Denmark

Government

Government type

parliamentary constitutional monarchy Capital

name: Copenhagen

geographic coordinates: 55 40 N, 12 35 E

time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October; note - applies to continental Denmark only, not to its North Atlantic components

etymology: name derives from the city's Danish appellation Kobenhavn, meaning "Merchant's Harbor" Administrative divisions

metropolitan Denmark - 5 regions (regioner, singular - region); Hovedstaden (Capital), Midtjylland (Central Jutland), Nordjylland (North Jutland), Sjaelland (Zealand), Syddanmark (Southern Denmark) Independence

ca. 965 (unified and Christianized under HARALD I Gormsson); 5 June 1849 (became a parliamentary constitutional monarchy) National holiday

Constitution Day, 5 June (1849); note - closest equivalent to a national holiday Constitution

history: several previous; latest adopted 5 June 1953

amendments: proposed by the Folketing with consent of the government; passage requires approval by the next Folketing following a general election, approval by simple majority vote of at least 40% of voters in a referendum, and assent of the chief of state; changed several times, last in 2009 (Danish Act of Succession) Legal system

civil law; judicial review of legislative acts International law organization participation

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Denmark

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years Suffrage

18 years of age; universal Executive branch

chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK (elder son of the monarch, born on 26 May 1968)

head of government: Prime Minister Mette FREDERIKSEN (since 27 June 2019)

cabinet: Council of State appointed by the monarch

elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the monarch Legislative branch

description: unicameral People's Assembly or Folketing (179 seats, including 2 each representing Greenland and the Faroe Islands; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms unless the Folketing is dissolved earlier)

elections: last held on 5 June 2019 (next to be held on June 2023)

election results: percent of vote by party - SDP 25.9%, V 23.4%, DF 8.7%, SLP 8.6%, SF 7.7%, EL 6.9%, C 6.6%, A 3.0%, NB 2.4%, LA 2.3%; seats by party - SDP 48, V 43, DF 16, SLP 16, SF 14, EL 13, C 12, A 5, NB 4, LA 4; composition - men 109, women 70 (includes 2 from Greenland), percent of women 39.1% Judicial branch

highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of the court president and 18 judges)

judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the monarch upon the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, with the advice of the Judicial Appointments Council, a 6-member independent body of judges and lawyers; judges appointed for life with retirement at age 70

subordinate courts: Special Court of Indictment and Revision; 2 High Courts; Maritime and Commercial Court; county courts Political parties and leaders

The Alternative A or AP (Franciska ROSENKILDE) Conservative People's Party or DKF or C [Soren PAPE POULSEN] Danish People's Party or DF or O [Kristian THULESEN DAHL] Liberal Alliance or LA [Alex VANOPSLAGH] Liberal Party (Venstre) or V [Jakob ELLEMANN-JENSEN] New Right Party or D or NB [Pernille VERMUND] Red-Green Alliance (Unity List) or EL [collective leadership, Mai VILLADSEN, spokesperson] Social Democrats or A or SDP [Mette FREDERIKSEN] Social Liberal Party or B or SLP [Sofie CARSTEN NIELSEN] Socialist People's Party or SF [Pia OLSEN DYHR]