Anders Fogh Rasmussen (President McCain)

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, informally known as Anders Fogh, or simply Fogh, (born January 26, 1953) is the current Prime Minister of Denmark (in Danish Statsminister, meaning Minister of State).

He is the leader of the Liberal Party (Venstre), and heads a centre-right coalition of his Liberal Party and the Conservative People's Party which took office in 2001, and won its second and third terms in February 2005 and in November 2007. Like most Danish governments, this is a minority government which relies on the Danish People's Party for support. His government has introduced tougher limits on non-ECA immigration and froze tax rates before he took office (the "tax freeze", or "skattestoppet" in Danish). He has authored several books about taxation and government structure.

Under Fogh, certain taxes have been lowered, but the Conservatives repeatedly argue for more tax cuts and a flat tax rate at no higher than 50%. Fogh implemented an administrative reform reducing the number of municipalities (kommuner) and replacing the thirteen counties (amter) with five regions. Rasmussen has referred to this as "the biggest reform in thirty years". Furthermore, a reform of the police and judiciary systems is being implemented, changing the numbers of police districts and city courts from 54 to 12 and 82 to 22, respectively.

Early life and education
Rasmussen was born in 1953 in Ginnerup, Jutland. He is the son of farmer Knud Rasmussen and his wife Martha Rasmussen (nee Fogh). He was born in Ginnerup Sogn on Djursland, and grew up in the village of Hvidding by Hammershøj, between Randers and Viborg.

He finished his studies in lingustic and social studies at Viborg Katedralskole in 1972. In 1978, he graduated from the University of Aarhus, receiving a bachelor's degree in economics (Cand.oecon., abbrevation of candidatus/candidata oeconomices).

Between 1978 and 1987, he was an consultant in Håndværksrådet (Council of Artisan).

Early political career
A graduate of the University of Aarhus, he has been active in politics most of his life. He has authored several books about taxation and government structure.

In 1970, he was one of the founders of Liberal Ungdom (Liberal Youth), the youth wing of the Liberal Party. Between 1970 and 1972, he was the organisation's chairman. Between 1974 and 1976 he was the leader (Landsformand) of Liberal Ungdom.

Between 1973 and 1978 he was a member of the Liberal party's central board, and again from 1984. Since 1984 he has been the Chairman of the Liberal Party's disclosure committee, and in 1985 he was appointed the party's deputy chairman.

In his early years in Venstres Ungdom) he was often called "Røde Anders" (Red Anders) as he was considered to be relatively leftist-oriented in the organisation, and supported the idea of Economic Democracy. He got rid of the nickname when he was inspired by the Liberal philosopher Robert Nozick in his book Fra socialstat til minimalstat (1993). Most political analysts has agreed that he has since 1993 again moved towards the middle of the political spectre.

Member of Folketing
He has held numerous positions in government and opposition throughout his career, first winning a seat in the Folketing (Danish parliament) in 1978. From 1987-1990 he was Minister for Taxation and from 1990 Minister for Economy and Taxation in the Conservative-led Poul Schlüter government.

In 1992 Rasmussen resigned from his ministerial posts after a report from a commission of inquiry had decided that he had provided the Folketing with inaccurate and incomplete information regarding his decision to postpone payment of several bills from Regnecentralen and Kommunedata from one accounting year to the next. Rasmussen disagreed with the findings of the commission, but faced with the threat of a non-confidence motion, he decided to leave his posts voluntarily.

Personal life
Rasmussen is married to pedagogue Anne-Mette. The couple resides in Nærum. Together they have three children. Their oldest, Henrik Fogh Rasmussen, has proven himself as a community debater, including with the book Amerikanske Tilstande.

Cycling
As an amateur cyclist, Rasmussen completed part of the notorious Alpe d'Huez stage of the 2008 Tour de France the day after the professional race took place. His attendance at Le Tour was at the invitation of lauded Danish former cyclist Bjarne Riis.