Mariann Fischer Boel

Mariann Fischer Boel is a Danish politician of the party Venstre. In 2002 she was appointed minister of agriculture and foods in the government led by Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

In 2004 she was selected for the European Commission with the portfolio for agriculture and rural development.

As the Danish agricultural minister, she has argued that it would be better if the subsidies on argriculture would be entirely removed, a statement on a subject that in many European countries is highly controversial.

Mariann owns together with her husband three farms in Denmark. It has been disputed wheter she would be able to remain neutral, as she for instance would be in power of determining the purchasing price of different crops and thereby affecting her personal income. Mariann argues that it is her husband who runs the farms, and as she is not personally engaged in the farms, she is able to maintain neutrality.