Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Helle Thorning-Schmidt (Danish pronunciation: [ˈhɛlə ˈtoɐ neŋ ˈsmed]; born 14 December 1966) is a Danish politician who has been the Prime Minister of Denmark since 3 October 2011, and the Leader of the Social Democrats since 12 April 2005. She is the first woman to hold either post. 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 was elected to replace Mogens Lykketoft as Leader of the Social Democrats after the 2005 parliamentary election, leading her party through the 2007 parliamentary election, which was won by the centre-right alliance, and the 2011 parliamentary election, after which she was appointed Prime Minister by Queen Margrethe II. Thorning-Schmidt holds degrees in political science from the University of Copenhagen and the College of Europe.