Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen
Encyclopedia
Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen (born 22 February 1984 in Odense
) is a member of the Danish
parliament (Folketing
et) for the Red-Green Alliance
, and a member of the executive committee of the party. Schmidt-Nielsen has been referred to as the "new queen of the Red-Green Alliance" by parts of the press.
and currently lives in Nørrebro
in Copenhagen
. She has been active in politics since 1997, and she was vice chairman of the national interest group for students at the Danish gymnasiums
from 2002 to 2003. At the Red-Green Alliance's annual meeting in May 2006, she was elected into the executive committee of the party with 147 votes — receiving more votes than any other candidate. She was reelected in 2007.
She holds a bachelor's degree
in social science from Roskilde University
2007.
, Brussels
, Gothenburg
and Rostock
.
As spokesperson for the activist group Velfærdsmissionen (The Welfare Mission) she participated in dumping 200 kg of pasta and 40 liters of ketchup on the staircase leading to the Ministry of Finance in a protest against cutbacks in the State education grants
.
In March 2007, Schmidt-Nielsen reported the Aller Press
owned pornographic magazine, Super, to the police for its use in procuring prostitutes. The background of the report was an article in the tabloid newspaper B.T.
on the magazine's monthly contest in which the prize was a half hour in the company of a prostitute. The report was later withdrawn when Aller called the contest off.
On 30 October 2007, Schmidt-Nielsen and fellow feminists hung red stockings on a clothesline at the entry to the Ministry of Social Welfare
, with the stated intention of encouraging minister Karen Jespersen
to more actively attempt to solve gender equality issues.
The following day, a group of members of the Red-Green Alliance including Schmidt-Nielsen planted bushes in the park Ørstedsparken
in central Copenhagen as a symbolic protest against harassment of the male gay population in Copenhagen and as a manifestation of sexual liberal-mindedness. Previously, plantation had been removed from the park to discourage people from having sex in the park. The party also launched an initiative against hate-crimes.
On 5 November 2007, Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen launched a proposal for "modernizing" copyright, which included appointing a commission to redesign the copyright law to allow distributing copyrighted material and to compensate artists for the resulting loss of income. The proposal received significant attention from the media, when she simultaneously confessed to having illegally downloaded and distributed music illegally on the internet and stated that she had no intention to cease doing so.
in the 2005 elections, but was not elected.
When in March 2007, Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil
announced that she would not run for re-election to the Folketing, Schmidt-Nielsen took over her position as the party's top candidate in the metropolitan constituency. At the 2007 parliamentary election
, she stood for election on issues such as increased social welfare and a struggle against discrimination.
On 12 November 2007, Schmidt-Nielsen participated in a debate for party leaders on TV 2
on the evening before the election as the youngest candidate ever to participate in a nationally televised debate for Danish party leaders. Prior to the debate, the leader of the Conservative People's Party
, Bendt Bendtsen
, mistook her for an office girl and asked her to fetch him coffee.
She was elected on 8,964 personal votes.
Odense
The city of Odense is the third largest city in Denmark.Odense City has a population of 167,615 and is the main city of the island of Funen...
) is a member of the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
parliament (Folketing
Folketing
The Folketing , is the national parliament of Denmark. The name literally means "People's thing"—that is, the people's governing assembly. It is located in Christiansborg Palace, on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen....
et) for the Red-Green Alliance
Red-Green Alliance (Denmark)
The Red-Green Alliance is a socialist political party in Denmark.- History :The party was formed in 1989 as an electoral alliance by three left-wing parties, Left Socialists , Communist Party of Denmark and Socialist Workers Party...
, and a member of the executive committee of the party. Schmidt-Nielsen has been referred to as the "new queen of the Red-Green Alliance" by parts of the press.
Background
Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen grew up on FynFYN
Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Fyn is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the FYN gene.This gene is a member of the protein-tyrosine kinase oncogene family. It encodes a membrane-associated tyrosine kinase that has been implicated in the control of cell growth...
and currently lives in Nørrebro
Nørrebro
Nørrebro is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate , which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station.-Geography:...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. She has been active in politics since 1997, and she was vice chairman of the national interest group for students at the Danish gymnasiums
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
from 2002 to 2003. At the Red-Green Alliance's annual meeting in May 2006, she was elected into the executive committee of the party with 147 votes — receiving more votes than any other candidate. She was reelected in 2007.
She holds a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in social science from Roskilde University
Roskilde University
Roskilde University is a Danish public university founded in 1972 and located in Trekroner in the Eastern part of Roskilde. The university awards bachelor and master's degrees as well as Ph.D...
2007.
Activism
Schmidt-Nielsen has made herself noted as a political activist, and has participated in demonstrations at summits in PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
and Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
.
As spokesperson for the activist group Velfærdsmissionen (The Welfare Mission) she participated in dumping 200 kg of pasta and 40 liters of ketchup on the staircase leading to the Ministry of Finance in a protest against cutbacks in the State education grants
Student loans in Denmark
Student loans in Denmark are administered by the “Danish State Educational Grant and Loan Scheme Agency”, a Danish government agency.These universal grants, are called SU . State Educational Support...
.
In March 2007, Schmidt-Nielsen reported the Aller Press
Aller Press
Aller is a magazine publisher in the Nordic countries, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark..-History:Aller Media was founded in Copenhagen in 1873 by Carl Aller and his wife Laura Aller in Copenhagen. It expanded into Sweden and Norway in the 1890s and into Finland in 1992. In August, 2009, Aller...
owned pornographic magazine, Super, to the police for its use in procuring prostitutes. The background of the report was an article in the tabloid newspaper B.T.
B.T. (tabloid)
B.T. is a Danish tabloid newspaper which offers general news about various subjects such as sports, politics and current affairs.A large, red neon sign displays the B.T. logo at the square Trianglen in Østerbro, a part of Copenhagen....
on the magazine's monthly contest in which the prize was a half hour in the company of a prostitute. The report was later withdrawn when Aller called the contest off.
On 30 October 2007, Schmidt-Nielsen and fellow feminists hung red stockings on a clothesline at the entry to the Ministry of Social Welfare
Ministry of Social Welfare (Denmark)
The Danish Ministry of Social Affairs was re-created in 2010 as a split of the Social Welfare ministry created after the 2007 Folketing elections. The split moved the section that had to do with the Ministry of the Interior off into the Ministry of the Interior and Health. The current minister is...
, with the stated intention of encouraging minister Karen Jespersen
Karen Jespersen
Karen Moustgaard Jespersen is a Danish politician representing the party Venstre. Previously she was a member of the Left Socialists, represented the Social Democrats and was Social Minister from 25 January 1993 to 28 January 1994 in the Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen I, and 27 September 1994 to...
to more actively attempt to solve gender equality issues.
The following day, a group of members of the Red-Green Alliance including Schmidt-Nielsen planted bushes in the park Ørstedsparken
Ørstedsparken
Ørstedsparken is a public park in central Copenhagen, Denmark. One in a series of parks which were laid out on the grounds of the old fortification ring after it was decommissioned in the 1870s, the park still retains elements from the old fortifications in its topography—a section of the...
in central Copenhagen as a symbolic protest against harassment of the male gay population in Copenhagen and as a manifestation of sexual liberal-mindedness. Previously, plantation had been removed from the park to discourage people from having sex in the park. The party also launched an initiative against hate-crimes.
On 5 November 2007, Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen launched a proposal for "modernizing" copyright, which included appointing a commission to redesign the copyright law to allow distributing copyrighted material and to compensate artists for the resulting loss of income. The proposal received significant attention from the media, when she simultaneously confessed to having illegally downloaded and distributed music illegally on the internet and stated that she had no intention to cease doing so.
Municipal and parliamentary elections
Schmidt-Nielsen ran for the municipal council of Copenhagen MunicipalityCopenhagen municipality
Copenhagen Municipality is the largest of the municipalities making up the city of Copenhagen. It lies at the center of Copenhagen and contains the old historic city....
in the 2005 elections, but was not elected.
When in March 2007, Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil
Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil
Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil is a former member of Folketinget for the Red-Green Alliance.-Politics and political career:...
announced that she would not run for re-election to the Folketing, Schmidt-Nielsen took over her position as the party's top candidate in the metropolitan constituency. At the 2007 parliamentary election
Danish parliamentary election, 2007
The 66th Folketing election in Denmark was held on 13 November 2007. The election allowed prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen to continue for a third term in a coalition government consisting of the Liberals and the Conservative People's Party with parliamentary support from the Danish People's...
, she stood for election on issues such as increased social welfare and a struggle against discrimination.
On 12 November 2007, Schmidt-Nielsen participated in a debate for party leaders on TV 2
TV 2 (Denmark)
TV 2 is a publicly owned television station in Denmark based in Odense. The station began broadcasting on 1 October 1988, thereby ending the television monopoly previously exercised by the Danmarks Radio ....
on the evening before the election as the youngest candidate ever to participate in a nationally televised debate for Danish party leaders. Prior to the debate, the leader of the Conservative People's Party
Conservative People's Party (Denmark)
The Conservative People's Party , also known as Conservatives is a Danish political party.-History:The party was founded 1915 based mostly on its predecessor, Højre , but also on the Free Conservatives and a moderate faction of Venstre , the liberals.The party has participated in several coalition...
, Bendt Bendtsen
Bendt Bendtsen
Bendt Bendtsen is a Danish Member of the European Parliament. He was the leader of the Conservative People's Party from 1999 to 2008. He was the Minister of Trade and Industry from 2001 to 2008 under Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen....
, mistook her for an office girl and asked her to fetch him coffee.
She was elected on 8,964 personal votes.
External links
- Official website
- Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen at the website of the Red-Green Alliance
- http://www.ft.dk/Folketinget/findMedlem/~/media/biographies/pdfDocuments/ELJOSN_en%20pdf.ashx — Biography at the website of the Folketing
- Interview med Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen om Frihed