Studied Greek: How I became a spin doctor

In December, Søren Poul Nielsen started his job as special adviser to the new education minister representing the Liberal Alliance Party, Merete Riisager.

He graduated from the University of Copenhagen in 2006 and has a master’s in classical philology (Ancient Greek) and rhetoric. From his studies at the Faculty of Humanities he has, in particular, memories of the construction work at his old campus.

“I started university in 1998, so I started in the old KUA building, but ended up in the new one. Most of my time I spent reading while they constructed the new KUA in the background. I remember one time they had to strike some large plates into the ground to dig out the foundations, and I remember the rhythmic hammering of the impacts. It followed us all the way into the reading room,” he says.

Spin doctors are from UCPH

Søren Poul Nielsen is also a prime example of how the post of special adviser is increasingly being taken over by Copenhagen academics. About 60 per cent of the currently employed special advisers are graduates from the University of Copenhagen, while the university only accounts for approximately 25 per cent of Danish graduates.

I have now worked for 15 years in education policy, but I never thought that I would become a special adviser.

Søren Poul Nielsen, special adviser

So how is it that Greek literature and rhetorical analysis are linked to daily life at Christiansborg, where you have to navigate in a game of politics?

“My work today is, of course, far removed from my education, and it goes without saying that I do not use my Greek or Latin on a day-to-day basis. But I use many of the methods I learned in the course of my education, in particular in relation to source criticism and the ability to relate to what I know – and not to what I assume. Or when it is related to the current debate on general education which largely draws on ideas first conceived in antiquity and which have since been developed,” he says.

Got early start in education policy

Søren Poul Nielsen had not planned to end up at the Danish parliament building of Christiansborg. But just as his master’s thesis took shape – so did his career path. The last thing he did at university was to do an internship. In his thesis he had written about how modern rhetoric uses the rhetoric of antiquity, and he had in this connection used current political material.

“I found it so interesting that I wrote to a parliamentary politician and asked if I could do an internship with her. She happily agreed to it, and this was my first ‘real’ work,” says Søren Poul Nielsen about his start to a career in education.

The MP was Lene Jensen and a member of the Social Democrats. Back then, she was research spokeswoman and this was how Søren Poul Nielsen discovered the field of education. His subsequent jobs have all had something to do with education.

“If I was to offer any advice to students who want an appointment like mine, then it would be to know their own area of expertise right down to the bone marrow.”

Søren Poul Nielsen, special adviser

He continues: “So on the one hand the job is directed by the political work that is due in parliament. When a new minister comes in, she takes over many of the political matters that her predecessor implemented. So there might then be political work in following up on these matters. Ministers who come into office also have their own political causes to pursue. So if there is a specific guideline or objective to the policy, it is my job to prepare the minister on how to achieve it.”

Becoming special adviser

If you happen to have a dream about getting a job as special adviser, Søren Poul Nielsen offers you some advice:

“I can say definitively that I have done nothing particular to get hired. I have now worked for 15 years in education policy, but I never thought that I would become a special adviser. I just worked within an area that interests me, gained some knowledge, and done my best. The opportunity came along because there was a new minister, who wanted an education policy expert. This also means that I do not have a media background or experience in lobbying work, but I get this now,” he says.

“If I was to offer any advice to students who want an appointment like mine, then it would be to know their own area of expertise right down to the bone marrow. Finding something that interests you, and then become really good at it.”