Tribute to women politicians in Danish politics

On Tuesday, a painting featuring 30 influential women in Danish politics was unveiled in Christiansborg’s Conversation Room. The large 3×5 meter portrait, painted by artist Mie Mørkeberg, includes the first female minister, Nina Bang, as well as Ritt Bjerregaard, Pia Kjærsgaard, and Helle Thorning-Schmidt, among others. Thorning-Schmidt highlighted the progress made over a century but emphasized the goal for equal gender representation in parliament and government. The artwork, which took Mørkeberg a year and nine months to complete, now hangs opposite a portrait of the men involved in the 1915 constitutional amendment granting women suffrage. Historian Bo Lidegaard and a committee of historians decided who would be depicted, aiming to represent different eras and political ideologies, as well as pioneers in governmental positions.