Frank Jensen (born 28 May 1961) is a former[1] Danish politician of the Danish Social Democrats who served as Lord Mayor of Copenhagen between 2010 and 2020. He was Minister for Research from 1994 to 1996 and Minister of Justice from 1996 to 2001 under Poul Nyrup Rasmussen.

Frank Jensen
Jensen in 2010
Lord Mayor of Copenhagen
In office
1 January 2010 – 19 October 2020
DeputyAnne Vang
Preceded byRitt Bjerregaard
Succeeded byLars Weiss (acting)
Deputy Leader of the Social Democrats
In office
28 June 2015 – 19 October 2020
LeaderMette Frederiksen
Preceded byMogens Jensen
Minister of Justice
In office
30 December 1996 – 27 November 2001
Prime MinisterPoul Nyrup Rasmussen
Preceded byBjørn Westh
Succeeded byLene Espersen
Minister of Research
In office
27 September 1994 – 30 December 1996
Prime MinisterPoul Nyrup Rasmussen
Preceded byA.O Anderson
Succeeded byJytte Hilden
Personal details
Born (1961-05-28) 28 May 1961 (age 63)
Ulsted, Denmark
Political partySocial Democrats
SpouseJane Frimand Pedersen
Children2
Alma materAalborg University

Jensen is an educated economist and holds a master's degree in economics from Aalborg University which he received in 1986.[2]

Political career

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When Mogens Lykketoft resigned as leader of the Social Democrats after losing the 2005 Danish parliamentary election, Jensen and Helle Thorning-Schmidt were the two candidates to succeed him. The party members voted on 12 April 2005, electing Thorning-Schmidt as leader with 24,261 votes (53%) against 21,348 votes (47%) for Frank Jensen. After the results, he decided not to run for the Folketing again in the next election.

In 2009 he was elected as the Social Democrats lead candidate for Lord Mayor of Copenhagen. He was elected as mayor of Copenhagen in 2009, and reelected in 2013 and 2017. In 2020 he stepped down because of several sexual harassment allegations.[3]

Jensen is the author of several scientific papers and articles. In 2018 he stated on the online magazine Impakter.com that Copenhagen has decreased its CO2 emissions by 40% since 2005.[4]

Controversies

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In 2011, Jensen was accused of trying to lick a female coworker at a julefrokost at the Copenhagen City Hall.[5]

In 2020, Jensen admitted that he had been sexually harassing various women in the previous ~30 years of his career.[6]

On 19 October 2020, Jensen announced he would stop in politics and step down as Lord Mayor and Deputy Leader as a result of the allegations.[7]

Other activities

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References

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  1. ^ "Frank Jensen trækker sig efter krænkelsessager" (in Danish). Danmarks Radio. 2020-10-19.
  2. ^ "Om Frank Jensen" [About Frank Jensen] (in Danish). FrankJensen.dk. Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
  3. ^ Wismann, Ida Marie Lomholt (19 October 2020). "Lars Weiss bliver fungerende overborgmester i København". nyheder.tv2.dk (in Danish). TV2. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Copenhagen wants to inspire cities to take climate action". Impakter. 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  5. ^ "Sexchikane: Frank Jensen kyssede og slikkede" (in Danish). Ekstra Bladet. 2020-10-18. Archived from the original on 2020-10-18.
  6. ^ "'Jeg har været en krænker': Se hele Frank Jensens pressemøde her" (in Danish). Danmarks Radio. 2020-10-18.
  7. ^ Wismann, Ida Marie Lomholt (19 October 2020). "Lars Weiss bliver fungerende overborgmester i København". nyheder.tv2.dk (in Danish). TV2. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  8. ^ Board of Directors Rockwool Fonden.
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Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Research
1994–1996
Succeeded by
Preceded by Justice Minister of Denmark
1996–2001
Succeeded by
Preceded by Lord Mayor of Copenhagen
2010–2020
Succeeded by