Wikipedia

Morten Messerschmidt

Morten Messerschmidt(born 13 November 1980) is a Danish politician and since 2022 leader of theDanish People's Party.[1]He was an electedMember of the Folketingat the2019 Danish general electionhaving previously served from 2005 to 2009.[2]At the2014 European Parliament election,he was elected aMember of the European ParliamentforDenmarkwith 465,758; the highest number of personal votes ever cast at aDanish election.

Morten Messerschmidt
Messerschmidt in 2023
Leader of the Danish People's Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
23 January 2022
Preceded byKristian Thulesen Dahl
Member of the European Parliament
In office
1 July 2009 – 30 June 2019
ConstituencyDenmark
Member of the Folketing
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 June 2019
ConstituencyNorth Zealand
In office
8 February 2005 – 18 June 2009
ConstituencyEast Jutland(2007—2009)
Aarhus (2005—2007)
Personal details
Born(1980-11-13)13 November 1980(age 43)
Frederikssund,Denmark
Political partyDanish People's Party
SpouseDot Wessmann
Alma materUniversity of Copenhagen

Personal life

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Morten Messerschmidt was born on 13 November 1980 inFrederikssundas the son of worker Carsten Christoffersen and municipal secretary Inge Messerschmidt.[1]He graduated fromSankt Annæ Gymnasiumin 1999 and became a cand.jur (Master of Laws) from theUniversity of Copenhagenin 2009.[1]He served as a church singer inIslebjerg Churchfrom 1999 to 2005.[3]In 2003, Messerschmidt participated in the TV programBig Brother V.I.P.with i.a.Carl-Mar Møller,Helena Blach LavrsenandLise Lotte Lohmann.[4][5]The latter later introduced him toBakkens Hvilesinger Dot Wessman, with whom he became girlfriend and cohabitant with in 2007.[6]Together in 2008, they released and jointly performed on theChristmasalbumJul i Europa(Christmas in Europe).[7]On 9 June 2015, Messerschmidt announced that they had separated[8]later announcing their reunion on 1 July 2016.[9]

In November 2019, Messerschmidt's sister, Line Messerschmidt, was murdered in a double homicide byMartin Christensen Degn;[10]after which in 2021 Morten became the legal guardian of her children.[11]

Political career

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Early career

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Messerschmidt was a member of the national committee of the Danish People's Party Youth 2000–2005. He was political deputy chairman of the youth party 2001–2005.[1]In 2002, he founded the association Kritiske Licensbetalere, of which he was also chairman.[12]

Messerschmidt was convicted in 2002, receiving a suspended sentence of prison for 14 days for violating theDanish hate speech lawby publishing material that attempted to link Islamic societies to rape, violence and forced marriages.[13][14]

Between 2003 and 2005 he was assistant to the Danish People's Party's European parliamentarianMogens Camre

First election to the Folketing

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Before taking his seat in the European Parliament, Messerschmidt was a member of the Danish Parliament, theFolketingfrom 8 February 2005, having won his seat with 3,812 personal votes,[15]and being re-elected in2007,this time getting 11,466 votes.

For a short period of time in 2007, Messerschmidt left theDanish People's Partydue to accusations of showing Nazi sympathies, as he according to the tabloid newspaperB.T.had praisedAdolf HitlerinTivoli.[16]In 2009, Messerschmidt won a lawsuit against the former editor-in-chief of B.T. Arne Ullum and journalist Jacob Heinel Jensen which both were punished with 10 daily fines of 500kr.each and had to pay compensation of 25,000 kr. fordefamation.The court accepted Messerschmidt's explanation that his use of theNazi salute"Heil" and singing ofDeutschland, Deutschland über alleswas not an attempt to praise Hitler, but made as a joke.[17][18]

In the European Parliament

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Messerschmidt as a member of the European Parliament, February 2013

At the2009 European Parliament election,Messerschmidt was elected to theEuropean Parliament,winning his seat with 284,500 personal votes, the highest number of personal votes among all the Danish candidates in the election.[19]

Messerschmidt has been associated with thecounter-jihadmovement, and has been described as a proponent of the ideology associated with the blogGates of Vienna[20]for which he gave an interview at a 2009 conference inWashington, D.C.[21]He has in counterjihad-associated interviews "blamed left-wing parties and governments for capitulating to the Muslim ‘invasion’,"[20]and stated that the European Union would be overrun by a civil war with Muslims in 20 years.[21]

At the2014 European Parliament election,he received 465,758 personal votes, the highest number of personal votes ever received in any European Parliament election in Denmark.[22]Afterwards he was the group leader of his party in the European Parliament from 2014 until his resignation in August 2016.

In 2019, Messerschmidt was elected to theFolketingwith 7,554 personal votes, and in 2020 became vice chairman of the DF, replacingSøren Espersen.[23]

Fraud allegation and acquittal

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In August 2016, Messerschmidt resigned as EU parliament group leader for the DPP after allegations of fraud concerning misuse of EU funds related to the foundations FELD and MELD that Messerschmidt had managed.OLAFlaunched an investigation into the case, and Messerschmidt was reported to the police for identity theft by MEPRikke Karlsson,who had left the DPP in 2015 in protest against Messerschmidt's alleged withholding of information about the foundations. Karlsson and then-fellow DPP MEPJørn Dohrmannhad been elected to the board of MELD without their knowledge.Ekstra Bladetwas nominated for aEuropean Press Prizefor investigative reporting in 2017 for their coverage of the scandal.[24]

In 2021, he was charged with misuse of 98.000 DKK in EU funds.[25]On August 13, 2021, he was sentenced to 6 months of conditional prison, butThe High Court of Eastern Denmarkannulled the verdict in December 2021 due to the IndependentPolice Complaints Authority of Denmarkfinding the judge to have a conflict of interest.[26]On 21 December 2022 Messerschmidt was acquitted of all charges by theCourt of Frederiksberg.[27]

Bibliography

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  • Den kristne arv(2021)
  • Farvel til folkestyret: hvordan EU ødelægger frihed, folk og folkestyre - og hvad vi kan gøre ved det(2020)
  • Overlad det trygt til Bruxelles – Debat om EU(2015, co-author)
  • Dagbog fra EU. Om EU's spild af dine penge(2013)
  • Intet over og intet ved siden af... ‒ EU-Domstolen og dens aktivisme(2013)

References

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  1. ^abcd"Morten Messerschmidt".Folketinget(in Danish).Retrieved2023-04-01.
  2. ^"Morten Messerschmidt (DF)".Ft.dk.Retrieved16 August2021.
  3. ^"Messerschmidt: Politiker, kirkesanger og vinelsker".DR(in Danish). 2014-05-26.Retrieved2023-04-01.
  4. ^Sjöström, Af Af Ditte Giese og Louise (2003-05-09)."BB: Pigernes ven røg ud".ekstrabladet.dk(in Danish).Retrieved2023-04-01.
  5. ^Nyhedsbureau, Rikke Gjøl Mansø, Berlingske (2015-01-03)."Minister til Messerschmidt: »Er det ikke dig fra Big Brother?«".Berlingske.dk(in Danish).Retrieved2023-04-01.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^Karker, reas (2009-06-09)."Bakkesangerinde flytter med Messerschmidt til Bruxelles".www.bt.dk(in Danish).Retrieved2023-04-01.
  7. ^"Morten Messerschmidt udgiver jule-cd".Christiansborg(in Danish). 7 December 2008.Retrieved2023-04-01.
  8. ^"Dot og Messerschmidt går fra hinanden: - Det er smertefuldt | GO'".2015-06-10. Archived fromthe originalon 2015-06-10.Retrieved2023-04-01.
  9. ^Kragh, Julie (2016-07-01)."Dot og Messerschmidt afslører: Derfor er vi sammen igen".www.bt.dk(in Danish).Retrieved2023-04-01.
  10. ^Ruus, Af Mette Fleckner • Sune Fischer • Torsten (2019-11-15)."Søster til Morten Messerschmidt myrdet".ekstrabladet.dk(in Danish).Retrieved2023-04-01.
  11. ^"Morten Messerschmidt bliver værge til søsters børn: - Børnene varmer midt i tragedien".Nyheder.tv2.dk.10 March 2021.Retrieved16 August2021.
  12. ^kritiskelicensbetalere.dk,arkiveret version
  13. ^Barker, Alex (4 June 2014)."MEPs with criminal records join Tories' eurosceptic group".Financial Times.Retrieved25 June2014.
  14. ^"OVERBLIK Disse politikere er også dømt for racisme".DR(in Danish). 4 July 2019.Retrieved2 August2023.
  15. ^"Afstemningsresultater FV-2005"(in Danish). Im.dk. Archived fromthe originalon June 11, 2009.Retrieved2010-07-13.
  16. ^"Hyldede Hitler i Tivoli".Bt.dk.27 April 2007.Retrieved16 August2021.
  17. ^"Messerschmidt vandt over B.T."DR(in Danish). 26 February 2009.Retrieved2 August2023.
  18. ^Ritzau; Nielsen, Karen (26 February 2009)."Retten: Messerschmidt hyldede ikke Hitler | stiften.dk".stiften.dk(in Danish).Retrieved2 August2023.
  19. ^"Personlige stemmer ved Europa-Parlamentsvalget 7. juni 2009"(PDF).Dst.dk.Retrieved16 August2021.
  20. ^abAhmed, Nafeez (25 March 2019)."'White genocide' theorists worm their way into the West's mainstream ".Le Monde diplomatique.
  21. ^abAhmed, Nafeez (22 June 2016)."The powerful neo-Nazi network destroying the European Union from within".Medium.
  22. ^"Messerschmidt alene var i 2014 større end DF i 2019"(in Danish). TV2. 27 May 2019.Retrieved2019-05-27.
  23. ^"Messerschmidt ny næstformand i Dansk Folkeparti".Dr.dk.3 August 2020.Retrieved16 August2021.
  24. ^"European Press Prize 2017 nomination".European Press Prize.Retrieved2018-12-04.
  25. ^"Morten Messerschmidt bliver tiltalt af Bagmandspolitiet for dokumentfalsk".Dr.dk.19 April 2021.Retrieved16 August2021.
  26. ^"Messerschmidt dømt for svig med EU-støtte - anker dommen på stedet".Nyheder.tv2.dk.13 August 2021.Retrieved16 August2021.
  27. ^"Dom: Morten Messerschmidt frifindes for snyd med EU-midler".21 December 2022.
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Political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Danish People's Party
2022– 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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