Dethroned Union boss will not go quiet into the night: “There were never sexual intentions on my part”

At the end of April, Lizette Risgaard, Head of the Danish trade union confederation FH, had to resign following accusations of inappropriate behaviour. Now she gives her view on the dramatic departure shortly before the management of FH receives a lawyer’s investigation into the whole matter

On Thursday, the management of FH will receive the external legal investigation, which was ordered when a string of accusations of touching young male staff members in an inappropriate manner for years violations were published.

Following a few days of intense media storm, Lizette Risgaard chose to step down as chairman. She has not spoken since – until now.

In a longer interview with Finans.dk Risgaard regrets the process. Including that at a critical moment she left the responsibility for her Facebook post about the matter to external communications advisers.

“I regret that I left it to others. Because I didn’t hurt anyone. And there have never been any sexual intentions on my part. And I have been fully aware of my own position and the power that naturally comes with it. I have not used that power towards employees, members or others that I have met on my way,” Risgaard told Finans.

More to come
In the interview, Risgaard criticizes the legal position one is in as an accused. The media – and in this case politicians in other trade unions – pass judgment quickly.

The 63-year-old Risgaard announces a follow-up from her side when the lawyer’s investigation is available.

“Depending on how FH and the confederations choose to publish the report or parts of it, I will of course also present my interpretation of the result. Then it will be seen whether there will be an aftermath, including a legal aftermath,” Risgaard said.

Thus, the trade union movement can look forward to a stormy time. On September 7, Risgaard’s replacement as chairman will be elected at an extraordinary congress.

The current chairman Morten Skov Christiansen is acting in the role, and it is unclear whether he is a candidate for the position.

The choice of chairman will inevitably be linked to the handling of Lizette Risgaard’s case and how FH will avoid similar cases in the future.




  • Chinese wind turbine companies sign pact to end race-to-the-bottom price war

    Chinese wind turbine companies sign pact to end race-to-the-bottom price war

    China’s 12 leading wind turbine makers have signed a pact to end a domestic price war that has seen turbines sold at below cost price in a race to corner the market and which has compromised quality and earnings in the sector.

  • Watch Novo Nordisk’s billion-kroner musical TV ad for Wegovy

    Watch Novo Nordisk’s billion-kroner musical TV ad for Wegovy

    Novo Nordisk’s TV commercial for the slimming drug Wegovy has been shown roughly 32,000 times and reached 8.8 billion US viewers since June.

  • Retention is the new attraction

    Retention is the new attraction

    Many people every year choose to move to Denmark and Denmark in turn spends a lot of money to attract and retain this international talent. Are they staying though? If they leave, do they go home or elsewhere? Looking at raw figures, we can see that Denmark is gradually becoming more international but not everyone is staying. 

  • Defence Minister: Great international interest in Danish military technology

    Defence Minister: Great international interest in Danish military technology

    Denmark’s Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen attended the Association of the Unites States Army’s annual expo in Washington DC from 14 to 16 October, together with some 20 Danish leading defence companies, where he says Danish drone technology attracted significant attention.

  • Doctors request opioids in smaller packs as over-prescription wakes abuse concerns

    Doctors request opioids in smaller packs as over-prescription wakes abuse concerns

    Doctors, pharmacies and politicians have voiced concern that the pharmaceutical industry’s inability to supply opioid prescriptions in smaller packets, and the resulting over-prescription of addictive morphine pills, could spur levels of opioid abuse in Denmark.

  • Housing in Copenhagen – it runs in the family

    Housing in Copenhagen – it runs in the family

    Residents of cooperative housing associations in Copenhagen and in Frederiksberg distribute vacant housing to their own family members to a large extent. More than one in six residents have either parents, siblings, adult children or other close family living in the same cooperative housing association.


  • Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    On Friday 27 and Saturday 28 of September, The Copenhagen Post will be at International Citizen Days in Øksnehallen on Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Admission is free and thousands of internationals are expected to attend

  • Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Chisom Udeze, the founder of Diversify – a global organization that works at the intersection of inclusion, democracy, freedom, climate sustainability, justice, and belonging – shares how struggling to find a community in Norway motivated her to build a Nordic-wide professional network. We also hear from Dr. Poornima Luthra, Associate Professor at CBS, about how to address bias in the workplace.

  • Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality, home to Denmark’s largest infrastructure project – the Fehmarnbelt tunnel connection to Germany – has launched a new jobseeker support package for the accompanying partners of international employees in the area. The job-to-partner package offers free tailored sessions on finding a job and starting a personal business.