Dubbed Denmark's Tony Blair, he seldom put a foot wrong as prime minister, despite facing crises such as the Iraq war and the outcry over blasphemous cartoons of the Prophet. Then on the eve of his greatest triumph he slipped on a hotel stair.
During one his first public appearances as the new Nato secretary general designate last weekend, Anders Fogh Rasmussen promised that he would be even more watchful of religious and cultural sensitivities than he had been when he served for eight years as Denmark's prime minister.
Some in the audience could have been forgiven for wondering if he should generally be more careful of his personal safety, for he appeared at this press conference with his arm swathed in a bandage - the result, not of some altercation with an Islamist zealot, but of one of those embarrassing little accidents that can befall men when they achieve important office and get a little carried away with themselves.
He had apparently tripped down the stairs of his Istanbul hotel where he was staying as he waited for his appointment to Nato to be confirmed, and dislocated his shoulder. Danes, and the wider Nato military leadership, can only hope this will not prove to be a bad omen.
Rasmussen has had early warning of the sort of problems that can engulf a man in a politically sensitive position, for it was his misfortune to be Danish prime minister in 2005 when a Copenhagen newspaper published a series of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.
The cartoons were designed not just to test the limits of free speech, but specifically to cause offence, just to see what happened.
In the event, a lot happened. Rasmussen was arguably slow to see the potential damage in what he later conceded was to become Denmark's greatest political crisis since 1945.
Initially he took a strict line in support of the country's traditional liberal belief in freedom of expression. He backed the newspaper editor, and he declined to hold a meeting with a group of ambassadors representing 11 Muslim countries who wanted to express their revulsion.
As crowds swelled on the streets of Danish cities, the crisis culminated in the torching of Danish diplomatic missions in the Arab world, and mass boycotts of Danish products. Scores of protesters died in violent incidents in various capitals. Consignments of Danish agricultural products were ceremoniously burned on the streets.
It was ugly, for Denmark generally does not go around the world picking fights, though the broader Danish population, alarmed by the high levels of immigration and the way they tested traditional Scandinavian liberal traditions, rallied in support of their centre-right prime minister.
And it was to create a specific problem four years later when the main Nato players, led by US President Barack Obama and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, decided that Rasmussen was the ideal man to oversee the transformation of Nato as it adapts in the new order.
The Turkish government, a key component in the Nato alliance and its only predominantly Muslim member, showed its teeth and initially refused to back Rasmussen's appointment.
The problem was that one of the ambassadors Rasmussen had refused to see during the cartoon incident was from Turkey, a slight that came back to cause aggravation.
So there was a stand-off which threatened to overshadow Nato's 60th birthday celebrations in Strasbourg last weekend, and stymie the progress of the man who was about to take on the most important international job to be filled by a Dane, ever.
President Obama was forced to intervene. In a series of late night phone calls, he offered Ankara sweeteners, including an assurance a Turk would serve as a deputy secretary general.
Rasmussen was required to say the right thing, over and over again, to various audiences.
"I respect Islam as one of the world's major religions as well as its religious symbols," he intoned.
His diplomatic offensive was ultimately considered sufficiently self-abasing, and in the end peace was restored, and Rasmussen won the prize.
Denmark is a charming, self-deprecating little country, with an extremely well-educated population, and one of the highest standards of living in the world. It is a generally conformist sort of place: its people forged a cosy, non-antagonist relationship with German occupiers during the Second World War, an episode which Danes still prefer not to talk about, though all of them are profoundly aware of it.
One of the first things Rasmussen did in office was to publicly break with the political convention of not mentioning the war, and the Danes' collective decision not to be part of it. That was a courageous move which won plaudits in Britain and the United States, but made him more enemies at home.
Rasmussen, born in Jutland in 1953, four years after Nato's inception, is an economist by background who became leader of the centre-right Liberal (Venstre) party, which emerged as the leader of the coalition government in 2001.
For his un-Danish belief in cutting rates of personal taxation and reducing the size of government, Rasmussen was initially, and inevitably, labelled as Denmark's Margaret Thatcher.
But then his former allies on the right grew weary of him as he migrated towards the centre-ground, economically at least, so equally inevitably was he called Denmark's Tony Blair.
For sure, he has Blair's charisma, though is much better looking, with chiselled features, impeccable teeth, and an imposing physique that betrays his passion for running and cycling - he has completed sections of the Tour de France. His conspicuous good looks triggered one of the most bizarre interchanges in recent European diplomacy with the Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi. During a joint press conference, Berlusconi, seemingly in despair at his wife's extramarital canoodling with an Italian philosopher, suggested she would be much better off dallying with Rasmussen, whom he described as the most handsome prime minister in Europe.
Rasmussen, standing at the Italian's side behind the podium during this excruciating exchange, looked as baffled as he was clearly embarrassed by Berlusconi's peculiar intervention.
Rasmussen is right-wing only by Danish standards, though as his coalition grouping won three general elections in a row, he did draw on the support of the People's Party, which most Danes regard as having unpleasantly xenophobic tendencies and no sympathy for would-be asylum seekers, or those who fall between the cracks in Danish society.
Rasmussen's political success in Denmark was that he could be attractive to voters who think there are generally too many foreigners in the country; they could express that view by supporting him without going to the extreme lengths of voting for the People's Party.
Rasmussen is unusual in that he is simultaneously, and unquestioningly, for the European Union, while unblinkingly Atlanticist. He broke with the traditions of Scandinavian foreign policy by backing President George W Bush in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and even provided 500 Danish troops to the mission.
There was intense opposition at home to this support for Washington, but it did Rasmussen as little harm electorally as it did Tony Blair in Britain, for both men won general elections after their respective deployments which, at the time, seemed to many to be electorally suicidal.
Rasmussen has the drive and ambition that will be needed to forge a new role for Nato, at a time when many Europeans and Americans are wondering what the military alliance is actually for.
It became glaringly obvious at last weekend's 60th birthday bash that for all Europe's protestations about the centrality of Nato in the new military order, Paris, Berlin and the other important European members will not be underwriting that rhetoric with boots on the ground.
As usual, it will be America alone (with a cameo role from Britain) and not Nato, which will have to go back into Afghanistan in numbers to sort out the mission that appears to be unravelling there.
Rasmussen, his old friends say, dreamed of becoming Danish prime minister as a schoolboy; he has planned for this important Nato job over many years, and showed determination in achieving it.
He is known to be driven, to be keen to make his pleasant Scandinavian country punch above its historic weight.
His Danish political opponents concede it would be foolish to underestimate him, or his determination.
If he can stay on his feet in the months ahead, and not slip down any treacherous diplomatic staircases and bust his shoulder, he may yet succeed in reshaping Nato, and confound those sceptics who speak so noisily of its inevitable decline and irrelevance in this more complicated age.
* The National
Voy!%20Voy!%20Voy!
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Omar%20Hilal%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Muhammad%20Farrag%2C%20Bayoumi%20Fouad%2C%20Nelly%20Karim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
RESULT
Leeds United 1 Manchester City 1
Leeds: Rodrigo (59')
Man City: Sterling (17')
Man of the Match: Rodrigo Moreno (Leeds)
Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amit%20Joshi%20and%20Aradhana%20Sah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECast%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shahid%20Kapoor%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%2C%20Dharmendra%2C%20Dimple%20Kapadia%2C%20Rakesh%20Bedi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPowertrain%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20electric%20motor%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E201hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E310Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E53kWh%20lithium-ion%20battery%20pack%20(GS%20base%20model)%3B%2070kWh%20battery%20pack%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E350km%20(GS)%3B%20480km%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C900%20(GS)%3B%20Dh149%2C000%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Liz%20Truss
%3Cp%3EMinisterial%20experience%3A%20Current%20Foreign%20Secretary.%0D%3Cbr%3E%0DWhat%20did%20she%20do%20before%20politics%3F%20Worked%20as%20an%20economist%20for%20Shell%20and%20Cable%20and%20Wireless%20and%20was%20then%20a%20deputy%20director%20for%20right-of-centre%20think%20tank%20Reform.%0D%3Cbr%3E%0DWhat%20does%20she%20say%20on%20tax%3F%20She%20has%20pledged%20to%20%22start%20cutting%20taxes%20from%20day%20one%22%2C%20reversing%20April's%20rise%20in%20National%20Insurance%20and%20promising%20to%20keep%20%22corporation%20tax%20competitive%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETwin-turbo%2C%20V8%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20automatic%20and%20manual%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E503%20bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E513Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh646%2C800%20(%24176%2C095)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Race card
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; 5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; 6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (PA) 1,400m
