Poul Johan Sundberg Michelsen (born 22 July 1944 in Tórshavn) is a Faroese business man and former politician. He was the leader of Progress (Framsókn), which he and others established in 2011. Before the establishment of Progress, he was a member of People's Party (Fólkaflokkurin). In March 2020 he chose to leave the Parliament and ending his political career after struggling with sequelae of a stroke for some months.^[1]

Michelsen grew up in Tórshavn and was active in sports. He was apprenticed as a commercial trainee at the Balslev company, which today is called Bygma-Balslev.^[2] Later, Kartni Winther and Torbjørn Sørensen bought the wholesale from Balslev and named it Kartni Winther. It was run by Kartni Winther, Torbjørn Sørensen and Poul Michelsen until Michelsen started his own wholesale business in 1974. Michelsen has been Finnish Consul General in the Faroe Islands since 2001. In January 2015 he was appointed the Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland.^[3]

Michelsen was the Faroese champion in badminton in the men's single from 1966 to 1975 and Faroese champion in the men's double in 1968 and 1970–1974 together with Joan P. Midjord.^[8]

Michelsen is also a former football player and has won the Faroese championship in football for HB Tórshavn in 1971 (he scored both goals in the title decisive game away to KÍ Klaksvík, which ended 2-1) and the Faroe Islands Cup for HB Tórshavn in 1964, 1969, 1971 and 1972.^[9]

He also won the Faroese championship in table tennis.^[5]

He has represented the Faroe Islands national teams in football, badminton and table tennis.^[10]

In November 2014 he was appointed honorary member of HB Tórshavn.^[11]

Michelsen was elected mayor of Tórshavn in 1981. In 1984 he was elected member of the Løgting (the Faroese parliament) representing People's Party (Fólkaflokkurin). He remained MP until 1990 and mayor until 1992. He was elected for the parliament again in 2002 and remained a member until 2020.

Michelsen was a member of Fólkaflokkurin for around 40 years until 2010, when he left the party as a protest against the political course, which in his opinion was pointing in the opposite direction of the parties values.^[12] He was known as much more liberal regarding social and economic affairs, and radical in the matter of independence from Denmark than his fellow party before his exit. In an interview with the Faroese newspaper Sosialurin he criticized what he saw as the parties resistance to reform^[13] Michelsen even criticized named politicians in the People's Party, especially a group of politicians with close relations to Anfinn Kallsberg; which he considered as a prevention for reforms which a majority of the parti wanted to perform earlier.^[13]

On 9 March 2011 he formed together with Hanna Jensen a new political party named Framsókn (Progress), which he describes as a liberal national party.^[14] Michelsen is the leader of Progress and parliamentary leader. In 2011 the party had two members elected, Poul Michelsen and Janus Rein. Rein left the party one year later and joined Fólkaflokkurin in September 2013.^[15]

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