comfortable in the job. At this point, polls showed that SF would receive only 11 seats in a parliamentary election. On 13 October 2012, Annette Vilhelmsen defeated Astrid Krag in an election for party leader. Minister of Foreign Affairs Søvndal served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 3 October 2011 to December 2013. In this capacity he met in May 2012 with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, where they announced Denmark's intention to contribute to the Afghan National Security Force, as well as to help complete the transition of power by the end of 2014; agreed on strengthening the U.S.-Danish partnership to prevent and counter terrorism in East Africa; and discussed the potential for stronger cooperation on promoting green growth. Søvndal called in September 2012 for a reorganization of Danish assignments abroad, saying he wanted more focus on exports to China, India, Brazil, and other growth markets and less on the EU. He also looked to an increased emphasis on the Arctic, human rights, and green growth. "In a rapidly changing world we must constantly ask ourselves whether we are focusing on the right places and in the right way", Søvndal said. Speaking in February 2012 to the European Parliament, he praised the Arab League for its "strong leadership role...in the Syrian crisis". At a commemoration of the Day of Remembrance for victims of terrorist attacks in March 2012, Søvndal stressed that what is important is "countering terrorism" while "respecting human rights". In November 2012, he pledged Danish support to the Syrian rebels. He announced in February 2013 that Denmark would continue to work for the release of Danish-Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who was in prison in Bahrain, and called on that country to end its mistreatment of young demonstrators. In the same month he condemned North Korea's atomic-bomb test. In October 2013 Søvndal suffered a heart attack and announced that he would be stepping down as both minister of foreign affairs and as member of the Folketing. Controversies Remarks about Hizb-ut-Tahrir In 2008, Søvndal spoke out on his blog against the radical Islamic group Hizb-ut-Tahrir, calling its members "fools" with "lunatic views" and telling them that if they really want to live in the caliphate or under sharia, they had "come to the wrong country. They have nothing to do in Denmark, and they will not achieve their goals". He suggested that they move to Iran