Bertel Geismar Haarder is a Danish writer, teacher and politician, who was a member of the Folketing for the Venstre political party. He has served as minister several times, including Minister of Education from 1982 to 1993 and again in 2005 to 2010, and most recently as Minister for Culture and Ecclesiastical Affairs from 2015 to 2016 in the L. L. Rasmussen II Cabinet. He is a former member of European Parliament, serving from 1994 to 2001. He has also served as president of Nordic Council on two occasions, first in 2011 and latest from 2020 to 2021.

Aabenraa is a town in Southern Denmark, at the head of the Aabenraa Fjord, an arm of the Little Belt, 26 kilometres (16 mi) north of the Denmark–Germany border and 32 kilometres (20 mi) north of German town of Flensburg. It was the seat of Sønderjyllands Amt until 1 January 2007, when the Region of Southern Denmark was created as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform. With a population of 16,685, Aabenraa is the largest town and the seat of the Aabenraa Municipality.