Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen
{{Short description|British-Danish dentist and politician (born 1959)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen
| honorific-suffix =
| image = Henrik Nielsen MEP.jpg
| party = Brexit (UK)
People's Movement against the EU and June Movement (Denmark)
| constituency_MP = North West England
| status =
| term_start = 2 July 2019
| term_end = 31 January 2020
| parliament = European
| predecessor = Louise Bours
| successor = Constituency abolished
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1959|08|02|df=y}}
| birth_place = Frederiksberg, Denmark
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = Danish, British
| spouse = Sharon Bierer
| relations =
| children = 2
| residence =
| alma_mater = University of Copenhagen
| occupation = Dentist
| profession =
| website =
}}
Henrik Eyser Overgaard-Nielsen (born 2 August 1959) is a British-Danish dentist and politician who served as a Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the North West of England between 2019 and the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU on 31 January 2020.
Early life
Henrik Eyser Overgaard-Nielsen{{cite web|url=https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2019-05-27/european-elections-2019-who-are-the-north-wests-new-meps/|title=European Elections 2019: who are the North West's new MEPs?|author=|date=|website=ITV News|accessdate=27 May 2019}} was born in Denmark. His father was a leading campaigner against Denmark joining the European Economic Community, which it did in 1973.{{cite web|url=http://nyheder.tv2.dk/udland/2019-05-22-britisk-brexit-parti-staar-til-kanonvalg-og-en-af-kandidaterne-hedder-henrik|title=Britisk Brexit-parti står til kanonvalg - og en af kandidaterne hedder Henrik - TV 2|author=|date=22 May 2019|website=nyheder.tv2.dk|accessdate=28 May 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.altinget.dk/navnenyt/dansk-tandlaege-er-valgt-til-europa-parlamentet-for-brexit-party|title=Dansk tandlæge er valgt til Europa-Parlamentet for Brexit Party|last=Mandag Den 27. Maj 2019|date=|website=www.altinget.dk|accessdate=27 May 2019}} He was active in the June Movement and one of the leaders of the successful no-campaign at the Danish referendum on the Maastricht Treaty in 1992.{{Cite news | title=Nu kan Brexit-danskeren endelig rejse hjem fra EU: »Jeg har faktisk ikke noget positivt at sige« | language=da | url=https://www.berlingske.dk/internationalt/nu-kan-brexit-danskeren-endelig-rejse-hjem-fra-eu-jeg-har-faktisk | date=25 January 2020 | accessdate=24 February 2023 | last=Alsen | first=Michael | work=Berlingske}} He qualified as a dentist in Copenhagen in 1983.{{cite web |title=NHS Dentist – Our Dentists |url=https://www.nhsdentist.com/nhs-dentist-team |website=NHS Dentist |accessdate=27 May 2019}}
Dental career
Overgaard-Nielsen is GDP who started NHS Dentist, an NHS dental practice in Fulham, London in 1999.{{cite web|url=https://www.bda.org/news-centre/press-releases/henrik-overgaard-nielsen-elected-chair-of-gdpc|title=Henrik Overgaard Nielsen elected chair of GDPC|author=|date=|website=www.bda.org|accessdate=26 May 2019}} The practice was started with Sharon Bierer, his British-born wife.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/feb/21/health.comment|title=Nice dentists, shame about the quotas|first=John|last=Carvel|date=21 February 2007|publisher=|accessdate=27 May 2019|via=www.theguardian.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/content/articles/2008/04/10/london_dentists_s13_w7_feature.shtml|title=Teething trouble|last=BBC|date=|website=www.bbc.co.uk|accessdate=27 May 2019}}
In 2013, following a 2012 holiday in the country, Overgaard-Nielsen and Bierer founded a charity, Burmadent, to provide dental services in the Inle Lake area of Myanmar (Burma).{{cite web|url=https://www.dentalnursenetwork.com/news/620-belief-and-relief-in-burma-burmadent.html|title=Belief and Relief in Burma: Burmadent|author=|date=|website=www.dentalnursenetwork.com|accessdate=27 May 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://www.burmadent.com/history|title=History - Burma Dental Volunteers|author=|date=|website=www.burmadent.com|accessdate=27 May 2019}}
In 2015, Overgaard-Nielsen was elected as the chair of the General Dental Practice Committee (GDPC) of the British Dental Association (BDA), having previously been the vice chair. He was re-elected in January 2019.{{cite web|url=https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/3253-danish-dental-politician-to-stand-for-the-brexit-party-in-coming-euro-elections|title=GDPUK.com - Danish dental politician to stand for the Brexit Party in coming Euro elections|author=|date=|website=www.gdpuk.com|accessdate=26 May 2019}}
Political career
Overgaard-Nielsen has been an active opponent of the EU since the late 1970s, first in the People's Movement against the EU and later in the June Movement.{{Cite news | title=Dansker skal sidde i EU-Parlamentet med Farage: "Vi har jo ikke fået så mange stemmer, fordi vi er virkelig dygtige" | language=da | url=https://www.altinget.dk/artikel/dansker-skal-sidde-i-eu-parlamentet-med-nigel-farage-vi-er-jo-ikke-blevet-valgt-fordi-vi-er-virkelig-dygtige | date=30 June 2020 | accessdate=25 February 2023 | last=Bruhn | first=Malte | work=Altinget}} In 1992, Overgaard-Nielsen was co-chairman of the "No" campaign in the Danish referendum on the Maastricht Treaty.{{cite web|url=http://cphpost.dk/news/danish-brexiteer-wins-election-vowing-to-learn-the-lessons-of-his-countrys-1992-maastricht-no-vote.html|title=Danish Brexiteer wins election, vowing to learn the lessons of his country's 1992 Maastricht 'No' vote – The Post|author=|date=|website=cphpost.dk|accessdate=27 May 2019}}
In April 2019, Overgaard-Nielsen was announced as a Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) candidate for the North West of England. He subsequently won his seat in the 2019 European Parliament election.
Overgaard-Nielsen considers himself to be a socialist, in 2020 booklet Reclaiming Democracy: The Left Case for Sovereignty that he co-authored with fellow Brexit Party MEP Claire Fox, he said that when he campaigned against the Maastricht Treaty in his native Denmark in 1992, "the 'No' side was dominated by socialists and supported by intellectual and artistic elites", but when he moved to the UK in 1996, he found the Euroscepticism there anchored on the right and far-right, while the intelligentsia was mostly pro-EU. He explained his left-wing eurosceptic views by saying that "The EU is rooted in four holy ‘pillars’: unregulated movement of capital, goods, labour and services. The most ardent cheerleaders for these freedoms are large multinational corporations, lobbyists and the middle-class establishment."{{Cite web |last=Fox |first=Claire |last2=Overgaard-Nielsen |first2=Henrik |date= |title=Reclaiming Democracy: The Left Case for Sovereignty |url=https://clairefoxmep.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/reclaiming-democracy-left-case-for-sovereignty-book.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114151015/https://clairefoxmep.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/reclaiming-democracy-left-case-for-sovereignty-book.pdf |archive-date=2020-11-14 |access-date=2022-12-21 |website= |pages=5-8}}
Personal life
Overgaard-Nielsen is married to Sharon Bierer, who is British. They have two children, and he divides his time between a home in London{{cite web|url=https://www.cumbriacrack.com/2019/05/10/brexit-party-unveils-eu-election-candidates-standing-in-north-west-region/|title=Brexit Party unveils EU election candidates standing in North West region|first=Cumbria|last=Crack|date=10 May 2019|website=cumbriacrack.com|accessdate=27 May 2019}} and one near Ostuni, Apulia, Italy.{{cite web |title=Fantese |url=https://www.babyfriendlyboltholes.co.uk/properties/fantese/147900/ |website=babyfriendlyboltholes.com |accessdate=27 May 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.homeaway.co.uk/p1502725|title=Trulli, child friendly, special offers, modern, WIFI, private pool - Ostuni|author=|date=|website=HomeAway.co.uk|accessdate=27 May 2019}} Their daughter, Laura Bierer-Nielsen, is director of policy and research at Labour Leave, a pro-Brexit campaigning group largely funded by Conservative Party donors.{{Cite web |last=Barnett |first=Adam |date=1 June 2016 |title=Labour Leave is funded by Tory donors and Vote Leave, not ‘Labour and trade unions’ |url=https://leftfootforward.org/2016/06/labour-leave-is-funded-by-tory-donors-and-vote-leave-not-labour-and-trade-unions/}}{{cite web|url=https://brexitcentral.com/author/laurabn/|title=Laura Bierer-Nielsen, Author at BrexitCentral |author=|date=|website=brexitcentral.com|accessdate=27 May 2019}}
In October 2020, Overgaard-Nielsen became a British citizen.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Citizenship|url=https://twitter.com/brexithenrik/status/1318965403750682625|access-date=2020-10-29|website=Twitter|language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|2760226|Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen}}
{{Brexit Party}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Overgaard-Nielsen, Henrik}}
Category:Danish emigrants to the United Kingdom
Category:MEPs for England 2019–2020
Category:People's Movement against the EU politicians
Category:June Movement politicians
Category:21st-century Danish politicians
Category:21st-century British politicians