PES

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen is one of the most prominent centre-left figures in European politics. In 2004, he was elected President of the Party of European Socialists (PES), which brings together Europe’s socialist, social democrat, progressive and labour parties. This involves coordinating the overall political line and vision of the PES, and representing the party across Europe. He is also Co-Chair of the Global Progressive Forum.

He was born on 15 June 1943 in Esbjerg in Denmark, and studied economics before working in the Danish labour movement. In 1988 he was elected a member of the Folketinget (Danish Parliament) for the Social Democratic Party and went on to chair the party before being elected Prime Minister of Denmark in 1993. After nine years of progressive government and a narrow election defeat in 2001 he continues to maintain a high profile in Danish politics whilst taking on new commitments on the international stage.

In 2004 he led the Danish Social Democrats to victory in the European elections and was himself elected to the European Parliament, where he sat on both the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee until June 2009.