Anders Fogh Rasmussen took office as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s 12th Secretary General on August 1, 2009. As Minister for Economic Affairs and member of the EU’s ECOFIN-council 1990-92, Mr. Rasmussen was the Danish negotiator of and signatory to the Maastricht Treaty which eventually led to the introduction of the single currency, the euro. After the parliamentary elections in 2001 he formed his first government, a coalition consisting of the Liberal Party and the Conservative People’s Party. During the Danish Presidency of the European Union from July to December 2002 Mr. Rasmussen played a key role in the process leading to conclusion of the accession negotiations with 10 candidates for EU-membership at the meeting of the European Council in Copenhagen in December 2002. His government was re-elected in 2005 and 2007 respectively, and he held the position as Prime Minister until he was elected as future NATO Secretary General at the Strasbourg-Kehl Summit in April 2009.

Part of the World Beyond the Headlines lecture series. Cosponsored by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

(c) Unversity of Chicago. The World Beyond the Headlines series is a collaborative project of the Center for International Studies, the International House Global Voices Program, the Seminary Co-op Bookstores and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Its aim is to bring scholars and journalists together to consider major international issues and how they are covered in the media.

Recorded Thursday, April 08, 2010 at University of Chicago-Ida Noyes Hall.