Inger Støjberg grew up as the daughter of a housewife and a farmer near the village of Hjerk, Salling. In 1993, she graduated from Morsø Gymnasium in Nykøbing Mors. In 1995, she finished the one-year higher commerce exam in Viborg. In 1996, on the same school of commerce, she attended a one-year economical communication study that had been instated in the meantime. In 1999 she graduated from InformationsAkademiet. The same year, she began working as a reporter at the Viborg newspaper, and in the following year, she became an independent communication agent and continued to work for the paper until 2001. In 2004, Støjberg published a biography of the North Jutlandic pop duoSussi og Leo. In the year 2008, she married the long-time editor of Berlingske, Jesper Beinov, who, since 2016, is employed as a consultant of the Danish ministry of finances. Having no children, the couple divorced in 2012. In the year 2013, Støjberg achieved the title of Master of Business Administration from the University of Aalborg. She lives in Hadsund.
Political career
Støjberg was first elected to office as a member of the city council of Viborg Municipality, a position she occupied from 1994 to 2002. Additionally, she served as chairman of Liberalt Oplysnings Forbund from 1996 to 1999. In 1999, she first ran for parliament. With the electoral victory of her party in 2001, then headed by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, she entered parliament. Since 2005, Støjberg has been a member of the Venstre party management. From 2005 to 2007, she was deputy faction chairwoman in the Folketing. Since 2007, she has represented the electoral district of Western Jutland. From 2007 to 2009, Støjberg was a spokesperson for Venstre. After the head of governmentAnders Fogh Rasmussen transferred to a new role in NATO, Støjberg became, in April 2009, Minister of Employment and Minister of Gender Equality, succeeding Claus Hjort Frederiksen. In 2010, the ministries were restructured and Støjberg was, until the electoral defeat of the conservative camp in 2011, only Minister of Employment. In the opposition, Støjberg became one of the leading public voices of her party and occupied from 2014 to the electoral victory in 2015 the post of spokesperson for Venstre. She has been Minister for Immigration and Integration since June 2015.
Controversies
Støjberg led a tightening of Danish asylum law which came into force1 September 2015, and which, among other things, limited the provision of social services for asylum seekers. According to Støjberg, it should be unattractive for asylum seekers to travel into Denmark. Creating a controversy amongst interest groups advocating for asylum seekers and migrants, ads were posted in Lebanese newspapers under Støjberg in which people were warned against applying for asylum in Denmark. Moreover, particularly in the Anglophone sphere, the "Jewellery law", which was introduced under Støjberg, and which decreed that asylum seekers would already at the bordergive up a part of their valuables as a pledge for later service costs was critically reported on, in connection to which comparisons to Nazism were also made by commentators. In March 2017, Støjberg again attracted international media attention when she celebrated the 50th tightening of immigration law during her tenure as Minister for Immigration with a cake that she photographed and published on Facebook. Støjberg is currently involved in a controversial application of the Aliens Act being used to criminalize professors who speak or write publicly, which is being classified as a violation of work visas. In May 2018, Støjberg published a post through the Danish tabloid BT, saying that Muslims fasting during Ramadan should take leave from work “to avoid negative consequences for the rest of Danish society.” Støjberg cited bus drivers as an example of workers whose performance could be negatively affected by abstaining from food and drink. Her comments provoked a backlash from other Danish politicians. A spokeswoman for the Danish government issued a statement which claimed that Støjberg comments were her own and did not represent the views of the country's government. Bus companies also distanced themselves from Støjberg's comments. Arriva, which runs a number of bus routes in Denmark, reported that it had never had any accidents involving drivers who were fasting.
