Hans Haekkerup is a 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...

 politician who has served as a member of parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (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....

) for the Social Democratic

Social Democrats (Denmark)

The Social Democrats , is a Danish political party committed to the political ideology of social democracy. It is the major coalition partner in Denmark's government since the 2011 parliamentary election, and party leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt is the current Prime Minister of Denmark...

 party and as the Minister of Defense in four cabinets

Cabinet (government)

A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

 of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen , informally Poul Nyrup, born 15 June 1943), was Prime Minister of Denmark from 25 January 1993 to 27 November 2001 and is currently President of the Party of European Socialists . He was the leader of the governing Social Democrats from 1992 to 2002...

.

Early life

Haekkerup was born in Frederiksberg

Frederiksberg

Frederiksberg Kommune is a municipality on the island of Zealand in Denmark. It surrounded by the city of Copenhagen. The municipality, co-extensive with its seat, covers an area of and has a total population of 98,782 making it the smallest municipality in Denmark area-wise, the fifth most...

, Denmark

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...

. He is the son of former Minister of Economy Per Haekkerup and former Member of Parliament Grete Haekkerup. He graduated from the Frederiksborg Gymnasium (State School) in 1964 and received a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Copenhagen

University of Copenhagen

The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...

 in 1973.

Career

After working in several government ministries, Haekkerup was elected to the Folketing in 1979. He held several committee memberships including the Committee on Danish Security Policy, the Committee on Greenlandic Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Policy. He was Chairman of the Defense Committee from 1991 to 1993.

As Secretary of Defense

Defence minister

A defence minister is a person in a cabinet position in charge of a Ministry of Defence, which regulates the armed forces in some sovereign nations...

 for the administration of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen from 1993 to 2000, Haekkerup is considered to have contributed actively to the escalation of Danish military efforts abroad - including Denmark's participation in NATO's military action in Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

 in 1999. He served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo

Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo is an appointed by the Secretary-General to lead the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo...

 from January 2001 to December 2001.

After leaving office, Haekkerup worked as a research director at the Danish Defense Academy's Institute of Strategy.

Personal life

Haekkerup was previously married to Lisa Haekkerup. In 2011, Haekkerup was living in Mexico, where his second wife, Susanne Rumohr Haekkerup, is the Danish ambassador. He has four sons: three from his first marriage and one his second.

On April 15, 2011 it was reported that Haekkerup was suffering from Multiple System Atrophy

Multiple system atrophy

Multiple system atrophy is a degenerative neurological disorder. MSA is associated with the degeneration of nerve cells in specific areas of the brain. This cell degeneration causes problems with movement, balance and other autonomic functions of the body such as bladder control or blood pressure...

.

Timeline

• 1973-1976 Secretary, later Head of Social Affairs
• 1976-1977 Vice Minister - Ministry of Education
• 1977-1979 Head of Section, Ministry of Labour
• 1977-1980 Course supervisors at the Danish School of Public Administration
• 1981-1985 Consultant in Public Servant Organization
• 1991-1993 Chairman of the Parliamentary Defense Committee
• 1993-2000 Minister of Defense
• 2001 Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo