{{Short description|Danish politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Torsten Nielsen | image = Torsten_Nielsen_20131119.jpg | caption = Nielsen in 2013 | office = Mayor of Viborg Municipality | term_start = 3 September 2014 | term_end = 31 December 2017 | predecessor = Søren Pape Poulsen | successor = Ulrik Wilbek | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|03|05|df=y}} | birth_place = Sparkær, Denmark | death_date = | death_place = | party = Conservative People's Party }} '''Torsten Nielsen''' (born 5 March 1967)<ref name=eb/> is a Danish politician and former real estate agent. He was mayor of Viborg Municipality for the Conservative People's Party from 3 September 2014 to 31 December 2017. Nielsen worked as a licensed real estate agent between 1992 and 2021, and he was elected to the Viborg Municipality city council in 2009, where he was re-elected in 2013.<ref name=eb/> Nielsen succeeded the former mayor, Søren Pape Poulsen, when he was appointed as the new leader of the Conservative People's Party in 2017.<ref name=VK-PM>{{Cite web|url=http://kommune.viborg.dk/Om-kommunen/Presserum/Pressemeddelelser/2014/August/Ny-borgmester|title=Torsten Nielsen ny borgmester i Viborg – pressemøde torsdag kl. 11.00 |date=14 August 2014|accessdate=16 August 2014|publisher=Viborg Kommune}}</ref>
==Civil career== Nielsen is a licensed real estate agent and started running his own business in 1992, first in his hometown Sparkjær, before moving to Stoholm in 2012.<ref name=eb>{{Cite news|url=http://ekstrabladet.dk/nyheder/politik/danskpolitik/article4964063.ece|title=Torsten Nielsen er ny Viborg-borgmester|date=13 August 2014|accessdate=16 August 2014|publisher=Ekstra Bladet}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kommune.viborg.dk/Politik/Byraad-og-udvalg/Byraadet/Fakta-om-byraadsmedlemmer/Torsten-Nielsen|title=Torsten Nielsen|publisher=Viborg Kommune|accessdate=16 August 2014}}</ref> In 2021, he sold his real estate agency to focus full-time on his job in the Viborg city council.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Norup |first1=Lars |title=Borgmesterkandidat sælger sine forretninger for at blive fuldtids politiker – næsten |url=https://viborg-folkeblad.dk/viborg/borgmesterkandidat-saelger-sine-forretninger-for-at-blive-fuldtids-politiker-naesten |access-date=12 September 2023 |work=Viborg Folkeblad |date=27 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912190455/https://viborg-folkeblad.dk/viborg/borgmesterkandidat-saelger-sine-forretninger-for-at-blive-fuldtids-politiker-naesten |archive-date=12 September 2023 |language=da}}</ref>
==Political career== Nielsen ventured into local politics during discussions surrounding school closures.<ref name="eb" /> He was first elected to the Viborg City Council in 2009 and subsequently re-elected in both 2013 and 2017.<ref name="eb" /> Following the 2013 election, he assumed the role of chairman of the Municipality's Climate and Environment Committee.<ref name="VK-PM" /> On 3 September 2014, he took over as mayor following the departure of Søren Pape Poulsen, who became the new leader of the Conservative People's Party, while Social Democrat Flemming Lund assumed Nielsen's former position as chairman of the Climate and Environment Committee.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Just |first1=Henning |title=Ny formand for klima- og miljøudvalget |url=https://viborg-folkeblad.dk/viborg/ny-formand-for-klima-og-miljoeudvalget |access-date=12 September 2023 |work=Viborg Folkeblad |date=14 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912191519/https://viborg-folkeblad.dk/viborg/ny-formand-for-klima-og-miljoeudvalget |archive-date=12 September 2023 |language=da}}</ref> However, Nielsen faced defeat by fellow Venstre candidate Ulrik Wilbek in the contest for the mayor's position in Viborg during the 2017 Danish local elections.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ahrens |first1=Kevin |title=Wilbek ny borgmester i Viborg |url=https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/kv17/wilbek-ny-borgmester-i-viborg |access-date=12 September 2023 |work=DR |date=22 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124010832/https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/kv17/wilbek-ny-borgmester-i-viborg |archive-date=24 January 2021 |language=da}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Torsten}} Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Conservative People's Party (Denmark) politicians Category:People from Viborg Municipality Category:21st-century mayors of places in Denmark
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