Christophersen was born in
Copenhagen. He was Deputy Prime minister and
Finance Minister of Denmark (1982–1984) and
Foreign Minister of Denmark (1978–1979). During his time as Vice President of the European Commission for Budget and later for Economic & Financial Affairs, Christophersen decisively contributed to the preparations of the launch of the Euro and of the Economic & Monetary Union. Through his pioneering work on Transeuropean Networks, he also played a big role in the realization of the Internal Market. In 1992, as EU commissioner, Christophersen together with 10 Baltic Ministers of Foreign Affairs founded the
Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and the
EuroFaculty. He was the Chairman of the
Energy Charter Conference 1998 until 2007. He was Chairman and member of a number of Supervisory Boards of Directors, and a Partner of
Kreab, Brussels. Christophersen died on 31 December 2016 in Brussels at the age of 77 after a short illness. ==References==