Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 January 2020
Prime Minister
Mette Frederiksen
Preceded by
Christian Kettel Thomsen
Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice
In office 16 February 2015 – 13 January 2020
Prime Minister
Helle Thorning-Schmidt Lars Løkke Rasmussen Mette Frederiksen
Minister
Mette Frederiksen Søren Pind Søren Pape Poulsen Nick Hækkerup
Preceded by
Anne Kristine Axelsson
Succeeded by
Johan Kristian Legarth
Personal details
Born
(1973-09-24) 24 September 1973 (age 50)
Nationality
Danish
Alma mater
Aarhus University
Occupation
Civil servant
Barbara Beatrice Bertelsen (known by her initials BBB;[1] born 24 September 1973) is a Danish jurist and senior civil servant. She is the current Permanent Secretary of State at the Prime Minister's Office of Denmark, and as such the head and principal civil servant in the central administration of Denmark.[2] She is the first woman to hold this position and thus the highest-ranking female civil servant in Danish history.[3]
Bertelsen has previously held senior positions within the Danish central administration, mainly in the Ministry of Justice, where she served as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice from 2015 to 2020, under four different Ministers of Justice.
Bertelsen was appointed Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office in 2020, following Mette Frederiksen's electoral victory in 2019. Tasked with bolstering the Danish Ministry of State, Bertelsen played a crucial role in its expansion, aimed at enhancing its operational efficiency and political power. Her departmental leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic garnered attention, as she took early and decisive measures to address the crisis. However, her management style, marked by meticulous oversight and direct communication, has drawn both acclaim and criticism. Despite facing a warning in connection with the 2020 Danish mink cull for hastening processes leading to legal infractions, Bertelsen's disciplinary action was later rescinded.
^"Portræt: Barbara Bertelsen blev kendt som embedsmanden, der ikke kun svinger taktstokken, men også slår med den". Politiken (in Danish). 2023-09-24. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
^"Ny departementschef i Statsministeriet" [New Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office]. Statsministeriet (in Danish). Retrieved 2024-02-13.
^"Statsministeren henter sin nye departementschef i Justitsministeriet". Altinget.dk. 2020-01-09. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
Barbara Beatrice Bertelsen (known by her initials BBB; born 24 September 1973) is a Danish jurist and senior civil servant. She is the current Permanent...
was supported by the Ministry of Justice and sent "up the system". BarbaraBertelsen explained at the hearing on 18 November that she had not been made...
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politician 5 July – Camilla Andersen, handball player 24 September – BarbaraBertelsen, civil servant 25 September – Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, politician 9...
vice-chairman Jeff Henley. The Director's Council also includes Mark Bertelsen, partner Wilson Sansini; Dan Burnham, former Raytheon CEO; Jim Dehlsen...
Joseph B. Walther (born 1958) is the Mark and Susan Bertelsen Presidential Chair in Technology and Society and the Director of the Center for Information...
May 20, 2018. This season was produced by CBS Television Studios, with Barbara Hall and Lori McCreary as showrunner and executive producer, respectively...
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0586-84. Hedrick, M. S.; Kohl, Z. F.; Bertelsen, M.; Stagegaard, J.; Fago, A. & Wang, T. (2019). "Oxygen transport characteristics...
Bertelsen Presidential Chair in Information Technology and Society (Oct. 23, 2017) | Center for Information Technology and Society - UC Santa Barbara"...
Secretary is an American political drama television series created by Barbara Hall. It stars Téa Leoni as Elizabeth "Bess" Adams McCord, an ex-CIA analyst...
version (Swedish epilogue), from the fifteenth century Swedish reworking. Bertelsen, Henrik ed. (1905). Þiđriks saga af Bern Kap. 841 (57), I:73: "Vaðe rise...
1864) John S. McCain Sr., American admiral (b. 1884) September 9 – Aage Bertelsen, Danish painter (b. 1873) September 12 – Hajime Sugiyama, Japanese general...
Cincinnati Bengals Tommy Casanova † S LSU SEC 2 30 Los Angeles Rams Jim Bertelsen † RB Texas SWC from Denver via San Diego 2 31 New Orleans Saints Willie...
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