Trine Bramsen
Minister of Transport
In office
4 February 2022 – 15 December 2022
Prime MinisterMette Frederiksen
Preceded byBenny Engelbrecht
Succeeded byThomas Danielsen
Minister of Defence
In office
27 June 2019 – 4 February 2022
Prime MinisterMette Frederiksen
Preceded byClaus Hjort Frederiksen
Succeeded byMorten Bødskov
Member of the Folketing
Assumed office
15 September 2011
ConstituencyFunen
Personal details
Born (1981-03-26) 26 March 1981 (age 43)
Svendborg, Denmark
Political partySocial Democrats
Alma materRoskilde University

Trine Bramsen (born 26 March 1981) is a Danish politician of the Social Democrats, who has been a member of the Folketing since 2011. She served as minister of transport from February to December 2022 and minister of defence from 2019 until February 2022.

Early and personal life

Bramsen was born in Svendborg to schoolteachers Bo Steffen Madsen and Lene Bramsen Madsen. She worked as a consultant with Deloitte from 2007 until 2011.[1]

Political career

Parliament

Bramsen was first elected member of Folketinget for the Social Democrats in the 2011 election, where she received 4,497 votes. She was reelected in 2015 with 8,337 votes and again in 2019 with 10,594 votes.[2][3][4]

Minister of Defence

Bramsen with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Brussels, 21 October 2021

Bramsen was appointed Minister of Defence in the cabinet of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on 27 June 2019.[5]

Early in her tenure, she oversaw the addition of about 700 soldiers, a frigate and four fighter jets to NATO forces.[6] Following the 2020 Iranian attack on U.S. forces in Iraq, she temporarily moved some of its military personnel for the international military intervention against ISIL from the Al Asad Airbase to Kuwait.[7]

Following revelations by the DR in May 2021, that Denmark had aided the NSA in spying on ally countries, Bramsen stated that "systematic wiretapping of close allies is unacceptable".[8]

After two Russian fighter jets flew into Danish airspace in June 2021, Bramsen called it “a deliberate provocation by Russia”, further stating the fighters were warned that they were entering Danish airspace. She also warned that “it is a clear sign that they are willing to break every rule” and that “we can’t afford to be naive”.[9]

Bramsen warned that Denmark would withdraw their soldiers from Mali if the country’s authorities were to seek negotiations with Russian mercenaries to combat Islamic extremist groups. Speaking to Jyllands-Posten in late September 2021, she iterated that Denmark would not negotiate with mercenaries, and that there was a clear red line.[10]

Controversy

Bramsen was the IT and telecommunications spokesperson for the Social Democrats, when she replied to a comment by the IT-Political Association of Denmark in a debate about electronic elections wherein participants are identified with chips.[11] Bramsen argued in favour of the electronic elections, which she perceived as feasible, even though the Association with technical industry experience was in opposition. She wrote an article[12] titled A call for IT nerds: Stop wearing tennis socks — and speak so that we can understand you!. The article was met with criticism for its tone. As a result, she was reassigned to be a spokesperson on justice. In her new position, she argued for making The Onion Router illegal.[13]

In 2020 Bramsen exposed a secret agreement with the US, made during the tenures of Bill Clinton and Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and signed by subsequent Danish defense ministers, allowing American authorities to tap Danish phone cables.[14] In 2021 MP Søren Espersen called for her resignation, for disrespecting the Chief of Defence, by calling her an ”agency leader”.[15]

References

  1. ^ Ft.dk "Trine Bramsen] "Retrieved 13 January 2021
  2. ^ Dst.dk "Valgte kandidater og stedfortrædere, Folketingsvalg torsdag 15. september 2011" Retrieved 13 January 2021
  3. ^ Dst.dk "Valgte kandidater og stedfortrædere, Folketingsvalg torsdag 18. juni 2015" Retrieved 13 January 2021
  4. ^ Dst.dk "Valgte kandidater og stedfortrædere, Folketingsvalg onsdag 5. juni 2019" Retrieved 13 January 2021
  5. ^ Deleuran Müller, Thea (27 June 2019). "Danmarks nye regering er nu på plads: Se hele Mette Frederiksens ministerhold her". dr.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  6. ^ Stine Jacobsen, Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen (September 6, 2019), Denmark discusses Hormuz naval mission with European allies Reuters.
  7. ^ Stine Jacobsen and Gederts Gelzis (January 8, 2020), Denmark and Latvia to move some troops from Iraq after Iranian missile strikes Reuters.
  8. ^ "NSA spying row: Denmark accused of helping US spy on European officials". BBC. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Danmarks forsvarsminister om russisk grensekrenkelse: – En bevisst provokasjon" (in Norwegian). ABC Nyheter. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Truer med å trekke ut Danmark fra Mali" (in Norwegian). ABC Nyheter. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  11. ^ Kildebogaard, Jesper (14 March 2013). "S-ordfører irettesætter it-ekspertisen: Hemmelige e-valg ER mulige". Version2 (in Danish). Ingeniøren. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  12. ^ Bramsen, Tine (2 August 2013). "Opråb til it-nørderne: Smid tennissokkerne - og tal, så vi kan forstå det!". Version2. Ingeniøren.
  13. ^ Thomsen, Morten K. (14 November 2013). "Trine Bramsen overvejer forbud mod at bruge TOR". Version2. Ingeniøren. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  14. ^ "Et pengeskab på Kastellet har i årtier gemt på et dybt fortroligt dokument. Nu er hemmeligheden brudt". Berlingske. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  15. ^ Wester, Kasper Junge (12 February 2021). "Dansk Folkeparti opfordrer statsministeren til at fyre Trine Bramsen". olfi.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 12 February 2021.
Political offices Preceded byClaus Hjort Frederiksen Minister of Defence 2019–2022 Succeeded byMorten Bødskov Preceded byBenny Engelbrecht Minister of Transport 2022 Succeeded byThomas Danielsen
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