leader. Minister of Foreign Affairs 1993–2000 He was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs from 25 January 1993 to 21 December 2000 in the Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen I, II, III, and IV (except for the last part of the IV cabinet). When the European Union's Maastricht Treaty was rejected by the Danish people in 1992, it was accepted after a referendum in 1993 adding certain opt-out concessions for Denmark. As the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Niels Helveg Petersen had to work to implement those concessions, although he had been a long supporter of greater internationalisation of Danish foreign policy. When he left the position of Foreign Minister in 2000, the official reason given was that he could no longer accept the opt-outs. He joined the newly created Council of the Baltic Sea States, which in 1993 successfully established the EuroFaculty in Tartu, Riga, and Vilnius, of which he became an active supporter. Personal life Niels Helveg Petersen was married to Kirsten Lee, who is also a former member of the Danish Parliament for the Social Liberal Party. His son Morten Helveg Petersen was member of the parliament from 11 March 1998 and until August 2009. His son Rasmus Helveg Petersen was member of parliament 2011-2015 and again from 2019, and a cabinet minister 2013–2015. Niels Helveg Petersen died of esophageal cancer, aged 78. See also Thulegate References External links Personal webpage from the official website of the Danish Social Liberal Party 1939 births 2017 deaths People from Odense Danish Social Liberal Party politicians Foreign ministers of Denmark Members of the Folketing Niels 21st-century Danish politicians Deaths from esophageal cancer Deaths from cancer in Denmark Leaders of the Danish Social Liberal Party