Get to know Villy
In a series of portraits of the individual members of Kolding Harbour’s Board of Directors, we bring you a profile of Villy Søvndal: With roots in West Jutland, more specifically Struer, Villy Søvndal came to Kolding at the age of 24, where he was admitted to the teacher training college.
Villy is very fond of Kolding – he worked as a teacher here and was on the city council from 1982 until 1994, when the Danish Parliament called.
A period of 19 years as a member of parliament followed until the end of 2013, when Villy Søvndal left the Danish Parliament and the post of Foreign Minister after suffering a heart attack. The next four years were spent with “books, chickens and vegetable garden”, as Villy himself describes it; “… but then I got bored and missed being involved in politics – that’s why I ran for the regional council elections in 2017 and was also elected to Kolding City Council again in 2021″.
Villy’s presence on Kolding Hav’s board
Villy Søvndal is one of three city councilors on Kolding Port’s board – he talks about this dual role: 
“It must never be the case that the two roles conflict with each other, but I don’t see any risk of that. When I am at a meeting of the port board, I look after the interests of the port: that we continue to have a well-functioning commercial port in Kolding, a gradually greener port, but also a economically sustainable port. With the well-established trust and dialog, we can go a long way in the cooperation between the city council and the port board.”
Villy’s desire to merge city and harbor
Villy shows great understanding for the idea of “merging the city and port more closely”, but he finds it difficult to understand the earlier thoughts of closing the commercial port.
“We have a unique port environment and we must protect it , we have the job effect with the port – we must take environmental responsibility at the port with dust and noise, so that the city can get a little closer, in a completely natural development”. Villy mentions the many opportunities in and around the inner harbor, urban development not only means housing, but also recreational areas – why not also create life out in the harbor basin with a floating urban space, possibly with the possibility of swimming?
– This could be combined with opportunities along the river, from canoe rental to beach volleyball and much more. “We also have the Falck site between the inner harbor and the river, which comes into play after it has been decided to build a new fire station,” says Villy Søvndal as another example,“…this could very well be social enterprise, possibly a “De Studerendes Hus”, where Kolding’s educational environment could meet, yes – there are really good opportunities with space for café life and the like. “ Villy doesn’t think much about housing at the inner harbor – it could rather be in one or more building plots in the “Alaska” area, where there could also be room for recreational areas, perhaps with a new landmark for Kolding, maybe a place for future music events? His thoughts and visions are many – after almost 40 years in politics, Villy has a wide range of interests, although employment and social issues and job creation are close to his heart. Villy also mentions EU policy, such as plans to shift more freight transportation to ships for the benefit of the environment. “We need to be part of something bigger”, Villy concludes thoughtfully, perhaps with the current foreign policy situation in mind.