Jakob Axel Nielsen grew up in Hadsund in a family in which  his dad and granddad were lawyers; Nielsen went to law school at the University of Aarhus, and he worked as a lwwyer for eleven years until he was elected to the Folketing.
Nielsen grew up in Hadsund (12 km from Terndrup) in the region of Himmerland. His father and grandfather were also lawyers whilst his mother was a teacher. He graduated from the Gymnasium (secondary school) in Hobro and was educated in law at the University of Aarhus; he worked as a lawyer from 1994 until 2005 when he was elected to the Folketing. 
