Photo: Facebook
Love is blind; love is deaf; love is subject to immigration laws.
By Leah Scher — Written on May 23, 2019
Aran Katarina Kirschenmann is the 22-year-old girlfriend of 29-year-old Bergur Løkke Rasmussen, son of the Denmark’s Prime Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen. Kirschenmann was studying abroad on an overseas program through Harvard University, and now she wants to apply for citizenship so she can stay past its culmination. But a well-intentioned immigration law nicknamed the “child bride law” passed in 2002 prevents Danish residents, particularly from non-Western countries, from bringing in child brides, which is defined by the law as anyone under 24. Who is Aran Katarina Kirschenmann? Who is Bergur? What are they going to do? Well, for one...
1. They have the Prime Minister on their side
The Prime Minister wants the law to compromise a bit, and not just because of his son’s predicament. He also thinks a concession will help with recent labor shortages. According to Bloomberg: he stands by the strict immigration policies generally speaking, but censures its inflexibility. “It’s to wonder at, that we live in a country that has no place for her,” Rasmussen said.
2. Mette Frederiksen isn’t having it
Rasmussen’s efforts to soften the law for specific cases were adamantly rejected by Mette Frederiksen, head of the opposition Social Democrats. As inconvenient as this is for the couple, all this really means, practically speaking, is that their marriage is going to have to wait two years until she comes of age. Then again, what damage does it really do to permit a thoroughly investigated exception? Kirschenmann is quite evidently not a secret child bride.
3. Aran and Bergur have known each other since at least 2016
Their earliest photo together is from October of 2016. Plus, according to The Daily Mail, Bergur himself also attended Harvard back in 2015.
4. She’s definitely not a moocher, either
Aran’s LinkedIn clearly displays her job as a Group Affairs and Communications Coordinator for Rud Pedersen Public Affairs, one of the largest Nordic consultancies specializing in the field of public affairs. She has work experience in Denmark as far back as 2017 as a Social Media Consultant for the Danish non-profit foundation LøkkeFonden. She also has an internship with Pray.com, a social impact company that connects people of different faiths. She even has an impressive following on Instagram (111k!) where she frequently promotes brands through paid sponsorship, as well as a lifestyle and personal travel website (which is currently down). Needless to say, this woman is going places—she’s educated, employed, and in no way parasitic nor a victim of human trafficking.
Leah Scher is an ENFP finishing her degree at Brandeis University. She's an alumna of the Kenyon Review Young Writer's Workshop the Iowa Young Writers' Studio. She's passionate about Judaism, poetry, film, satire, astrology, spirituality, and sexual health. She draws inspiration for her writing from writer/director Wes Anderson, and for her lifestyle from her grandmother. Lastly, she's always actively seeking two things: a job having anything at all to do with publishing, and a chance to meet Jesse Eisenberg.