Troels Lund Poulsen

Political career

Poulsen was first elected into parliament at the 2001 Danish general election.

On 23 February 2010, he was appointed as Minister of Taxation, while Karen Ellemann took over the Ministry of the Environment. On 8 March 2011, he was appointed Minister of Education, following Tina Nedergaard's resignation on the same day.

In late 2011, he became the center of a dispute regarding the disclosure of confidential documents in favor of discrediting the former Danish prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt and her husband Stephen Kinnock due to their tax relations. The affair happened in the 2011 Danish parliamentary election and involved the head of SKAT (the Danish tax agency) Copenhagen (Erling Andersen), the Permanent Secretary of State in the Ministry of Taxes, Peter Loft, and the spindoctor of Lund Poulsen, Peter Arnfeldt.{{cite web|title=Her er hovedpersonerne i skattesagen|url= http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/article.php/id-46348949:her-er-hovedpersonerne-i-skattesagen.html|publisher=Danish TV2|language=Danish|date=4 December 2011}}

On 28 June 2015, he was appointed Minister of Business and Growth in the government of Lars Løkke Rasmussen II. On 28 November 2016, he was moved from here to the position of Minister of Employment.

He was appointed minister of economic affairs on 15 December 2022 when Mette Frederiksen presented her second cabinet. On 6 February 2023, he became acting minister of defence while Jakob Ellemann-Jensen was on leave. On 22 August 2023, the appointment became permanent. On 23 October 2023, he replaced Ellemann-Jensen as Deputy Prime Minister after his resignation as party leader of Venstre. He was elected leader of Venstre on 18 November 2023, with Stephanie Lose taking over as minister of economic affairs.

On 9 February 2024, he stated, "Denmark should speed up its military investments after new intelligence indicates that Russia is rearming faster than expected and that it could attack a NATO country within three to five years".

On 3 April 2024, he fired Danish chief of defence Flemming Lentfer, saying that Lentfer had failed to keep him informed about weapons failures on board HDMS Iver Huitfeldt when it fought in Operation Prosperity Guardian.

In 2025, the Auditor general criticised him, and previous ministers, for inadequate security at 18 military bases.

Personal life

Lund Poulsen is married to Anne, with whom he has a daughter.

Bibliography

• Atlantiske afstande (2004, co-author)
• Den forandrede verden (2003, co-author)
• Tid til forandring (2001)

Honours

National honours

• [[File:Order of the Dannebrog K1.svg|50px]] Commander 1st Class of the Order of the Dannebrog (2024)

Foreign Honours

• Finland: Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland (2025)
• Iceland: Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon (2024)
• Latvia: Grand Cross of the Cross of Recognition (2025)
• Sweden: Commander Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Polar Star (2024)
• Ukraine: 1st Class of the Order of Merit (2023)

References

References

1. "Troels Lund Poulsen (V)".
2. "Troels Lund Poulsen ny undervisningsminister".
3. (8 March 2011). "Tina Nedergaard stopper for sin datters skyld".
4. (4 December 2011). "Presset stiger på Troels Lund Poulsen". Danmarks Radio.
5. "troels lund poulsen bliver undervisningsminister".
6. (28 November 2016). "Troels Lund ny beskæftigelsesminister".
7. Bohr, Jakob Kjøgx. (15 December 2022). "Her er SVM-regeringens ministre - TV 2".
8. (11 April 2023). "Denmark to start sending Ukraine Leopard 1 tanks before summer – minister". Euromaidanpress.
9. (23 October 2023). "Jakob Ellemann trækker sig fra dansk politik - TV 2".
10. "Ændringer i regeringen".
11. (18 November 2023). "Pludselig gik det op for Venstres bagland, at Troels Lund Poulsen har en datter". [[Danmarks Radio]].
12. "Ændringer i regeringen".
13. "Danish defence minister warns Russia could attack NATO in 3-5 years -media".
14. (3 April 2024). "Denmark axes its defence chief for failure to report weapons system malfunction". Reuters.
15. (8 September 2025). "Statsrevisorerne udtaler hårdest mulige kritik af staten - TV 2".
16. https://www.altinget.dk/christiansborg/navnenyt/forsvarsministeren-modtager-kongelig-orden
17. "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №556/2023 — Офіційне інтернет-представництво Президента України". Офіційне інтернет-представництво Президента України.