Uffe Elbæk

Uffe Elbæk
Elbæk in 2025
Member of the Folketing
Assumed office
15 September 2011
ConstituencyCopenhagen
Political leader of the Alternative
In office
27 November 2013 – 1 February 2020
Succeeded byJosephine Fock
Minister of Culture
In office
3 October 2011 – 6 December 2012
Prime MinisterHelle Thorning-Schmidt
Preceded byPer Stig Møller
Succeeded byMarianne Jelved
Personal details
Born (1954-06-15) 15 June 1954
PartyThe Alternative
(2013–2020, 2022–present)
Other political
affiliations
Social Liberal Party
(2011–2013)
Independent
(2020)
Independent Greens
(2020–2022)
Domestic partnerJens Pedersen
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Uffe Elbæk (born 15 June 1954) is a Danish politician, social worker, author, journalist, and entrepreneur. In 2013, he founded the green political party The Alternative, which he led until February 2020.

From 3 October 2011 to December 2012, he served as the Danish Minister of Culture. He was originally a member of the Danish Social Liberal Party, but left in September 2013 to launch The Alternative with Josephine Fock. Elbæk announced on 16 December 2019 that he would stand down as political leader of The Alternative on 1 February 2020. After leaving The Alternative's leadership, Elbæk subsequently left the party completely before joining with two other Alternative parliamentarians to form the new Independent Greens in September 2020. He was succeeded by Josephine Fock. In 2022 Elbæk returned to the Alternative but did not run in the national election of November 2022. Elbæk is the author of several books, most recently the autobiography "Et liv" (2022), the story of the Kaospilots, "Mirakler i Mejlgade (2024), and the debate book "Tvivl, Håb & Handling" (2023, to be published in English as "Doubt Hope Action" in 2026).