Helle Thorning-Schmidt

Public Career

Helle Thorning-Schmidt served as a Member of the European Parliament for Denmark from 1999 to 2004 before being elected to the Danish Parliament in 2005. She served as the leader of the Social Democrat party from 2005-2015 and was the first woman to do so. Ms Thorning-Schmidt served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011-2015, steering the country through the aftermath of the financial crisis.

Activity after Public life

Following her term as Prime Minister, Ms Thorning-Schmidt was the Chief Executive of Save the Children, where she oversaw the work of 17,000 members of staff in 120 countries. Here, she was deeply engaged in highlighting the humanitarian crises in Yemen and Syria, and the Rohingya refugee crisis.

In 2017, Thorning-Schmidt was named as one of the world’s greatest leaders by Fortune magazine.

Thorning-Schmidt joined GLF as a Member in 2022

  Memberships & Affiliations

• Co-Chair, Meta Oversight Board
• Chair, Danish Football Union’s Governance Committee
• Board Member, Vestas
• Board Member, Safelane
• Board Member VISTA Equity Partners
• Board Member, DJE Holdings
• Board Member Carsøe
• Board Member, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship
• Advisory Board Member, Atlantic Council
• Advisory Board Member, US Council on Foreign Relations
• Trustee, European Council for Foreign Relations
• Trustee, International Crisis Group
• Member, Berggruen 21st Century Council
• Member, Pan-European Commission (World Health Organisation)