing as a temporary substitute member in 1997–2001, before being elected in his own right for Vestsjællands Amtskreds at the 2001 Danish general election. During his time in the Social Liberal group he served as spokesperson on, among other areas, labour market, tax and local government policy.

Member of the European Parliament

At the 2004 European Parliament election Samuelsen was elected to the European Parliament for the Danish Social Liberal Party, sitting with the ALDE Group. From 2004 to 2007 he was a member of the Parliament's Committee on Budgets. As an MEP he also served as a substitute member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, a member of the Delegation for relations with Iran and a substitute for the Delegation for relations with the People's Republic of China. He left the Folketing in 2004 in connection with his move to the European Parliament.

Liberal Alliance and national politics

In May 2007 Samuelsen left the Danish Social Liberal Party and, together with Naser Khader and Gitte Seeberg, founded Ny Alliance, a new centrist party that later changed its name to Liberal Alliance. He was elected to the Folketing for Ny Alliance at the 2007 Danish general election, representing the East Jutland constituency, and continued as a Liberal Alliance MP from 2008 until 2019.

After Khader left the party in January 2009, Samuelsen was chosen as political leader of Liberal Alliance.

At the 2009 Danish local elections he was elected to Horsens Municipal Council as Liberal Alliance's sole councillor, serving a single term from 2010 to 2013. In the national parliament he represented the East Jutland constituency until 2011 and the North Zealand constituency from 2011 to 2019.

By late 2016 Samuelsen and Liberal Alliance, then a support party for Lars Løkke Rasmussen's minority government, threatened to withdraw their support over the lack of progress on cutting the top rate of income tax, as well as disagreements on immigration and welfare policy. In September 2016 he announced that the party was prepared to table a motion of no confidence if the government did not reduce the top marginal income tax rate by five percentage points in the 2017 budget. The standoff ended in November 2016, when Rasmussen reshuffled his cabinet, bringing Liberal Alliance and the Conservative People's Party into government in a new three-party coalition in which Liberal Alliance took charge of six ministries.

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Samuelsen was appointed minister of foreign affairs on 28 November 2016, serving in that post until the government left office on 27 June 2019. As foreign minister he represented Denmark in the European Union, NATO, the United Nations and other international fora, and oversaw a number of Danish military contributions abroad.

In January 2017 the government obtained parliamentary approval to deploy up to 60 special forces to Syria as part of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State. Later that year the government decided to send an additional 55 soldiers to the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan following an attack on a Danish convoy in Kabul.

From November 2017 to May 2018 Samuelsen served as president of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, as Denmark held the rotating chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers. During the Danish chairmanship the government prioritised, among other issues, reform of the Council of Europe's human rights system and strengthening the organisation's financial sustainability.

2019 election and resignation

At the 2019 Danish general election Liberal Alliance's vote share fell sharply and the party was reduced from thirteen to four seats; Samuelsen himself failed to win re-election. In the aftermath of the election he faced public criticism from within the party, including from MP Henrik Dahl, who accused his leadership of being characterised by nepotism.

On 6 June 2019 Samuelsen announced that he was stepping down as party leader, stating that Liberal Alliance should continue under new leadership following the election defeat. He was succeeded by Alex Vanopslagh.

Later career

After leaving national politics Samuelsen moved into the private sector. He has held senior roles in companies working with ultraviolet-based disinfection and lighting technology, including as executive vice president of UV Medico Europe and chief executive of the UVH holding company, which owns UV Medico and UV Laser.

Personal life

Samuelsen has two sons. He is an enthusiastic runner and has highlighted areas around Horsens and on the island of Samsø as among his favourite places in Denmark.

Other activities and honours

• Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), ex officio member of the Board of Governors while serving as foreign minister.
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (Belgium), 2017.
• Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog, 2012.

References

References

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4. Islamic State]] in [[Syria]] and to the [[Resolute Support Mission]] in [[Afghanistan]], and chaired the [[Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe]] in 2017–18.Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen (2 October 2017), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-denmark/denmark-says-deploying-special-forces-to-syria-against-islamic-state-idUSKBN1541RA Denmark says deploying special forces to Syria against Islamic State] ''Reuters''. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
5. Julie Astrid Thomsen (2 October 2017), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-security-denmark/denmark-to-send-55-soldiers-to-kabul-after-deadly-attack-on-convoy-idUSKCN1C71T5 Denmark to send 55 soldiers to Kabul after deadly attack on convoy] ''Reuters''. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
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