Jan Boye

Who was Jan Boye?

Jan Boye was a Danish politician, representing the Conservative Party. From 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2009, he was mayor of Odense, Denmark's third largest city. He served as County Mayor of Funen County from 2001-05. He also served as the chairman of Dansk Håndbold Forbund from June 2011 to his death.

In the Danish municipal elections on 15 November 2005, Boye was the Conservative candidate as new mayor of Odense, Funen's capital and Denmark's third largest city; challenging the ruling Social Democratic mayor, Anker Boye. The election was a great success for the Conservatives with the party gaining eleven seats in the City Council compared to five in the 2001 election.

The election resulted in a tie with both wings holding 14 of the 29 seats. Ultimately, Erik Simonsen, representing the Social Liberal Party, decided to turn down an offer from the Social Democrats offering to support Simonsen as new mayor, and offered his support to Boye. He was the first non-Social Democratic mayor of Odense since 1937. In the 2009-municipality election, Jan Boye lost the election to former mayor Anker Boye.