1. Margrethe Vestager was leader of the Social Liberals from 2007 to 2014, and served as Minister of Economic Affairs and the Interior under Helle Thorning-Schmidt from 2011 to 2014.
22 Facts About Margrethe Vestager
1. 2.
Margrethe Vestager retained her Competition portfolio while becoming one of the Commission's three Executive Vice Presidents, with responsibility for "A Europe Fit for the Digital Age".
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Margrethe Vestager has been described as "the rich world's most powerful trustbuster" and "the world's most famous regulator".
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Margrethe Vestager has been the target of criticism by American corporations and US President Donald Trump for her efforts throughout her tenure as European Commissioner for Competition.
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Margrethe Vestager was born in Glostrup, Zealand, a daughter of Lutheran ministers Hans Margrethe Vestager and Bodil Tybjerg.
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Margrethe Vestager studied at the University of Copenhagen, graduating in 1993 with a degree in Economics.
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Margrethe Vestager has been a professional politician since the age of 21, when she was appointed to the central board and executive committee of the SLP and its European Affairs Committee, and shortly afterwards as National Chairwoman of the Party.
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In 2001, Margrethe Vestager was elected to the Danish Parliament, becoming Chairwoman of its Parliamentary Group in 2007.
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Margrethe Vestager was appointed Minister of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs in 1998.
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On 15 June 2007 Margrethe Vestager secured election as her Party's parliamentary group leader in the Folketing, replacing Marianne Jelved.
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From 2011 until 2014 Margrethe Vestager served as Minister for Economic and Interior Affairs in the three-party Social Democrat-led coalition government of Helle Thorning-Schmidt.
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Margrethe Vestager worked closely with Jean-Claude Juncker to salvage Europe's financial sector and forge a European Banking Union.
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Between 2011 and 2014, Margrethe Vestager led Denmark's campaign against Basel III liquidity rules, arguing in favor of allowing banks to use 75 percent more in covered bonds to fill liquidity buffers than allowed under Basel III rules; at the time Denmark's $550 billion mortgage-backed covered bond market, part of the country's two-century-old mortgage system, was the world's largest per capita.
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In January 2015, Margrethe Vestager ordered Cyprus Airways to pay back over 65 million euros in illegal state aid received in 2012 and 2013 as part of a restructuring package; as a consequence, Cyprus suspended operations at its flag carrier resulting in 550 job losses and reduced competition.
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In February 2019, Margrethe Vestager blocked a merger between the two large European rail companies Siemens and Alstom due to serious competition concerns, despite the fact that both the German and French governments had supported the merger.
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In June 2019, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen proposed that Margrethe Vestager continue as Denmark's Commissioner for another five years.
17.
In July 2023, the appointment of the American Fiona Scott Morton to the post of chief economist in the Competition Directorate, with the support of Mrs Margrethe Vestager, provoked an outcry in the European Parliament and in France, where leaders reacted negatively in the name of defending European interests.
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Margrethe Vestager noted with consternation Scott Morton's consulting work for the GAFAM.
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In September 2023, Margrethe Vestager was released from her duties as Competition Commissioner by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and was replaced by Didier Reynders as Competition Commissioner in the interim.
20.
In 2015, as the European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager opposed the intervention of the Italian FITD to support the capital increase of Banca Tercas, which had been approved by the Bank of Italy, defining it as an anti-competition state aid.
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In 2019, following an appeal from Italy, FITD and Banca Popolare di Bari, the European General Court annulled the decision of Margrethe Vestager, which was based on the unproven assumption that FITD was using state-controlled resources.
22.
Margrethe Vestager served as an inspiration for the main character in Borgen, who tries to juggle family life and politics.