New minister vows to stay rooted in southern Jutland

Karina Lorentzen Dehnhardt says becoming Denmark’s new minister for urban, rural and transport affairs will not take her away from her home region, DR reports.

“I am a southern Jutlander with a capital S, and I always carry Southern Jutland in my heart,” said Dehnhardt, of the Socialist People’s Party, after she was presented as minister in Copenhagen on Tuesday.

She was born and raised in Kolding, where she still lives. Dehnhardt said she would continue to live in her constituency and remain visible in the region, including at the local grocery store.

“I think it is important that there are still politicians who are present locally,” she said. “People can continue to expect that from me.”

Dehnhardt was first elected to parliament in 2007. She was out of parliament from 2015 to 2019, when she was elected again. She has held several party spokesperson roles and chaired the Justice Committee. The ministerial post is her most senior role so far.