Denmark Names Tech Millionaire TV-Star as New Education Minister

(Bloomberg) -- Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen reshuffled his cabinet to include one of the country's most famous venture capitalists ahead of a general election due by June 2019.

Tommy Ahlers, a star of the Danish version of the “Shark Tank,” a US television show in which startups pitch their products to millionaire investors, will become minister of education. The 42-year old earned his fortune selling technology startup companies to Vodaphone Plc and Citrix Systems Inc.

Jakob Ellemann-Jensen will become the new minister for the environment, the prime minister's office said in a statement on Wednesday. The 44-year-old currently coordinates the policies of Rasmussen's Liberal Party in parliament. Eva Kjer Hansen, a 53-year-old former food minister, becomes the new fisheries minister.

The three replace outgoing Education Minister Soren Pind, Environment Minister Esben Lunde Larsen and Fisheries Minister Karen Ellemann, the sister of the new environment minister.

Rasmussen's center-right coalition government has been trailing in recent opinion polls, which suggest that the Social Democrat-led opposition has a strong chance of returning to power in the Nordic country.

To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Levring in Copenhagen at plevring1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jonas Bergman at jbergman@bloomberg.net, Christian Wienberg, Nick Rigillo

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