The council

The council has the overall responsibility for the Institute’s tasks. They constitute the Board of Fonden Martinus Aandsvidenskabelige Institut (The Martinus Institute of Sprirtual Science Fund). See a description of the tasks of the council and the Foundation here.

Willem Johannes Kuijper

Willem (commonly known as Willy) was born in Holland in 1944 and completed his economic studies at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam in 1973. He has lived in Denmark since 1975 and worked as a taxi driver, among other things, until 1983. Martinus selected Willy as a member of the council in 1980. Since 2001 he been the chairman of the council. He joined the employed staff at the Martinus Institute in 1983, was the manager of the Martinus Centre, Klint from 1983-1988; after that he worked with the Institute’s finances and administration. In 2009 he retired but continues to contribute to the daily running of the Institute with his many years of experience.

Willy enjoys photography and, when asked about his interests, said: “If I had not met Martinus’ analyses, I would probably have worked with aid to developing countries”.

Jacob Kølle Christensen

Jacob (born in 1970) became acquainted with Martinus Cosmology in 1985 by reading an article on Martinus in Politikken’s occult encyclopaedia. For most of his adult life he has been interested in philosophical, scientific and spiritual issues; he takes great pleasure in studying music, art and architecture.

Jacob studied mathematics and economics at the University of Copenhagen, and is now the director of his own temporary employment agency and consultancy with responsibility for finance, strategy, sales and the daily running of the agency. He joined the council in 2009.

Pernilla Rosell Steuer
Pernilla was born in 1969 and lives in Hässelby near Stockholm, Sweden. She was introduced to Martinus Cosmology by her family, including her grandmother, who was a frequent visitor to Klint in the 1960s and 1970s. She has been involved in Martinus activities in Stockholm for the last 10 years and has taught at the Martinus Center in Varnhem, Sweden and during the International Weeks at the Martinus Center in Klint, Denmark.

Pernilla was trained as a high school teacher of German and English, she has a PhD in German and currently works as a senior lecturer at the Department of Language Education at Stockholm University. She joined the council in 2016 and she also sits on the Martinus Institute’s education committee.

Jens Christian Hermansen
Jens Christian (born 1976) has a PhD in sociology and is a researcher at the University of Copenhagen. Jens Christian has been familiar with Martinus Cosmology since 1997. He is currently involved in teaching, organising conferences, video projects and editing the magazine Kosmos. He lives near the Martinus Centre in Klint in his farmhouse, Solgården, which he is renovating with his wife Andrea.

Jens Christian joined the council in 2018.

Kenneth Ibsen
Kenneth Ibsen (born 1974) is a qualified civil engineer and is currently employed by the Danish National Agency of Environmental Protection as an IT project manager. He has studied Martinus Cosmology since he met it for the first time at the age of 16, and has read most of the literature in the field. Kenneth is a member of the Teaching Group (the voluntary teaching staff at the Martinus Centre and Martinus Institute) and gives regular lectures in Klint and at the Institute. He is also active as the chair of the Danish Vegetarian Society. Kenneth lives in the south of the island of Funen with his girlfriend Lise.

Kenneth joined the council in 2019.

Micael Söderberg (substitute)
Micael was born in 1964 and lives in Årsta in Stockholm with his partner Björn. He began studying Martinus's analyses in the mid-1980s and has been active in Martinus contexts in Stockholm and Varnhem since 2008. Micael has been a member of the teaching group since 2018 and is one of the co-editors of the Swedish podcast "Kosmologipodden".

Micael has a master's degree in sociology and has also studied comparative literature. He works for the Swedish authorities as a specialist in social insurance issues with a focus on disability. Micael joined the council in May 2020.