Esben Lunde Larsen named new food and agriculture minister

Ulla Tørnæs has replaced him as education and research minister

The prime minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, has revealed that Esben Lunde Larsen will be Denmark’s new food and agriculture minister.

Larsen, the education and research minister since the new Rasmussen-led government came to power last summer, replaces Eva Kjer Hansen, who resigned following the scandal involving the contentious agriculture package approved by Parliament last week.

Meanwhile, Ulla Tørnæs – the minster of education from 2001-2005 under the Anders Fogh Rasmussen government and a member of the European Parliament since 2014 – has been named the new education and research minister.

READ MORE: Eva Kjer Hansen resigns as food and agriculture minister

Following Helle’s lead
It is the second time that Rasmussen has been forced to make ministerial changes since his second term as prime minister commenced last summer.

Carl Holst resigned as defence minister in September last year over a scandal following his pay-off from his previous job as head of Region Syddanmark.

Still, Rasmussen has a long way to go to surpass the ministerial musical chairs that occurred during the Helle Thorning-Schmidt government.