Biography

A former vice-president of the European Commission, with responsibility for the economic and financial affairs of the Union, Henning Christophersen is one of Denmark’s best known and most respected politicians, having held the posts of Foreign Minister, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.

An economics graduate of Copenhagen University, early on in his career he became a member of the Danish Parliament (1971). In 1978 he became President of the Liberal Party and from 1979-1982 a member of the Board of the Danish Central Bank.

Whilst vice-president of the Commission (from 1984) he was responsible for European Monetary Union (EMU) and the early consultations and strategic planning for the single European Currency. Since 1989 he has been the EU’s representative in a number of supranational organisations, including the OECD, IMF, G7, EBRD and the EIB.

He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of ‘Den Danske Bank’, member of the International Advisory Board of Creditanstalt-Bankverein, Austria and a member of The European Advisory Committee on the Opening-up of Public Procurement, as well as being Board member of various highly respected international institutions such as Chairman of the European Institute of Public Administration (Maastricht), the Danish Council for European Policy and the Baltic Sea Council (Sweden).

Source: Celebrity Speakers Ltd.

Useful Documents about the Danish Government Position

The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Convention Site (Danish)
The Danish Liberal Party's Convention Site (Danish)