68-504: Peter Mærsk Møller ( / m ɛər s k ˈ m uː l ər / mairsk MOO -lər ; 22 September 1836 – 9 February 1927) was a Danish sea captain and the father of Arnold Peter Møller , founder of the Maersk corporation, and grandfather of Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller , who made Maersk the largest container ship operator and supply vessel operator in the world. He passed his merchant officer's examination at Flensborg Navigation School and became
136-584: A 1979 referendum . In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received " self rule ", thus leaving the government of Denmark with little influence over the matters of internal affairs that are devolved to the local governments of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The country or realm has land borders with Germany (the Danish-German border ) and Canada ( Hans Island ), and
204-558: A Danish county ( amt ); the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand (County Governor) and replaced it with the role of Rigsombudsmand ( High Commissioner of the Danish government ). These powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an "equal partner" with the Danish government. The 1978 "Greenland Home Rule Act" devolves powers in much the same way as
272-580: A Supreme Court judge, said that due to the special circumstances, the scope of delegation need not be strictly defined. Proponents of the second interpretation include Edward Mitens, Max Sørensen and Frederik Harhoff . Mitens, a Faeroese jurist and politician, argued that the Faeroese home rule had been approved by both the Løgting and the Rigsdag , so it was an agreement between two parties, in particular because
340-564: A road and rail bridge-tunnel that connects to Malmö , Sweden (the Danish-Swedish border ). The Constitution of the Kingdom of Denmark refers to the state's territory as Danmarks Rige (Danish Realm), which means "The Realm of Denmark". The Danish term rigsfællesskabet , translated as "The unity of the Realm", the "commonwealth of the Realm", or the "Danish Commonwealth" refers to
408-475: A separate people under international law. Greenland is now described as having " self rule ", with its home government exercising a wider range of powers. There are a number of matters that can not be acquired by the territories; Constitutional affairs, foreign policy, defence , the Supreme Court , citizenship , and monetary policy . Additionally, the Faroese and Greenlandic parliaments are subordinate to
476-686: A captain in 1861. His first assignment was the ship Prima in 1862. After the Second Schleswig War in 1864, Rømø, as Flensborg, passed under Prussian rule (and from 1871 German territory; Rømø remained so until 1920, and Flensborg – now Flensburg – still is a German city), so Captain Mærsk Møller moved to Dragør , only a few kilometres to the east of Copenhagen . He was the first in Denmark to suggest steam ships instead of sailing ships. He did so in 1884, as he moved from Dragør to Svendborg , on
544-404: A government to take office without getting a vote of confidence and stay in office as long as it does not lose a vote of no confidence . One consequence is that, unlike in most other parliamentary systems, most Danish governments in modern times are not assured that their legislative agendas will pass, forcing them to assemble a majority for each individual piece of legislation. The 179 members of
612-495: A part of the parliamentary support of a new, centre-left government. In the event the Social Liberals did join the new three-party coalition government formed on 3 October. Following the 2015 general election , Thorning-Schmidt was replaced as prime minister by her predecessor Lars Løkke Rasmussen. Until 28 November 2016, he led a government consisting only of Venstre – a very unusual situation in Danish politics. The Speaker
680-636: A population above 50,000 people. Denmark is populated by the Danes , the Faroe Island by the Faroese , and Greenland by the Greenlandic Inuit . In both the Faroe Islands and Greenland, Danes make up 7.6% of the population, as of 2018 . As of 2020 , there are about 11,000 Faeroese-born and 17,000 Greenlandic-born people living in Denmark. With respect to area, Greenland is by far the largest, and makes up 98% of
748-567: A referendum in Greenland. It also needs consent from the Folketing, in accordance with section 19 of the Danish constitution. That section states that any changes to the Kingdom's territory needs to be approved by the Folketing. Greenlandic independence does not require a constitutional change; instead, should Greenland become independent, the rules in the constitution regarding Greenland becomes void. With regards to international law , Denmark signed
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#1732845574663816-414: A single minister or the entire government to resign. Members are democratically elected by proportional representation : 135 directly in constituencies using the D'Hondt method , alongside 40 leveling seats . The Danish political system has traditionally generated coalitions. Most post-war governments have been minority coalitions ruling with the support of non-government parties. The first sitting of
884-797: A whole is a member of the United Nations , NATO , the OECD and the World Trade Organization . The Faroe Islands and Greenland are associated members of the Nordic Council in their own right as part of Denmark's membership. Although the Kingdom of Denmark is a member of the European Union , both areas have special dispensation and remain outside the EU. Greenland joined the EU as part of Denmark in 1973, but opted to leave in 1985 after Greenlandic home rule
952-518: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Danish Realm The Danish Realm , officially the Kingdom of Denmark , or simply Denmark , is a sovereign state and refers to the area over which the Constitution of Denmark applies. It consists of metropolitan Denmark —the kingdom's territory in continental Europe and sometimes called "Denmark proper" (Danish: egentlige Danmark )—and
1020-586: Is a unitary sovereign state. It has Arctic territorial claims in the Arctic Ocean : various sites near the North Pole ( Lomonosov Ridge , Gakkel Ridge , and the Alpha - Mendeleev Ridge complex). Constitutionally, the Kingdom of Denmark encompasses the realm or the country, but the Faroe Islands and Greenland have an extended degree of autonomy to govern their relations. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been under
1088-450: Is the presiding officer of the Folketing. The Speaker determines which members may speak, and is responsible for maintaining order during debates. The position was created in 1850, and the inaugural holder of the office was Carl Christoffer Georg Andræ . The current Speaker is Søren Gade of Venstre . The Speaker and four Deputy Speakers are elected by MPs at the opening of parliament after each general election and compose presidium of
1156-424: Is therefore not a direct representation of the country. About one-third of seats have been switched for new members every election, a figure that has stayed more or less constant over previous elections. The largest change in these figures was seen in the election of 1973, where 45 percent of seats saw new members, and the lowest change was in the election of 1988, when 14.8 percent of members were newcomers. Since
1224-572: The Danish parliament , where the two territories are represented by two seats each (from a total of 179 seats). The Faroe Islands have gradually taken control of more and more areas of responsibility according to their Home Rule Act from 1948. The Faroese/Danish act of 2005 states: "This law is based on an agreement between the Governments of the Faroe Islands and Denmark as equal partners." Previously, most foreign relations were undertaken exclusively by
1292-566: The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention in 1996 and acknowledged the Greenlandic Inuit as an Indigenous people . In the 2009 self rule act, Denmark recognised the Greenlandic people as a "people" within the context of international law, and their inherent right to self-determination . The Kingdom of Denmark constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that
1360-602: The Northern Atlantic and are rugged with cliffs along the coast, while Greenland is in the North Atlantic and Arctic , and is 79% covered in ice . Greenland is the most sparsely populated territory in the world, according to the World Bank . The Kingdom has submitted five claims to the United Nations that its exclusive economic zone extends beyond the usual 200 nautical miles limit: one north and one south of
1428-752: The Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature ( parliament ) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland . Established in 1849, the Folketing was the lower house of the bicameral parliament called the Rigsdag until 1953; the upper house was the Landsting . It meets in Christiansborg Palace , on
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#17328455746631496-616: The Treaty of Kiel , but kept control of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. The colonies on Greenland were situated on the west coast, and as a condition for the sale of the Danish West Indies to the United States in 1917, the U.S. recognised Danish sovereignty over the whole island, and most countries followed suit. One exception was Norway who in 1931 occupied parts of East Greenland , but abandoned their claim in 1933, when it lost
1564-495: The constitutional status of the relationship between Denmark, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland. The name was used by Danish and Greenlandic authorities in the negotiations for home rule introduced in 1979, and has become popular since the beginning of the 1990s. The acts establishing the 1948 Faroese home rule and the 1979 Greenlandic home rule use the term rigsenheden instead. Jurist Frederik Harhoff argued in 1993 that rigsenheden should be replaced with rigsfællesskabet , as
1632-589: The national conservative Danish People's Party and often gained the necessary 90th seat for majority in the Folketing through negotiations with either the sole MP from the Christian Democrats , Ørum-Jørgensen or another MP outside parties, Christmas Møller, both elected in 2007 as conservative MPs and having defected since then. Since the 2007 elections , the Liberal Alliance (previously Ny Alliance) gained momentum in opinion polls, and since early 2010
1700-420: The 1915 constitution gave Risdagen the legislative power, any laws by the Løgting necessarily derived its authority from powers delegated to it from Rigsdagen. With regards to the extent Rigsdagen was allowed to delegate its legislative power under section 2, Meyers argued that more powers could be delegated to the Faroe Islands than other parts of the country, due to its special history. Similarly, Christensen,
1768-472: The 2011 election. But there has been considerable debate about the future politics of this coalition, mainly because the Social Liberal Party demands a more liberal economic agenda. Also on immigration issues there are political differences between the three coalition parties. This has led some observers to believe that the Social Liberal Party will not join a government coalition but instead opt to be
1836-635: The Conservative group in the Folketing caused Lene Espersen to resign as political leader of the party and focus on her role as Minister of Foreign Affairs . A leadership election between Brian Mikkelsen , the Minister of Economic and Business Affairs and Lars Barfoed , the Justice Minister , was widely expected, but on 14 January the Conservative group in the Folketing unanimously elected Barfoed as their new political leader. The Social Democrats under
1904-558: The Crown of Denmark since 1397 ( de facto ) when the Kalmar Union was ratified, and part of the Danish Realm since 1814 ( de jure ). However, due to their separate historical and cultural identities, these parts of the Realm now have an extensive degree of self-government and have assumed legislative and administrative responsibility in a substantial number of fields. Legal matters in
1972-481: The Faeroese voted for independence, but the result was rejected by the Danish government. Instead, after negotiations between the Faroe Islands and Denmark, the Faroe Islands were granted "home rule" in 1948. Greenland was originally administered as two separate colonies, viz. North and South Greenland . In 1950, these two were merged as the Colony of Greenland . Following the constitutional reform in 1953 , Greenland
2040-524: The Faroe Islands and Greenland to be somewhere in between the constitution and a usual act by the Folketing, as it had been treated as such . The Greenlandic self rule act of 2009 gives Greenland a way to achieve independence. First, the Greenlandic people must make the decision, after which there should be negotiations between the Greenlandic government ( Naalakkersuisut ) and the Danish government about how to practically implement it. The agreement reached needs to be ratified by Inatsisartut, and approved in
2108-543: The Faroe Islands must be prepared for that court, like any Danish matter. Danish currency is also legal tender in Greenland, but not in the Faroes. Denmark is responsible for the military defence of both nations. The Kingdom of Denmark is a member state of the European Communities , the predecessor of the European Union , since 1973. In 1982, Greenland voted to leave the Communities after gaining home rule from
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2176-411: The Faroe Islands were given "home rule" in 1948, and Greenland in 1979. Greenland's home rule was replaced in 2009 by "self rule". There is an ongoing legal debate about what constitutional weight these arrangements have. In general, there are two conflicting views: (a) the laws delegate power from the Folketing and can be revoked unilaterally by it, and (b) the laws have special status so changes require
2244-513: The Faroe Islands, and three around Greenland. One Greenlandic claim includes the North Pole and the Lomonosov Ridge , and extend all the way to the Russian exclusive economic zone. Claims overlapping with other nations' claims have to be resolved through negotiation; in 2019, Iceland , Norway and the Kingdom of Denmark settled their claims to the area north of the Faroe Islands. The Kingdom
2312-596: The Faroese Home Rule Act. It sets out a home rule government and Greenlandic parliament . Specific areas of governance specified in the act include: Organization of local government; Fishing and agriculture; Welfare system; protection of the environment ; other areas affecting Greenlanders directly, etc. On 21 June 2009, Greenland assumed self-determination with responsibility for self-government of judicial affairs, policing, natural resources, immigration and border controls. Also, Greenlanders were recognised as
2380-481: The Folketing. During the next decades, law-making mainly took place in the Folketing, and the Landsting came to be regarded as a superfluous rubber stamp. In 1953 a revised constitution was adopted by a referendum . Among the changes was the elimination of the Landsting and the introduction of a unicameral parliament, known only as the Folketing. Christiansborg Palace (also known by its nickname Borgen , Danish for
2448-625: The Government of Denmark on behalf of the entire realm, but more recently the Faroe Islands and Greenland have increased their role in foreign policy. Representatives for both have joined Danish delegations in discussions on some international matters, such as fishing rights. Greenlandic representatives were included in the process of a new treaty between Denmark and the US regarding the Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark as
2516-468: The Kingdom of Denmark". The sovereignty of the Faroe Islands and Greenland is held by the Danish state. The Kingdom of Denmark is a unitary state , with the Folketing being its unicameral legislature. The Faroe Islands and Greenland each elect two members to the parliament; the remaining 175 members are elected in Denmark. The Folketing have by law given the Faroe Islands and Greenland extensive autonomy;
2584-758: The Realm of Denmark. The Faroe Islands was never part of the EU, as explicitly asserted by both Rome treaties. The relations of the Faroe Islands with the EU are governed by a Fisheries Agreement (1977) and a Free Trade Agreement (1991, revised 1998). The main reason for remaining outside the EU is disagreements about the Common Fisheries Policy . Denmark: Faroe Islands: Greenland: Folketing Confidence and supply (5) Opposition (88) Crossbench (11) The Folketing ( Danish : Folketinget , pronounced [ˈfʌlkəˌtsʰe̝ŋˀð̩] ; lit. ' The people's thing ' or ' People's assembly ' ), also known as
2652-460: The United States . The Faroe Islands were made a Danish county in 1816, and with the constitution of 1849 , it gained representation in the Rigsdag . During World War II, the Faroe Islands were occupied by the United Kingdom and they largely administered themselves. After the war, it was clear that the old system could not be reinstated. In an independence referendum in 1946, 50.7% of
2720-418: The approval by the Løgting happened according to special rules put in place in 1940 with the consent of the Danish representative there, during the occupation by the United Kingdom. Sørensen said the intention with the Faeroese home rule was that it should not be unilaterally changed, as stated in the preamble, so it had that effect. Harhoff, in his 1993 Doctorate dissertation, considered the home rule acts of
2788-401: The body. The members of parliament are allocated into thirty standing parliamentary committees . The standing committees have a portfolio that covers that of one or more government ministers . Although Denmark is a representative democracy , a bias is seen in the demographics of the Folketing as opposed to the demographics of Denmark , with middle-aged men over-represented, the Folketing
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2856-544: The case at the Permanent Court of International Justice . In Iceland there was a growing nationalism in the 19th century, and Iceland was in 1874 given its own constitution and increased autonomy, but still with the executive power in Danish hands. Iceland was granted home rule in 1904, and, by the Danish–Icelandic Act of Union , full independence in 1918. The act established a personal union between Denmark and
2924-538: The castle ) has been the domicile of parliament since 1849. The palace is in the heart of Copenhagen . Gaining representation in parliament normally requires only 2% of the national vote. With such a low election threshold a large number of parties are represented in the chamber, making it all but impossible for one party to win the 90 seats necessary for a majority. No single party has achieved this since 1901. All Danish governments since then have been coalitions or one-party minority governments . The constitution allows
2992-534: The consent of the Faeroese Løgting or the Greenlandic Inatsisartut , respectively. Proponents of the first interpretation include Alf Ross , Poul Meyer and Jens Peter Christensen . Ross, the chief architect of the Faeroese home rule, argued that it was "a municipal self-government of extraordinary extensive scope". Meyer wrote in 1947, prior to the Faeroese home rule, that since section 2 of
3060-521: The country or realm are subject to the Constitution of the Realm of Denmark . It stipulates that it applies for all parts of the Kingdom of Denmark and that legislative, executive and judicial powers are the responsibility of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Folketing ), the Government of Denmark and the Supreme Court of Denmark . The Faroe Islands were granted home rule via an independence referendum in 1946, and Greenland did so in
3128-453: The devolved powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government, thus the state remains de jure unitary. The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese and the Greenlandic political authorities. The Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have
3196-462: The economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides an annual grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 "Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands" sets out the terms of Faroese home rule . The Act states, "...the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark." It establishes
3264-407: The educated classes. From 1866 to 1915 the right to vote for the Landsting was restricted to the wealthiest, and some of its members were appointed by the king; so it predominantly represented the landed gentry and other conservatives. From 1915 both men and women had the right of vote for both houses, and the Landsting was elected by common vote, although indirectly and with a higher age limit than for
3332-403: The folketing are directly elected to four-year terms, subject to calls for early elections. All Danish citizens 18 years or older may vote in legislative elections, which are conducted by secret ballot. Folketing seats are allocated among the various parties using the D'Hondt method of party list proportional representation . A party or electoral alliance must pass the election threshold of 2% of
3400-417: The former implies a common identity, while the latter implied a community of different identities. The use of the expression Rigsfællesskabet though can be traced back to at least 1908. Denmark's population is by far the largest of the three; 5.8 million people live in Denmark, and about 52,000 and 56,000 in the Faroe Island and Greenland, respectively. In comparison, there are ten cities in Denmark with
3468-532: The governing coalition have not been able to gather a majority in the polls without the support of the Alliance. The continuing rise in the polls is to an extent the result of the internal crisis in the Conservative People's Party over the leadership of Lene Espersen and the continuing debate over a lack of "true" liberal/conservative ideology in government policy. On 13 January 2011 the continuing turmoil in
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#17328455746633536-651: The home government of the Faroe Islands ( Landsstýrið ) and the Faroese parliament, the Løgting . More significantly, the Act specifies the powers devolved from the Government of Denmark, including: local government and municipal affairs; taxation , at a local and territorial level; public services , including police and town planning; welfare services , such as housing; primary and secondary education; Archives, libraries, museums; agriculture and fishing; entertainment; among other areas. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as
3604-481: The house is usually attended by the king . From 1849 to 1953 the Folketing was one of the two houses in the bicameral parliament known as the Rigsdag ; the other house was known as Landstinget . The difference between the houses was its size, voter representation, and electoral system. The Folketing was elected by common vote among men and consisted mainly of independent farmers, traders, and merchants as well as
3672-421: The island of Fyn . In 1904, Peter Mærsk Møller, with the fifth of his nine sons, Arnold Peter Møller, founded Dampskibsselskabet Svendborg i 1904 ("The Steam Ship Company of Svendborg 1904"). Eight years later, the success of this enterprise encouraged A.P. Møller to start his own: Dampskibsselskabet af 1912 , which eventually became the Maersk business conglomerate. This Danish biographical article
3740-417: The islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen . The Folketing passes all laws, approves the cabinet , and supervises the work of the government. It is also responsible for adopting the state's budgets and approving the state's accounts. As set out in the Constitution of Denmark , the Folketing shares power with the reigning monarch . But in practice, the monarch's role is limited to signing laws passed by
3808-622: The leadership of Helle Thorning-Schmidt have enjoyed continuing majorities in opinion polls since late 2009 and hope to form a centre-left government coalition consisting of the Socialist People's Party and the Social Liberal Party with parliamentary support from the small Red-Green Alliance . Both Margrethe Vestager (Social Liberal Party) and Villy Søvndal (Socialist People's Party) pledged their support to Thorning-Schmidt before
3876-399: The legislature; this must be done within 30 days of adoption. The Folketing consists of 179 members ; including two from Greenland and two from the Faroe Islands . General elections must be held every four years, but it is within the powers of the prime minister to ask the monarch to call for an election before the term has elapsed. On a vote of no confidence , the Folketing may force
3944-401: The newly created Kingdom of Iceland , with Denmark handling coastal protection and foreign affairs. In 1944, Iceland abolished the personal union and adopted a new constitution that established the current republic , after a referendum on the subject. This happened during World War II, where Denmark and Iceland were cut off from each other, as Denmark was occupied by Germany , and Iceland by
4012-431: The overall vote to be allocated a seat. The Danish political system is characterised by a fusion of powers , with the government being drawn from the ranks of the Folketing. Denmark is governed by a cabinet and a prime minister who do not have a majority in the Folketing against them (negative parliamentarism). Since no single party in Denmark has had an absolute majority in the Folketing since 1903, in order to pass laws,
4080-565: The prime minister must form alliances with parties outside his or her own party. This either results in a coalition cabinet of multiple parties, or a single-party minority government. During his first term in 2009 to 2011, Lars Løkke Rasmussen led a centre-right minority government consisting of the Liberal Party ( Venstre ) and the Conservative People's Party . This coalition government worked with regular parliamentary support from
4148-472: The realm's two autonomous regions: the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America . The relationship between the three parts of the Kingdom is known as The unity of the Realm . The Kingdom of Denmark is not a federation ; it is a concept encompassing the three autonomous legal systems of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, united under its monarch . The Kingdom of Denmark
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#17328455746634216-465: The realm. The entire kingdom has an area of 2.2 million square kilometres (0.85 million square miles), and is according to The World Factbook the twelfth largest country in the world, the same rank held by Greenland alone. Denmark alone has an area of about 43,000 km , and is no. 133 on that list. Denmark is situated in Northern Europe and is flat and arable, the Faroe Islands in
4284-509: The words Dansk (Danish) and Danmark (Denmark). The provisions for home rule are limited to internal matters only. Neither Greenland nor the Faroe Islands can write laws that concern the relationship with other states, nor laws that apply to the entire Realm; furthermore, the Supreme Court (Danish: Højesteret ) in Copenhagen is the final legal instance, and legal matters from Greenland and
4352-539: Was a free state until 1262/1264, when it came under Norwegian taxation. Greenland, already populated by the Indigenous Greenlandic Inuit , was settled by Norwegians in the 10th century, among those Erik the Red . The connection to Greenland was lost in the 15th century, but Denmark–Norway again established connections in 1721 through the missionary Hans Egede . In 1814, Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden under
4420-477: Was incorporated into Denmark as a county and given representation in the Folketing . When Denmark joined the European Communities (EC) in 1972, Greenland followed, despite 70% of the Greenlandic voters voting against it in the referendum . As a home rule agreement would allow them to leave again (the Faroe Islands did not join the EC ), this was an important factor in the increasing support for home rule. Another factor
4488-451: Was a desire to make Greenland more Greenlandic and less Danish . They were given home rule in 1979 and left the EC in 1985. Under the home rule agreement, Greenland gradually took over more responsibility from the Danish state. In 2009, the home rule was replaced with "self rule", granting greater autonomy. The Danish constitution also applies in the Faroe Islands and Greenland, as section one states that it "shall apply to all parts of
4556-420: Was in a dispute with Canada on who has sovereignty over Hans Island between 1978 and 2022. The two governments eventually settled on a border running approximately halfway through the island, establishing a land border between the two states. The Faroe Islands were settled by Norwegian Vikings in the 9th century, displacing Irish monks already there. Iceland was settled in the 9th century by Norsemen , and
4624-515: Was introduced in 1979. The "Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands" specifies that a 'Faroese' shall be understood to mean a person who is a " national of Denmark and a resident of the Faroe Islands". The Government of Denmark issues special passports for its citizens living in the Faroe Islands and Greenland with the right to choose a regular Danish passport as well. The Faroese Home Rule Act states that, in Faroese passports , Føroyingur (Faroese) and Føroyar (Faroe Islands) shall be inserted after
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