How a former Nato chief cashed in on the big business of lobbying for foreign governments
After spending more than a decade at the top of European politics, first as prime minister of Denmark and then secretary general of the Nato military alliance, Anders Fogh Rasmussen walked into the world of lobbying with a big reputation to trade on. When his term leading Nato concluded in 2014, the liberal veteran of Danish politics established his own political consultancy, Rasmussen Global, advising a roster of high-paying private companies as well as sovereign countries and governments. While it is common for political leaders leaving office to enter the world of private consultancy, or the lucrative speaker circuit, Rasmussen’s business is unusual for having several countries as clients. The former prime minister’s remarks on international affairs carry weight. In one guest opinion article for The Guardian about the tense situation in Taiwan , Rasmussen criticised China ’s aggressive posture and called on Europe to take a firmer line standing up for the small, self-governing island. However, the 2019 opinion piece did not disclose that the Danish politician’s lobbying firm had a contract to advise the Taiwanese government at the time. Other opinion pieces written by Rasmussen arguing for the European Union to forge closer ties with Japan failed to disclose that his business also has a long-standing contract to advise the Japanese government. The Irish Times can also reveal Rasmussen’s past work as an adviser to then-Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, part of a contract worth at least €300,000 a year, was paid for by the holding company of a pro-western Ukrainian oligarch. Rasmussen Global employs a big team to help run the lobbying operation, between Brussels, Copenhagen and Kyiv. Former Fine Gael junior minister Dara Murphy is a vice-president and partner at the consultancy firm. In Brussels, that work involves helping foreign governments understand and navigate the European Union’s complicated policymaking process, getting in the ear of politicians and senior officials, tracking what way the wind is blowing on certain debates and on occasion, it seems, having Rasmussen himself make the case publicly for a client’s interests. In one instance, he penned an opinion piece for The Guardian in 2019 describing Taiwan as a “shining city on the hill” for democracy activists. There is nothing more Irish than a former housing minister lobbying on behalf of a developer The former Danish prime minister warned China was building up its military presence in the South China Sea and Beijing’s attitude to Taiwan was increasingly hostile. In his opinion piece, Rasmussen called on the EU to live up to its values and “defend the largest Chinese democracy from authoritarian pressure” by meeting Taiwan’s leaders and forging closer investment links. A short biography below The Guardian’s opinion piece stated Rasmussen was previously secretary general of Nato and a former prime minister of Denmark. Lobbyists in Brussels are required to submit annual declarations to a transparency register, listing their clients and a rough range for how much they were paid for EU-related work. Ukraine to resume strikes on Russian refineries, Zelenskiy says Records show Rasmussen’s consultancy shop has worked for Taiwan since 2019. Initially, the contract was only worth up to €50,000, but increased by €300,000-€400,000 in 2023 and 2024. The work was worth at least €100,000-€200,000 last year. The declarations are not required to cover lobbying work conducted beyond EU institutions, so they offer a partial snapshot rather than the full picture. Rasmussen Global has advised the Japanese government since 2018. For a period, it also had a contract with Albania’s foreign ministry, records show. Rasmussen has counselled Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office pro bono since the Russian invasion, and has been vocal in calling for western powers to support Kyiv in the bitter war. A spokesman for The Guardian said its code of practice states all guest contributors “must declare any commercial or personal interest, or any affiliations to organisations connected to the topic they’re writing about”. When asked if the former Nato chief flagged his firm’s Taiwan contract to the newspaper, a spokesman for Rasmussen Global said its email archives did not stretch back to the period in question. On foot of questions from The Irish Times, The Guardian amended the article to state Rasmussen Global was advising Taiwan’s embassy in Brussels at the time he wrote the piece. Rasmussen, chairman of the consultancy firm, has travelled to Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, to make the case for greater western support. Last year he delivered the keynote address at the Yushan Forum, a conference organised in Taipei by Taiwan’s foreign ministry, where he said Taiwan “stands as a beacon of liberty”. He first visited the island in 1994 as a member of Denmark’s parliament, he told the audience, according to a recording of the speech. “I will keep making the case for Taiwan and Europe to strengthen our ties politically, economically and culturally,” he said. In another opinion piece published by Le Monde in 2018, Rasmussen called for the EU and Japan to work closer together to counter the rise of “illiberal” sentiment around the world. The former prime minister’s article in the French newspaper did not disclose that his firm had been hired by the Japanese government that year. ‘No silver bullet’: Energy crunch could bite Europe this winter The EUobserver, a small publication in Brussels, carried an opinion piece from Rasmussen last December: “The case for EU-Japan ties”. The article made no mention of his firm’s long-term contract to advise Japan. In the article, Rasmussen pushed for Europe to view Tokyo as “central” to its future strategy. “From satellite systems to missile defence, from industrial innovation to standard-setting in critical technologies, Japan can be both partner and template,” he wrote. Separate from his for-profit work, Rasmussen was in line for a prominent new role helping to shape European defence policy recently. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, wanted him to chair a high-level group of political and military leaders to report on how governments could close gaps in Europe’s defence capabilities. The idea was scrapped following pushback from foreign ministers, who felt the project doubled up on work under way elsewhere. The son of a farmer, Rasmussen was elected to Denmark’s Folketing when he was 25 in 1978, and at the time was the youngest member of the national parliament. He later led the centre-right Liberal party to electoral victory and government in 2001, and secured two further terms in office before he stepped down to become Nato secretary general in 2009. His reputation as a statesman was burnished when he steered tricky negotiations on the eastward enlargement of the EU, paving the way for 10 new member states to join the union. After eight years as a prime minister and five years leading Nato, he had a packed contact book to draw on when setting up his consultancy business. The Rasmussen name helps get the firm’s lobbyists into important rooms. Representatives for the company have regularly met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s advisers, EU commissioners and senior civil servants to talk about geopolitics, China relations, security, the war in Ukraine and energy policy. ‘He’s with Putin’: Ukrainians recoil at Trump’s pressure campaign Logs of lobbying meetings reported by MEPs show Rasmussen Global staff are also active in the European Parliament. Records show other private companies, such as global public relations giant FleishmanHillard, law firm DLA Piper and boutique lobbying outfit Alber & Geiger, have previously been contracted to work for foreign governments. Rasmussen took on the Republic of Armenia as a client in 2022. A small country in the South Caucasus, Armenia is wedged between two old adversaries, Turkey and Azerbaijan. Its government has been carefully trying to shift away from Russia’s orbit and build bridges to Europe. That contract was worth at least €400,000 in 2023 and 2024, and at least €300,000 last year, filings to the transparency register show. Nicholas Aiossa, director of Transparency International’s EU office, said the perception of a revolving door between politics and lobbying, particularly when it came to high-profile figures and former leaders, could damage the trust citizens placed in those in power. Rasmussen Global often promotes its pro bono work advising the Ukrainian government and Zelenskiy’s office. One big project mapped out ways western allies could guarantee Ukraine’s security after a peace deal. A spokesman for the firm said its efforts in Ukraine, led by Rasmussen himself, were the company’s most significant work with a government. The company was “fully compliant with all transparency obligations in all jurisdictions” in which it operates. “Anders Fogh Rasmussen has consistently advocated for the world’s democracies to work more closely together,” the statement said. “Rasmussen Global’s work is driven by that same goal. That’s why our sovereign clients are, and have exclusively been, democratic governments – and why we frequently highlight our work in bringing them together. This includes pro bono work, most notably with the government of Ukraine as they fight Russian aggression,” it said. The consultancy work in Ukraine hasn’t always been for free, though. In fact, it was Rasmussen Global’s most lucrative line of business in Brussels for several years. The oligarch One of the wealthiest men in Ukraine, Victor Pinchuk made the beginnings of his fortune during the collapse of the Soviet Union, initially in the steel industry, before expanding into oil and gas and the media. He later married the daughter of Leonid Kuchma, who was president of Ukraine from 1994 until 2005, a period when rampant corruption proliferated through many echelons of the state. Pinchuk’s wealth grew significantly during Kuchma’s time in power, though the oligarch has always denied accusations that he benefited from insider connections. In one high-profile privatisation case, the state sold its largest steel plant to a group that included Pinchuk for a bargain rate of about $800 million. The deal caused public outrage. The sale was reversed after Viktor Yushchenko, who survived a poisoning plot, won the re-run 2004 presidential election. He defeated Kuchma’s man, Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Moscow politician who would become president years later and fled to Russia after the 2014 Maidan revolution in Kyiv. The steel mill in southern Ukraine was auctioned for $4.8 billion in 2005. It was around this time Pinchuk established Yalta European Strategy, a non-profit that organises a high-level political forum once a year to discuss Ukraine’s European path. He held the first event several months before the pro-democracy Orange Revolution protests rocked Ukraine. Trump is blaming Zelenskiy for a problem of his own making One source who had dealings with Pinchuk said the Yalta Forum seemed to have been a way for the oligarch to carve out a new political constituency for himself. The businessman went on to build up ties to western elites over the two decades that followed. Past speakers have included Bill and Hillary Clinton, Tony Blair, Zelenskiy, Boris Johnson and other prominent politicians, academics and business figures. UK Companies House records show Pinchuk incorporated a company in London in 2007, EastOne, to hold his sprawling investments. From 2016 until April 2020, EastOne was Rasmussen Global’s biggest client. The contract to work on Ukraine’s “Euro-Atlantic integration” was worth, at a minimum, €300,000-€400,000 a year, EU records show. This work involved Rasmussen acting as an adviser to then-Ukrainian president Poroshenko. Curiously, Rasmussen’s work advising the Ukrainian president was paid for by EastOne. A spokesman for Rasmussen confirmed the work for Poroshenko was part of the “framework” of its contract with Pinchuk’s firm. The former Nato head also joined the board of Pinchuk’s Yalta conference in 2017. Filings for Yalta European Strategy Ltd, which is registered in the UK, show Rasmussen resigned from the role this April. A spokeswoman for Pinchuk said the Ukrainian businessman has long rejected allegations that his companies unfairly benefited from any insider connections in the early 2000s. The oligarch previously said that, while the steel mill deal was legal, politically it was a mistake to be part of the bid as the then-president’s son-in-law. He has always maintained he made his fortune before marrying his wife and did not benefit from political favours. “EastOne engaged Rasmussen Global to support Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration. The engagement, including remuneration, was fully declared in the EU transparency register,” his spokeswoman said.