Before his political career took off, Flemming Hansen was preoccupied with shoes.
As a young man, he chose to study economics after graduating from a business school in Copenhagen.
The early working life was used as chief consultant in the Danish Shoe Dealers’ Association from 1963 to 1972.
He later became vice chairman and chairman of the association.
In addition to his position as chief consultant, Flemming Hansen ran shoe stores in Vejle, Fredericia, Odense, Esbjerg, Aarhus and Horsens. He was the director of the shoe chain Holst Sko from 1974 to 2001.
In 1984 he was elected to the Folketing, and here, due to his past, he quickly became known as Sko-Flemming.
He was particularly active as business policy rapporteur, but is probably best known as Minister of Transport in Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s government. The five years he held that title were not without challenges.
One of the major issues in the Minister of Transport’s office was the Fehmarnbelt connection.
The tough negotiations with Germany over a Fehmarn bridge demanded her husband, and he received particular criticism that Denmark had to run the economic risk.
In addition, he also messed with the IC4 scandal, where 83 IC4 trains were delayed for several years.
However, the state auditors concluded that the main responsibility for the delayed IC4 trains lay neither with the Conservative minister nor DSB, but instead with the Italian manufacturer AnsaldoBreda.
Flemming Hansen leaves behind his wife Birgit Schultz and two sons.
One of the sons has followed in his father’s footsteps. Niels Flemming Hansen is CEO of the shoe chain Holst Sko and a conservative member of the Folketing.
Source: The Nordic Page