From Heavy Rocker to Ambassador
Q&A with Lars Gert Lose, Ambassador of Denmark

Name: Lars Gert Lose| Age: 46 | Hometown: Tønder, Denmark Ambassador to the U.S. since: September 17, 2015
Tell U.S. a little bit about your background and career path — did you have any international exposure growing up?
I don’t come from a diplomatic family — my brother and I were raised by my single mother back in Tønder, a small town on the Danish-German border. Our family wasn’t especially internationally-oriented, except for some German friends that lived across the border.
How did you end up in the Foreign Ministry?
I actually played music for a year and a half after high school. I was a heavy rocker — with long hair and everything — and thought that it was going to be my career. It turned out that I didn’t have the talent for it and I quickly realized that this shouldn’t be my life-long career.
After that I studied forestry for a year. I thought I was supposed to go and work in the forest…I was a confused young man back then (laughs). While studying forestry in Copenhagen, I met my wife who was studying at a different university in Aarhus. So when it turned out that forestry wasn’t the right fit for me, I switched to political science and transferred to Aarhus, where she was.
I had traveled in Australia, Europe, and the U.S. and had always been interested in international affairs so it felt natural for me at the time to study international politics. I had planned to do a PhD in international politics in Florence but thought that I should gain some real-life experience in diplomacy first. The day after I handed in my dissertation, I started working for the Foreign Ministry. My intention was to work a year or two in the Foreign Ministry and then go back…but here I am 20 years later, a career diplomat working in the Foreign Ministry ever since.
What are your favorite parts of the job?
The U.S. is such an important partner to Denmark, so it’s a real privilege to be here as a diplomat. Denmark actually has the longest-standing unbroken diplomatic relations with the U.S., dating back to 1801. We’re very proud of that. From 1861 to 1930, over 300,000 Danes migrated to the U.S. At the time, it was 1 out of 9 Danes, so we have a big Danish community in the U.S. We share a lot of history, values, and interests.
Any major military operation that the U.S. has led in the last 20 years, Denmark has been part of. Per capita, we are probably the country that delivers the most when it comes to international operations. We were in the Balkans, Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan with the U.S. We are now back in Iraq and Syria with Special Forces andF16’s training Iraqi forces. Maintaining and strengthening special relationships — that’s one of the best parts of my job.
Denmark is a small country, a bit smaller than Maryland, but we have a big impact and a solid footprint in the U.S. This is the biggest embassy we have in the world. We also have some offices around the country: Chicago, Silicon Valley, Atlanta, New York, and as of next year also Houston. It’s great to be part in this setup and promote Denmark in the U.S. And that’s one of the reasons I’m very happy being here.
Thinking over your career, what is the most difficult challenge you’ve faced, and how did you overcome it?
One of the most interesting challenges we have had to deal with in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been the transition from classic diplomacy — working in security policy, foreign policy — to the Foreign Ministry of today where about 50% of what we do is commercial diplomacy and helping Danish companies. Furthermore, I do a lot of public diplomacy: social media, interviews, blogs, and articles. Twenty years ago the job of a diplomat was very different. Now we need to be out there with the public and be much more visible. You have to be so much more engaged in branding Denmark and talking to Americans on all platforms available.

What do you think is the most important characteristic or trait that a diplomat needs to be successful?
You have to have the classical ability to network and be well plugged-in to the U.S. administration. You have to know what you’re talking about and be a specialist, especially in foreign and security policy. But that’s not the only thing you need to do today, you also need to be good at doing business. Commercially, the U.S. is now the third biggest market globally for Denmark. We saw an increase in exports of goods last year by 28%. Imagine that…you have this small country in northern Europe where companies are choosing to do business in the U.S. instead of doing business in the UK, France, or Italy…and it’s only growing. A huge part of what I do as an Ambassador and what we do at the embassy is help Danish companies get a foothold in the U.S., and we’re doing extremely well. We have more than 700 Danish companies here in the U.S. creating more than 70,000 direct jobs. It’s well done for a country the size of Denmark with only 5.7 million inhabitants.
What would you say is the most important thing that the EU has done for Denmark and for Europe?
Peace, stability, and economic development are definitely the most important things that the EU has done — both for Denmark and for Europe. The EU healed the continent after the Second World War, something we tend to forget these days.
The EU is going through challenging times with migration, Brexit, Ukraine, and we’re still working to ensure better economic growth — all of which has spurred a lot of discussion about the future of the EU. We tend to forget why the EU was built in the first place.
The economic progress that Europe has experienced due to the EU is enormous. 70% of all Danish exports go to EU countries. Being part of the internal market is extremely important for us economically. We’re a small country; we have almost no natural resources, so we have been building our economy on free trade.
The economic progress that we’ve seen in Europe over the last 60 years wouldn’t have been possible without the EU — we also tend to forget that when we discuss all these other crises.

What would you hope to see the EU accomplish during your time here as Ambassador?
Obviously, there are plenty of “must do’s” on the plate. The EU will have to get past Brexit, ensure economic growth and jobs, secure our external borders, just to mention a few things that are important. When it comes to the U.S., we also need to be better at communicating what the EU is all about and why it is an essential part of the transatlantic partnership in terms of economic development, peace, and security. We cannot take that for granted.
With all the global challenges facing us right now the U.S. needs a strong and stable partner in Europe. And we need a strong partner in the U.S. and a strong transatlantic relationship.
Of course it would be a dream come true if we could negotiate a free trade agreement between the U.S. and EU. I truly believe that this would be to the benefit of all.
What do you like most about living in DC?
The thing I like most about being in DC is my job, but it’s a great place to live as a family, as well. I have 3 kids: 17, 14, and the little one is 6. For Danish kids, it’s a good experience to go to school in the U.S. Our kids learn a lot here in DC — you wouldn’t recognize them compared to when we came here more than a year ago. Americans are very good at celebrating when you’re good at something as an individual…everybody is good at something. That has really boosted their confidence and motivated them to get out there and do what they do best. I was a bit concerned to cross the Atlantic with two teenagers, but it only took them a couple weeks before they were integrated — heavy American accent included. Our biggest concern right now is whether we are actually going to get them back to Denmark again.

What are some things that you or your family likes to do for fun in DC?
We go to museums almost every weekend. The little one especially loves going to Mount Vernon and seeing the horses and people dressed in traditional costumes, so we do that a lot. This city is great because you can go to Virginia or Maryland and see American History all in one place. I like mountain biking with my kids and we also play a lot of music.
Is there anything unique, weird, quirky…that most people don’t know about you?
Most people don’t know that I spent two years as a heavy rocker…with hair down to here (gestures to waist). I actually would curl it! I don’t think people would recognize me from back then — a head banger, until my wife arrived…
I also like reading biographies about classic rock bands like Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones and then I’ll play their music. On our Constitution Day last year, I played the Danish National Anthem Jimi Hendrix-style…I think that was pretty shocking to people. So I guess that’s my dark side.

You talked about your brief musical career…but if you weren’t an Ambassador or in the Foreign Service, what would you be?
I worked for six years in Copenhagen as the head of communication for the Foreign Minister’s office and worked a lot with political communication. I really enjoyed that, so I think I would be working in communications as a journalist, commenting on politics.
What advice would you give to young people today?
Maintain a keen and open interest in politics. I tell my kids when we discuss politics: keep an open mind, try to discuss things from all sides, and engage in a real discussion to find some common ground. It’s especially important these days, with very polarized debates in politics.
If you could pick a few things to share with Americans about Denmark, what would they be?
First of all, it would probably be our passion for biking. That’s the only thing my kids miss. Back in Denmark, you just let them out of the house and they take their bikes and go into the city, or to meet their friends. We love biking.
We are the happiest nation in the world, the most transparent, the least corrupt, most egalitarian society, the best country to be a woman in.
Our society is built on the welfare state ensuring universal health care and free education. This is not to say that Denmark is a “socialist utopia”. We are a very well-functioning liberal market economy. Forbes has actually ranked Denmark as the #1 country to do business in.
You mentioned that Denmark is the best country to be a woman. Given that Denmark is one of the most gender equal countries in the world, why is gender equality still such a top priority — for you, and for Denmark?
First of all — it is the right thing to do. As one of our ministers put it “You cannot win a soccer match with half of the team on the bench.”
Furthermore, it’s a great economic benefit to society for both men and women to work. Denmark has recently pledged 10 million dollars in support of the new Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative.
Equality has always been a part of the DNA of Danes. It’s part of what we do, it’s part of what we are, and therefore it’s part of what we work with, internationally. And also here in the U.S., for that matter.
What needs to be in place to have “achieved” gender equality?
The first thing to achieve gender equality is put the structures in place that allow for both women and men to actually work. This means quality childcare, for example, which makes it possible for both men and women to work. Furthermore, in Denmark, you have one year of paid maternity leave and three months of paid paternity leave. You can actually divide up the one year between the parents if you want.
On a cultural level, it needs to be universally accepted to actually take maternity or paternity leave, so that it doesn’t work to your disadvantage.
When both men and women take maternity and paternity leave, you can come back and pursue your career as if you had been there the whole time. It has to be part of your mindset that this is just something you do. I took paternity leave myself…it’s a very good thing to do.
I’ve heard a lot about hygge…tell us a little bit more about that!
Hygee is the way we are — it’s part of our DNA. It’s such a big part of everything you do in Denmark…probably due to the climate — it’s dark, rainy, and wet about 8 months a year! So during those 8 months, we light candles, and do hygge, which is basically coziness and having a good time with family and friends. It’s very informal — we’ll play board games, eat together…most of the time is spent on sofas. We don’t go out that much, to be honest. Some people claim that hygge is the key to our happiness! We’ve ranked for many years as the happiest nation in the world.



This story is part of the @EUintheUS “Ambassador Spotlight Series,” featuring in-depth, personal interviews with ambassadors from the European Union’s 28 member states. Follow our publication and stay tuned for the next story.

