Schlüter, Poul Holmskov

Schlüter, Poul Holmskov (b. 3 Apr. 1929). Danish Prime Minister 1982–93 Born in Tondern (northern Schleswig), he studied law at Aarhus and Copenhagen. A leading member of the youth movement of the Konservative Folkeparti (KF, Conservative People's Party), he joined the Folketinget (Parliament) in 1964. In 1974, he became president of the KF, and in 1982 was the country's first conservative Prime Minister in the twentieth century. Schlüter was a vigorous proponent of European integration and NATO. However, his government had to accept seventeen defeats in Parliament on foreign policy. His determination to restructure the Danish economy led him to accept a compromise whereby he was enabled to pursue many of his economic reforms, while the opposition determined much of foreign policy. Through a reform of the country's extensive social security system, he managed to reduce public debt and inflation, but failed to stop a rise of the unemployment rate to over 10 per cent in the early 1990s. He was forced to resign after it was revealed that his government had repatriated Tamil refugees to Sri Lanka without ensuring their safe conduct there. In 1994, he gained a triumphant victory in the elections to the European Parliament.