Frank Jensen: Copenhagen’s mayor resigns after admitting to several incidents of sexual harassment
Senior politician apologises for contributing to ‘harmful’ culture in governing party
The mayor of Denmark’s capital city for more than a decade has resigned after admitting to several incidents of sexual harassment.
Frank Jensen, who had served as Lord Mayor of Copenhagen since 2010, apologised to “the women I have offended” as he announced his resignation from the role and as deputy of the country’s governing Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The 59-year-old politician’s decision to step down was welcomed by Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s prime minister, who called it “the right decision” in a post on Facebook.
“It is obvious that we in the Social Democratic Party have problems, and that needs to change now,” Ms Frederiksen told local news agency Ritzau on Monday.
Two women, including one who was employed by the Social Democrats, recently described being sexually harassed by Mr Jensen in 2012 and 2017 to the daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
They said both incidents were at social events and involved the politician touching them against their will.
“I have decided to resign as mayor so that my party has plenty of time to find my replacement ahead of the next local elections,” Mr Jensen said.
He told a news conference on Monday that he had contributed to a “harmful” culture in the SDP, adding that his behaviour would “overshadow” his political work if he stayed in the role.
Ms Frederiksen praised Mr Jensen for his political work over more than 30 years but said “insurmountable” problems had forced him to resign.
The resignation follows a series of high-profile sexual harassment cases in Denmark in recent months, with women within politics, the film industry and the media coming forward with complaints about the behaviour of male colleagues and superiors.
Earlier this month, Morten Ostergaard, leader of the Social Liberal party, stepped down after it was revealed that he had inappropriately touched a female colleague.
Cecilie Sværke Preiss, chairman of Copenhagen’s Social Democratic Youth (DSU), said Mr Jensen’s resignation was a victory for Denmark’s #MeToo movement, which has seen a resurgence almost three years after the movement first started.
“Today we have proven that it has consequences – also for a mayor – not to be aware of his power and thus his responsibility,” Ms Sværke Priess wrote on Twitter.
Additional reporting by Reuters