Alex Dominique Kristensen Vanopslagh (born 17 October 1991)[1] is a Danish politician. He is a member of the Folketing, and party leader of the Liberal Alliance. He is a former chairman of its youth wing, Liberal Alliance Youth.
Alex Vanopslagh | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader of Liberal Alliance | |
| Assumed office 9 June 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Anders Samuelsen |
| Leader of Liberal Alliance Youth | |
| In office 8 March 2014 – 12 March 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Rasmus Brygger |
| Succeeded by | Stefan Roy Frederiksen |
| Member of the Folketing | |
| Assumed office 5 June 2019 | |
| Constituency | East Jutland |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 October 1991 Épernay, France |
| Citizenship | Denmark • France |
| Political party | Liberal Alliance |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | University of Copenhagen |
Early life and education
editAlex Vanopslagh, who was born in Épernay, France, moved to Denmark when he was five, and grew up in Struer.[2] In 2009 he moved to Herning and in 2011 he completed high school. He originally wanted to be a journalist, but applied and failed the entrance exam to the Danish Media and Journalism School in Aarhus after taking the wrong bus.[3] He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Southern Denmark in Odense,[1] and a master's degree from the University of Copenhagen in 2016.[1]
Political career
editIn 2014, he was elected leader of Liberal Alliance Youth, succeeding Rasmus Brygger. He was reelected in 2015 and did not stand for reelection in 2016.[2]
In autumn 2016, he was selected as lead candidate for the Liberal Alliance in the 2017 Copenhagen Municipality elections, and won a seat in the Copenhagen Municipal Council with 3,563 votes.[4][5]
In the 2019 general election, Vanopslagh was elected to the Folketing representing West Jutland constituency.[6] The election was catastrophic for the Liberal Alliance, which lost nine of thirteen seats and its leader Anders Samuelsen failing to be reelected. Following the defeat, Samuelsen resigned as leader of the party, and was succeeded by Vanopslagh.[7][8][9]
Vanopslagh has been a prominent critic of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her government, due to alleged attacks on fundamental institutions, rights and common sense.[10] He has referred to Frederiksen as "the worst news for our democracy and justice state since World War II".[11][12] During the mink case, Vanopslagh called for Frederiksen to resign[13] and criticized the Social Liberal Party for supposedly letting Frederiksen off the hook.[14]
Under Vanopslagh, the Liberal Alliance has seen a major rise in popularity, especially during campaigning for the 2022 Danish general election.[15] Much of Vanopslagh's campaigning has occurred on social media, in particular TikTok; he has been referred to as "The King of TikTok".[16] This campaigning is targeted primarily towards young voters, among whom Liberal Alliance is one of the most popular parties.[17]
Vanopslagh led his party into the 2022 election, which resulted in the best result for the party ever. The party gained 10 new seats compared to the last election. In East Jutland Vanopslagh received 38,284 personal votes.[5] In March 2024 polls the party reached 2nd place.
References
edit- ^ a b c Altinget: Alex Vanopslagh
- ^ a b Simonsen, Nikolaj L. (12 March 2014). "Ny formand for LA-ungdom: Vi har et image-problem". Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ Savin, Serge (2022-03-30). "Alex Vanopslagh: »Jeg kom kun på universitetet, når jeg skulle til eksamen«". Uniavisen. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
- ^ "Alex Vanopslagh". TV2 Lorry.
- ^ a b Drejer, Pernille (24 November 2017). "Her er Københavns 25 største stemmeslugere". Berlingske.
- ^ "Hvem er valgt".
- ^ "Anders Samuelsen trækker sig efter vælgerlussing". Kristeligt Dagblad (in Danish). Ritzau. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ Ingvorsen, Emil Søndergård; Nielsen, Kevin Ahrens (9 June 2019). "Alex Vanopslagh bliver Liberal Alliances nye politiske leder". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ "Alex Vanopslagh (LA)". Ft.dk. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Alex Vanopslagh: Mette Frederiksen har stået bag ét langt angreb på vores grundlæggende institutioner, loven og almindelig sund fornuft". Politiken (in Danish). 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
- ^ Domino, Søren (2022-04-23). "Vanopslagh i hårdt angreb på Mette Frederiksen: Regeringen bruger Grundloven som toiletpapir". Berlingske.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2022-10-14.
- ^ "Alex Vanopslagh skyder med skarpt mod både Rusland og Socialdemokratiet | Nyheder". DR (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
- ^ "DRTV - Debatten: Fuldkommen magtfuldkommen?". www.dr.dk (in Danish). 12:30. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
- ^ "Alex Vanopslagh: Radikales melding til Mette Frederiksen er 'en gratis omgang' - der var et valg på vej alligevel | Nyheder". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 2022-10-14.
- ^ "De Konservative og Liberal Alliance er lige store i ny meningsmåling". DR (in Danish). 2022-10-22. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
- ^ Fallentin, Mia Gleerup; Kildegaard, Kasper; Domino, Søren (2022-10-20). "Han bliver kaldt »Kongen af TikTok« og har fat i de unge vælgere – nu stormer Alex Vanopslagh frem i ny Gallup". Berlingske.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2022-10-22.
- ^ "Liberal Alliance er på kant med loven med ny reklame, vurderer professor". DR (in Danish). 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2022-10-22.