Denmark proposes Hedegaard as Commissioner
(COPENHAGEN) - Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen on Tuesday announced Climate and Energy Minister Connie Hedegaard as his choice for Denmark's next EU commissioner.
In a statement, Rasmussen said his selection of Hedegaard, who has played an important role in global climate negotiations, came after discussions with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
Hedegaard, an influential member of Denmark's Conservative Party, will replace Danish commissioner Mariann Fisher Boel, a 66-year-old Liberal responsible for agriculture and rural development.
Hedegaard was also named minister for the 2009 UN conference on climate due December 7-18 in the Danish capital.
A journalist by profession, Hedegaard, 49, became environment minister in 2004 under the previous government and held the post until she took over the climate and energy portfolio in 2007.
Rasmussen named another woman, European affairs expert Lykke Friis, 40, as the new climate and energy minister.
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