The President's CV

Having played a leading role in Danish politics for over a decade, as Prime Minister and leader of the Danish Social Democrat Party, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen was elected President of the Party of European Socialists (PES) in April 2004.

Member of the Danish Parliament since 1988, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen took over the chairmanship of the Danish Social Democrats and its Parliamentary Group in 1992. In under a year he was elected Prime Minister, a post which he kept until 2001.

Since then, Poul Nyrup has concentrated his political engagement at the European level. From 2002 onwards, he has been a leading figure in the development of new policy ideas and initiatives for European social democrats, as chair of the PES High Level Group on globalisation and chair of the PES Lisbon Network.

Further to his Presidency of the PES, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen is also a Member of the European Parliament, having led the Danish Social Democrats to a stunning victory in the June 2004 European elections.