Alex Vanopslagh
Alex Vanopslagh | |
|---|---|
Vanopslagh in 2019 | |
| Leader of the Liberal Alliance | |
| Assumed office 9 June 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Anders Samuelsen |
| Leader of the Liberal Alliance Youth | |
| In office 8 March 2014 – 12 March 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Rasmus Brygger |
| Succeeded by | Stefan Roy Frederiksen |
| Member of the Folketing | |
| Assumed office 5 June 2019 | |
| Constituency | East Jutland |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alex Dominique Kristensen Vanopslagh 17 October 1991 Épernay, France |
| Citizenship | Denmark France |
| Party | Liberal Alliance |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Copenhagen |
Alex Dominique Kristensen Vanopslagh (born 17 October 1991)[1] is a French-born Danish politician. He is a member of the Folketing, and party leader of the Liberal Alliance. He is a former chairman of its youth wing, the Liberal Alliance Youth.
Early life and education
Alex Vanopslagh, who was born in Épernay, France, moved to Denmark when he was five, and grew up in Struer.[2] In 2009 he moved to Herning and completed high school in 2011. He originally wanted to be a journalist, but applied and failed the entrance exam to the Danish Media and Journalism School in Aarhus after taking the wrong bus.[3] He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Southern Denmark in Odense,[1] and a master's degree from the University of Copenhagen in 2016.[1] He won the Danish Debating Championship in 2016.[4]
Political career
In 2014, he was elected leader of Liberal Alliance Youth, succeeding Rasmus Brygger. He was reelected in 2015 and did not stand for reelection in 2016.[2]
In autumn 2016, he was selected as lead candidate for the Liberal Alliance in the 2017 Copenhagen Municipality elections, and won a seat in the Copenhagen Municipal Council with 3,563 votes.[5][6]
In the 2019 general election, Vanopslagh was elected to the Folketing representing West Jutland constituency.[7] The election was catastrophic for the Liberal Alliance, which lost nine of thirteen seats and its leader Anders Samuelsen failing to be reelected. Following the defeat, Samuelsen resigned as leader of the party, and was succeeded by Vanopslagh.[8][9][10] After Vanopslagh's election as leader, it emerged that he had been involved in football violence as a youth, resulting in him being banned from FC Midtjylland's stadium and receiving a fine from police from a public order offence.[4]
Under Vanopslagh, the Liberal Alliance has seen a major rise in popularity, especially during campaigning for the 2022 Danish general election.[11] Much of Vanopslagh's campaigning has occurred on social media, in particular TikTok; he has been referred to as "The King of TikTok".[12] This campaigning is targeted primarily towards young voters, among whom Liberal Alliance is one of the most popular parties.[13] Vanopslagh led the party to their best ever result in the 2022 election, with the party gaining 10 new seats compared to the last election. Vanopslagh himself received 38,284 personal votes in East Jutland.[6]
In March 2026, during the run-up to the 2026 Danish general election, Vanopslagh admitted to having taken cocaine while leader of the Liberal Alliance, commenting that it had only happened twice at most; he denied having purchased cocaine himself.[15][16] The same month, the party's candidate in Lolland-Falster was removed from the party after publicly criticising Vanosplagh for his statement.[17]
Political views
Vanopslagh has been a prominent critic of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her government, due to alleged attacks on fundamental institutions, rights and common sense.[18] He has referred to Frederiksen as "the worst news for our democracy and justice state since World War II".[19][20] During the mink case, Vanopslagh called for Frederiksen to resign[21] and criticized the Social Liberal Party for supposedly letting Frederiksen off the hook.[22]
In 2023, Vanopslagh argued in support of the legalisation of cocaine and the sale of it in pharmacies; he distanced himself from this statement during the 2026 general election and said it was not his party's policy.[17]
References
- ^ a b c "Altinget | Nyheder, analyser og debat om dansk politik". www.altinget.dk.
- ^ a b Simonsen, Nikolaj L. (12 March 2014). "Ny formand for LA-ungdom: Vi har et image-problem". Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ Savin, Serge (2022-03-30). "Alex Vanopslagh: »Jeg kom kun på universitetet, når jeg skulle til eksamen«". Uniavisen. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
- ^ a b "LA-leder involveret i fodboldvold som ung: 'Har ikke levet mit liv efter, at jeg skulle være partileder'". DR (in Danish). 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ^ "Alex Vanopslagh". TV2 Lorry. Archived from the original on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
- ^ a b Drejer, Pernille (24 November 2017). "Her er Københavns 25 største stemmeslugere". Berlingske.
- ^ "Se valgte politikere til Folketinget og deres personlige stemmer | DR". www.dr.dk.
- ^ "Anders Samuelsen trækker sig efter vælgerlussing". Kristeligt Dagblad (in Danish). Ritzau. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ Ingvorsen, Emil Søndergård; Nielsen, Kevin Ahrens (9 June 2019). "Alex Vanopslagh bliver Liberal Alliances nye politiske leder". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ "Alex Vanopslagh (LA)". Ft.dk. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "De Konservative og Liberal Alliance er lige store i ny meningsmåling". DR (in Danish). 2022-10-22. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
- ^ Fallentin, Mia Gleerup; Kildegaard, Kasper; Domino, Søren (2022-10-20). "Han bliver kaldt »Kongen af TikTok« og har fat i de unge vælgere – nu stormer Alex Vanopslagh frem i ny Gallup". Berlingske.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2022-10-22.
- ^ "Liberal Alliance er på kant med loven med ny reklame, vurderer professor". DR (in Danish). 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
- ^ "Borgerligt konvent - Politisk stormøde i 2025". Lex (in Danish). 2025-11-18. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ Hagemann-Nielsen, Frederik (2026-03-16). "Vanopslagh afviser selv at have købt kokain". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 2026-03-17.
- ^ "Vanopslagh: Jeg har taget kokain som leder af LA". DR (in Danish). 2026-03-15. Retrieved 2026-03-17.
- ^ a b Hagemann-Nielsen, Frederik (2026-03-17). "LA-kandidat kylet ud efter kokainkritik af Vanopslagh". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ^ "Alex Vanopslagh: Mette Frederiksen har stået bag ét langt angreb på vores grundlæggende institutioner, loven og almindelig sund fornuft". Politiken (in Danish). 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
- ^ Domino, Søren (2022-04-23). "Vanopslagh i hårdt angreb på Mette Frederiksen: Regeringen bruger Grundloven som toiletpapir". Berlingske.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2022-10-14.
- ^ "Alex Vanopslagh skyder med skarpt mod både Rusland og Socialdemokratiet". DR (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
- ^ "DRTV - Debatten: Fuldkommen magtfuldkommen?". DR (in Danish). 12:30. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
- ^ "Alex Vanopslagh: Radikales melding til Mette Frederiksen er 'en gratis omgang' - der var et valg på vej alligevel". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 2022-10-14.