Hans Christian Andersen returns to Danish bank notes
Denmark’s bank notes have had various themes over the decades, but it’s been a while since they featured the country’s most famous historical figure (from a foreign viewpoint, at least), Hans Christian Andersen.
H.C. Andersen, as he is known to Danes, will appear on a new series of bank notes to be launched in 2028, at which time all previous design issues prior to the current set from 2009 will go out of commission.
That means all older notes will no longer be legal tender, including the 1954-issue 10-krone note which was the last to feature the popular children’s author.
Outdated notes have been allowed up to now under cash laws, although shop assistants would probably have to spend a bit of time verifying the rarer ones. But that is to change because the old notes – apart from the 2009 set – are now too easy to counterfeit, the central bank, Nationalbanken, has said.
READ ALSO: Expiring Danish banknotes worth ‘billions’ still in circulation
Other famous figures to appear on the new notes will include astronomer Tycho Brahe, seismologist Inge Lehmann and Greenland expeditionist Arnarulunnguaq. The list was released by the Nationalbank this week.
Denmark’s monarchs do not appear on the country’s banknotes, so there’s no switchover from Queen Margrethe to King Frederik X. In fact, recent series of notes have not featured people at all: the 2009 range going instead with bridges and archaeological discoveries.
In 1972, artist Jens Juel was commissioned to produce portraits for the notes of that era. Interestingly, Juel placed himself among noteworthy Danes of the time, putting a self-portrait on the 100-krone.
Should you be interested, you can view all the banknotes of Denmark’s past here.
How much do Danish governments care about equality ministry?
The reshuffle announced by the government at the end of last month involved the latest in a long series of major changes for the minister in charge of equality.
As part of the reshuffle, Liberal (Venstre) MP Marie Bjerre, who was Minister for Digitisation and Equality, left that role to take on the newly-created brief as Europe Minister.
Caroline Olsen, of the Moderates became the new digitisation minister, but is not responsible for equality with Bjerre’s former brief now split. Equality has been moved to the environment ministry, which means Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke can now also call himself Minister for Equality.
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Denmark’s first-ever equality minister, Jytte Andersen, was appointed to the job in 1999.
Since then, 16 different ministers have held the post and it has been moved many times, placed under larger ministries including Housing, Social Affairs, Employment, Welfare, Climate and Energy, the Church, Integration, Fishing, Agriculture, and the list goes on.
In broadcaster DR’s political podcast Slotsholmen, the original Minister for Equality called the potted history of the role “embarrassing”.
“I think this is one of the most embarrassing things I have experienced in politics, and I have experienced quite a lot in 28 years,” she said.
“It shows that it is not a prioritised area, and that is the sad thing for equality,” she said.
“Equality is one of [Denmark’s] universal values, especially when we promote ourselves to others, and then we treat the issue of equality the way we do. I don’t think that really works,” she said.
The ex-minister argued that most of the major legislation implemented by Denmark on equality over the years can actually be traced to EU directives.
She said that, were it up to her, equality would be a fixed part of the Employment Ministry.
IKEA customers wrongly charged thousands of kroner
More than 2000 IKEA customers in Denmark have had up to thousands of kroner withdrawn from their accounts – regardless of whether they have bought anything.
A “human error” in IKEA’s IT systems has resulted in the customers being overcharged, the company’s director of communications Christian Mouroux told newspaper BT.
The amounts range from a few thousand to up to 60,000 kroner, the media outlet reported this week.
“A group of customers was charged an amount that they should not have been charged, based on a full or partial cancellation of their order,” Mouroux stated.
IKEA has moved to assure customers that arbitrary amounts will not be charged to their accounts in the future.
Mouroux also told BT that “the vast majority” of the affected customers have now had their money refunded, and that IKEA is working to process the remaining refunds.
IKEA’s stores in Denmark get 9.3 million visits annually, along with 46.9 million visits to its website and app.
Denmark’s six IKEA stores are located in Taastrup, Gentofte, Copenhagen, Odense, Aarhus, and Aalborg.
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