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Mette Frederiksen (Danish: [ˈmetə ˈfʁeðˀəʁeksn̩]; born 19 November 1977) is a Danish politician who has served as the prime minister of Denmark since 2019 and the leader of the Social Democrats since 2015. She is the second woman to hold either office following Helle Thorning-Schmidt, and is also the youngest prime minister in Danish history.

Frederiksen worked briefly as a trade unionist before entering politics. Elected to the Folketing in 2001 for Copenhagen County, she became Minister of Employment in 2011 and later Minister of Justice in 2014, in the governments of Helle Thorning-Schmidt. After the Social Democrats' defeat in 2015, she succeeded Thorning-Schmidt as party leader and became Leader of the Opposition.

Frederiksen led the red bloc to a Folketing majority in 2019, becoming prime minister on 27 June. Her first cabinet navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark. The Mink Commission criticised government handling of the Cluster 5 outbreak in July 2022, but Frederiksen was cleared of deliberately misleading the public. She called an early election in November 2022, winning the Social Democrats' best result in 20 years and forming a centrist coalition with Venstre and the Moderates.

Domestically, Frederiksen pursued strict immigration policies, combining law-and-order measures with welfare and defence policies. As part of her environmental policy, she passed the Climate Act (70% emissions reduction by 2030) and introduced a tax on agricultural emissions. Social reforms included expanded early retirement, strengthened vocational education, and limits on some master's programmes.

Initially a Eurosceptic, Frederiksen shifted after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, supporting joint EU defence borrowing and leaving the Frugal Four. She has taken a hawkish stance on defence and security, strongly supporting NATO and the United States, and Denmark has become a top economic and military contributor to Ukraine relative to GDP. Under Frederiksen, Denmark increased defence spending to more than 3% of GDP in 2025–2026, extended conscription to women, and abolished its EU defence opt-out. In 2025, Politico ranked her Europe's second most powerful person, and in 2026 she was included on Time's list of the world's 100 most influential people. She has consistently condemned Donald Trump's proposed US acquisition of Greenland; her response to Trump's threats gave Frederiksen and her party a political boost ahead of the 2026 general election, in which her party again placed first.

Early life

Mette Frederiksen was born on 19 November 1977 in Aalborg, located in the North Jutland Region of northern Denmark. Her father, Flemming Frederiksen, worked as a typographer, while her mother, Anette Frederiksen, was a teacher. As a teenager, she campaigned to preserve rainforests, protect whales, and end apartheid. At the age of 12, she joined the international youth wing of the African National Congress. Frederiksen attended Aalborghus Gymnasium, after which she spent a gap year in rural Kenya living with a host family as part of an exchange program. She holds a bachelor's degree in Administration and Social Sciences from Aalborg University, and a master's degree in African Studies from the University of Copenhagen.

Member of Folketing

Frederiksen worked as a youth consultant for LO, The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions. She was elected as a member of parliament for Copenhagen County in the 2001 Danish general election, which saw the Social Democrats losing first place and placing second for the first time since 1920. After her election, Frederiksen was named as her party's spokesperson for culture, media, and gender equality. In 2002, she received the Nina Bang award for "showing political courage, enthusiasm and impact with social feeling". Frederiksen received the Ting Prize in 2012. She co-authored the books Epostler (2003) and From Fight to Culture (2004).

After the 2005 Danish general election loss, Frederiksen became her party's spokesperson for social affairs. Following the election, she also served as the vice-chairperson of the parliamentary group of the Social Democrats. In the 2007 Danish general election that saw the Social Democrats lose two seats, Frederiksen obtained 27,077 votes, placing her seventh in the ranking of the ten Danish politicians with the most votes.

After the 2011 Danish general election that led to a Social Democrat government, Frederiksen served under Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt as Minister for Employment from 2011 to 2014 and Minister of Justice from 2014 until she succeeded her as party leader. As Minister of Employment, Frederiksen sought reforms of early retirement pensions, flex jobs, and the employment system. The controversial cash assistance reform meant lower cash benefits for young unemployed and provided cohabiting mutual support, among other things.

Leader of the Social Democrats

Under Frederiksen's leadership after the 2015 Danish general election in which the Social Democrats returned to power and gained three seats in the Folketing, the party has moved back to the left on economic issues while taking a conservative stance on immigration.

Prime Minister of Denmark (2019–present)

2019 election

The 2019 Danish general election saw the Social Democrats gaining a further seat while support for the Danish People's Party and the Liberal Alliance collapsed, costing Lars Løkke Rasmussen his majority. With the result beyond doubt on election night, Rasmussen conceded defeat. Frederiksen was appointed prime minister on 27 June 2019, heading an exclusively Social Democratic minority government supported by the red bloc of the Social Liberal Party, the Red-Green Alliance and the Green Left. Despite having run on an anti-immigration stance during the election, Frederiksen briefly shifted her stance on immigration by allowing more foreign labour and reversing government plans to hold foreign criminals offshore after winning government.

2020 mink cull

At a press conference on 4 November 2020, Mette Frederiksen stated that the government had decided that all mink in Denmark should be killed due to the risk of infection with COVID-19. Subsequently, it emerged that this order was illegal and was described by many as being in violation of the Danish Constitution. The government came up with changing explanations and several parties in the Folketing demanded an account of the mink case. The statement was published on 18 November 2020 and it emerged that six ministers had been warned on 1 October 2020 that the order was illegal. Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Mogens Jensen withdrew immediately. Mette Frederiksen has denied knowledge of the lack of legal basis.

A commission of inquiry was set up to investigate the case, delivered its report on 30 June 2022. The report stated that Frederiksen's statements at the press conference on 4 November 2020 were "objectively grossly misleading", but that she was not aware of the illegality of the order to kill all mink. The Red-Green Alliance and Green Left, both of which are supporting parties of Frederiksen, announced they would not be voting for independent lawyer examination of the report, which could lead to impeachment. Sofie Carsten Nielsen, the leader of the Danish Social Liberal Party, also a supporting party, similarly did not want independent examination but demanded a general election before 4 October 2022. If her demands were not met, she promised to support a motion of no confidence against Frederiksen. Frederiksen later announced on 5 October 2022 that a general election would be held on 1 November 2022.

Frederiksen received an official reprimand from the Folketing on 5 July 2022 for her actions in handling the mink case. The reprimand stated that Frederiksen had "acted highly criticisable". This was given to her by her own government, with her own party, Social Democrats, not stating that she had committed any errors; the opposition…