Minister for Immigration and Integration Mattias Tesfaye was on Monday named as the new Justice Minister in Denmark in a government reshuffle.
He was at the forefront of Denmark’s pursuit of an offshore asylum centre in Rwanda, a plan criticised by the UN and rights groups, and was criticised at the EU parliament over Denmark’s policy of repatriating some of its Syrian refugees from the Damascus area. The movements following Hækkerup’s surpise announcement on Sunday that he was quitting his post at the Ministry of Justice, perhaps the most high-profile position in the Danish government after the Prime Minister, to become chairperson at the Danish Brewers’ Association (Bryggeriforeningen). Three ministerial portfolios changed hands on Monday following the unexpected resignation on Sunday of the erstwhile Minister of Justice Nick Hækkerup.
Mattias Tesfaye moves from immigration to replace Nick Hækkerup, who quits politics to become head of the Danish Brewers' Association.
Meanwhile, the void left by Tesfaye has been filled by internal affairs and housing minister Kaare Dybvad Bek, while MP Christian Rabjerg Madsen steps in to replace Bek. That move has prompted Mattias Tesfaye to leave his position as immigration minister to replace Hækkerup as justice minister. The news comes as Nick Hækkerup announced his resignation as justice minister last night, a position he leaves to exit politics altogether and assume the role as head of the Danish Brewers’ Association.