It is essential that Danmarks Nationalbank is independent of the political system and cannot come under pressure from policymakers or individuals. To ensure its independence, Danmarks Nationalbank’s supreme decision-making authority is vested in a Board of Directors. The members of the Board of Directors are permanent secretaries appointed by the Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, MPs and representatives from the Danish corporate sector and organisations.
Danmarks Nationalbank’s Board of Directors appoints members of the Committee of Directors and two of the three Governors of the Board of Governors.
Division of responsibilities between Board of Directors and Committee of Directors
The Board of Directors usually meets once every three months to perform quarterly inspections, approve the financial statements and determine the framework for appointments and salaries, among other responsibilities.
The Board of Directors also selects five of its 25 members to serve on Danmarks Nationalbank’s Committee of Directors, which usually meets ten times a year and so oversees Danmarks Nationalbank’s Board of Governors and employees even more closely.
The Committee of Directors is charged with keeping informed of im-portant aspects of Danmarks Nationalbank’s activities, approving appointments of assistant governors and directors, overseeing that auditing is planned satisfactorily and reviewing Danmarks Nationalbank’s major exposures etc.
The Committee of Directors selects the proposals and recommendations to be put to the vote at the meetings of the Board of Directors.
Appointment of members
On behalf of the government, the Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs appoints two of the 25 members of the Board of Directors, and the Folketing (Danish Parliament) appoints eight members. The Board of Directors appoints the remaining 15 members on the basis of in-depth knowledge of business conditions and with the aim of ensuring geographical and professional diversity and representation of employees.
Members of the Board of Directors are elected for five-year terms and may be re-elected only twice.
The Committee of Directors has seven members. The two members of the Board of Directors appointed by the Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs are permanent members and are not elected.
The other five members of the Committee of Directors are elected by the Board of Directors from among its members. It is customary to elect two MPs among the five, representing the government and the opposition. Members of the Committee of Directors are elected for one-year terms.
Current members of the Board of Directors
As of 20 September 2024, the members of Danmarks Nationalbank’s Board of Directors are:
Chairman: Professor Christian Schultz
Deputy Chairman: Anne Hedensted Steffensen, Managing Director
Elected by the Folketing
Alex Ahrendtsen, MP
Lisbeth Bech-Nielsen, MP
Louise Elholm, MP
Preben Bang Henriksen, MP
Samira Nawa, MP
Anne Paulin, MP
Jesper Petersen, MP
Linea Søgaard-Lidell, MP
Appointed by the Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs
Elected by the Board of Directors
Jens Bjørn Andersen, Managing Director
Morten Skov Christiansen, President
Asger Enggaard, Managing Director
Kathrine Forsberg, Managing Director
Winni Grosbøll, Director
Kristian Hundebøll, CEO
Claus Jensen, President
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO
Marianne Lyngby Pedersen, Managing Director
Mette Lykke Ravn, CEO
Elisa Rimpler, President
Philipp Schröder, Professor
Christian Schultz, Professor
Anne Hedensted Steffensen, Managing Director
Christian Woller, Managing Director
Christian Schultz
Chairman of Danmarks Nationalbank’s Board of Directors and Committee of Directors 2018-
Age
Born 17 June 1957
Family
Lives with his partner Merete Hytting. Two children (1983, 1986)
Education
Master of Science (Economics) (cand.polit), University of Copenhagen, 1984
PhD, University of Copenhagen, 1987
Employment
PhD student, Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen, 1984-87
Postdoc, Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen, 1987-89
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen, 1989-95
Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen, 1995-
Head of Department, Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen, 2010-
Committees, boards etc.
Member of the Danish Competition Council, 2001-
(Chair 2012-)
Member of Danmarks Nationalbank’s Board of Directors, 2014-
(Deputy Chairman 2015-2018, Chairman 2018-)
Member of Danmarks Nationalbank’s Committee of Directors, 2017-
(Chairman 2018-)
Current members of the Committee of Directors
As of 20 September 2024, the members of Danmarks Nationalbank’s Committee of Directors are:
Chairman: Professor Christian Schultz
Deputy Chairman: Jens Brøchner , Permanent Secretary of State for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs
Elected by the Board of Directors
Preben Bang Henriksen, MP
Kristian Hundebøll, CEO
Anne Paulin, MP
Elisa Rimpler, President
Professor Christian Schultz
Appointed by the Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs
Jens Brøchner, Permanent Secretary of State for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs
Johan Legarth, Permanent Secretary of State for Justice