Lone Dencker Wisborg

Lone Dencker Wisborg (born 31 January 1966) is a Danish diplomat, lawyer and civil servant. She is the current Permanent Representative of Denmark to NATO, having previously served as Ambassador of Denmark to the United States, from 2019 to 2022, the first woman to hold that position.

Early life and education
Lone Dencker Wisborg was born on 31 January 1966 in Brønderslev, Denmark. She grew up in Brønderslev in Northern Jutland, with her mother, father and an older brother four years her senior.

In 1991, she obtained a Master of Laws (cand.jur) degree from Aarhus University.

Diplomatic career
Wisborg began her diplomatic career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1992 as Head of Section with responsibility for development assistance, assistance to Eastern Europe and international law, a post she held until 1995. She was then assigned to the Danish Embassy in Estonia as First Secretary, from 1995 to 1998. Thereafter, she worked as Head of the International Department and Secretary to the Defence Committee at the Danish Parliament, and subsequently served as Private Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2001 to 2003, and then posted as Deputy Chief of Mission, Royal Danish Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, from 2004 to 2006. She had a brief interlude as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Bikuben Foundation, before becoming Head of the Department of Security Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2007 to 2009. From 2009 to 2011, she was Under-Secretary for Global Security. 

In 2011, Wisborg assumed her first ambassadorial appointment, becoming the Ambassador of Denmark to the Kingdom of Spain. During her time as ambassador, Wisborg advocated for e.g. increased agricultural support for impoverished Spanish regions at EU-level, modernization of the European Union, ⁣renewable energy transition and environmental awareness. She served concurrently as Denmark's responsible diplomat to Andorra and was simultaneously side-accredited in Algeria.

She was recalled to Denmark in 2015, and acted as State Secretary for Foreign Policy, becoming chief operating officer in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2017.

United States
In the 2019 ambassadorial reshuffle, Wisborg was appointed Ambassador of Denmark to the United States, as the first woman to hold the position. She presented her credentials to President Donald J. Trump at the White House, on 8 April 2019, having previously, on 1 April, presented these to Ambassador Sean Lawler, Chief of Protocol of the United States, in a ceremony at the State Department.

Trump's Greenland proposal and diplomatic tensions
Her tenure involved addressing a proposal by former President Donald Trump to purchase Greenland, a matter discussed with varying degrees of seriousness among Trump's advisers. The proposal encountered resistance, and Kim Kielsen, the Premier of Greenland, firmly stated that the territory was not for sale. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described the plan as "absurd." In response to this, President Trump expressed his displeasure and characterized Frederiksen's response as "nasty." Consequently, he cancelled a planned state visit to Denmark scheduled for two weeks after the August remarks.

In the aftermath of this diplomatic tension, the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took efforts to ease the situation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Danish embassy in Washington engaged their diplomatic connections with top government officials in the United States. During this time, Ambassador Wisborg, played a pivotal role in managing the situation. Having landed in Copenhagen Airport to attend the annual Ambassador's Meeting, she promptly returned to her office and staff in Washington in an endeavour to de-escalate the situation. She rapidly facilitated "several meetings" with the US Department of State and organized a conference call between Frederiksen and Trump, after which Trump's tone shifted considerably, as he began to express a more positive perspective. Speaking to multiple American media outlets, he unexpectedly lauded Frederiksen as a "wonderful woman".

Publicly, she declined to comment on Trump's interest in buying Greenland.

Policy areas
As ambassador, Wisborg facilitated discussions related to US-Danish cooperation in green water technology, signing a memorandum of understanding regarding a cooperation agreement on Danish water technology to Houston, Texas. She also advocated for increased collaboration between American and Danish researchers in quantum technology, emphasizing that it is "crucial that democratic governments take the lead in ensuring the responsible development and use of quantum technologies". Additionally, she engaged in meetings with Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale during her time as Ambassador.

The working paper that Wisborg received from the Danish government before officially beginning her ambassadorship, outlined the direction of the embassy's activities, with a special emphasis on the work between Danish and American soldiers during joint missions. The correspondence on mutual defence policies resulted in Denmark committing to send an additional 500 soldiers to international missions in September 2019, as well as taking over responsibility from Canada for NATO's training mission for Iraqi soldiers

In October 2019, she, together with the four other Nordic US ambassadors, Bergdis Ellertsdottir (Iceland), Karin Olufsdotter (Sweden), Kirsti Kauppi (Finland) and Kåre R. Aas (Norway), formed a unified Nordic front, advocating for climate change action in Washington, highlighting Scandinavian solutions and initiatives.

She participated in the 2022 Arctic Encounter symposium in Anchorage, Alaska.

NATO
In the 2023 ambassadorial reshuffle, Wisborg was appointed Permanent Representative of Denmark to NATO, and represents Denmark in the North Atlantic Council.

Personal life
She is the mother of a son born via a donor. She is the owner of three dogs and enjoys tennis, golf and politics.

National
🇩🇰 Denmark:


 * DNK Order of Danebrog Knight 1st Degree BAR.png Knight 1st Class of the Order of the Dannebrog (2016)

International
🇪🇸 Spain:


 * ESP_Isabella_Catholic_Order_GC.svg Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (2015)