Politics of Denmark
Denmark is described as a nation state. Danish politics and governance are characterized by a striving for broad consensus on important issues. Executive power is exercised by the cabinet of Denmark, presided over by the Prime Minister who is first among equals, legislative power is vested in both the executive and the national parliament. Members of the judiciary are nominated by the executive, formally appointed by the monarch, Denmark has a multi-party system, with two strong parties, and four or five other significant parties. No single party has held a majority in the Folketing since the beginning of the 20th century. Since only four coalition governments have enjoyed a majority, government bills rarely become law without negotiations. Hence the Folketing tends to be powerful than legislatures in other EU countries. The Constitution does not grant the power of judicial review of legislation. Since there are no constitutional or administrative courts, the Supreme Court deals with a constitutional dimension, on many issues the political parties tend to opt for co-operation, and the Danish state welfare model receives broad parliamentary support.
This ensures a focus on efficiency and devolved responsibilities of local government on regional and municipal levels. Margrethe II has ruled as Queen Regnant and head of state since 14 January 1972, in accordance with the Danish Constitution the Danish monarch, as head of state, is the theoretical source of all executive and legislative power. However, since the introduction of parliamentary sovereignty in 1901, a de facto separation of powers has been in effect, the text of the Danish constitution dates back to 1849. Therefore, it has been interpreted by jurists to suit modern conditions, in a formal sense, the monarch retains the ability to deny giving a bill royal assent. In order for a bill to law, a royal signature. The monarch chooses and dismisses the Prime Minister, although in modern times a dismissal would cause a constitutional crisis, on 28 March 1920, King Christian X was the last monarch to exercise the power of dismissal, sparking the 1920 Easter Crisis. When a new government is to be formed, the monarch calls the party leaders to a conference of deliberation, on the basis of the advice the monarch appoints the party leader who commands a majority of recommendation to lead negotiations for forming a new government.
However, the monarch does continue to exercise three rights, the right to be consulted, the right to advise, and the right to warn, pursuant to these ideals, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet attend the regular meeting of the Council of State. Nine parties are represented in parliament, the four oldest and in history most influential parties are the Conservative Peoples Party, the Social Democrats and the Danish Social Liberal Party
Aabenraa
The city of Aabenraa or Åbenrå, with a population of 15,814, is at the head of the Aabenraa Fjord, an arm of the Little Belt, in Denmark,61 kilometres north of the town of Schleswig. It was the seat of Sønderjyllands Amt until 1 January 2007, the name Aabenraa originally meant open beach. Aabenraa was first mentioned in accounts in the 12th century. Aabenraa started growing in the early Middle Ages around Opnør Hus, the castle, and received status as a merchant town in 1240. During the Middle Ages the town was known for its fishing industry, between 1560 and 1721 the town was under the rule of the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp. The towns glory days were during the period of the 1750s to c,1864, when ship traffic was at a high growth rate with trade to the Mediterranean Sea, South America, and Australia. It possessed a harbour, which afforded shelter for a large carrying trade, Aabenraa having the Danish monarchys third-largest trade fleet, after Copenhagen. The city had a number of well-known shipbuilding yards, which were known for their fine ships, the most famous of these was the clipper Cimber, which in 1857 sailed from Liverpool to San Francisco in 106 days.
Fishing and various small factories provided occupations for the population, from 1864 as a result of the Second War of Schleswig it was part of Prussia, and as such part of the North German Confederation, and from 1871 onwards, part of the German Empire. In the 1920 Schleswig Plebiscite that brought Northern Schleswig to Denmark,55. 1% of Aabenraas inhabitants voted for remaining part of Germany and 44. 9% voted for the cession to Denmark. However, since a plurality of votes in the surrounding Aabenraa municipality voted to join Denmark, after the 1948 Danish spelling reform, which abolished the digraph Aa in favor of Å, there was fervent resistance in Aabenraa. The town feared, among other things, to lose its status as first in alphabetical listings. A revision of the rules allowed for retaining the Aa spelling as an option. While the municipality of Aabenraa and most local citizens use the Aa spelling, the town has a 7.5 meter deep harbour, with a significant shipping trade. There is varied industry in the city, including Marcussens Organ Building, the city is the administrative center for the county.
Danmarks Radio has an office in the city, a significant German minority live in Aabenraa and they publish Der Nordschleswiger newspaper in German. Some significant buildings in the town are St. Nikolai Church from the time of King Valdemar with construction beginning ca,1250, and restored from 1949 to 1956. Brundlund Castle, erected by Queen Margaret I1411, and rebuilt in 1807, the town is a bathing resort, as is Elisenlund close by
Kingdom of Prussia
It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. Although it took its name from the region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern. Prussia was a power from the time it became a kingdom, through its predecessor, Brandenburg-Prussia. Prussia continued its rise to power under the guidance of Frederick II, more known as Frederick the Great. After the might of Prussia was revealed it was considered as a power among the German states. Throughout the next hundred years Prussia went on to win many battles and it was because of its power that Prussia continuously tried to unify all the German states under its rule. Attempts at creation of a federation remained unsuccessful and the German Confederation collapsed in 1866 when war ensued between its two most powerful states and Austria. The North German Confederation which lasted from 1867–1871, created a union between the Prussian-aligned states while Austria and most of Southern Germany remained independent.
The North German Confederation was seen as more of an alliance of military strength in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War, the German Empire lasted from 1871–1918 with the successful unification of all the German states under Prussian hegemony. This was due to the defeat of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, in 1871, Germany unified into a single country, minus Austria and Switzerland, with Prussia the dominant power. Prussia is considered the predecessor of the unified German Reich. The Kingdom left a significant cultural legacy, today notably promoted by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, in 1415 a Hohenzollern Burgrave came from the south to the March of Brandenburg and took control of the area as elector. In 1417 the Hohenzollern was made an elector of the Holy Roman Empire, after the Polish wars, the newly established Baltic towns of the German states including Prussia, suffered many economic setbacks. Many of the Prussian towns could not even afford to attend political meetings outside of Prussia, the towns were poverty stricken, with even the largest town, having to borrow money from elsewhere to pay for trade.
Poverty in these towns was partly caused by Prussias neighbors, who had established and developed such a monopoly on trading that these new towns simply could not compete and these issues led to feuds, trade competition and invasions. However, the fall of these gave rise to the nobility, separated the east and the west. It was clear in 1440 how different Brandenburg was from the other German territories, not only did it face partition from within but the threat of its neighbors. It prevented the issue of partition by enacting the Dispositio Achillea which instilled the principle of primogeniture to both the Brandenburg and Franconian territories, the second issue was solved through expansion
Jutland
Jutland, known as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula, is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and the northern portion of Germany. The names are derived from the Jutes and the Cimbri, jutlands terrain is relatively flat, with open lands, heaths and peat bogs in the west and a more elevated and slightly hilly terrain in the east. Jutland is a peninsula bounded by the North Sea to the west, the Skagerrak to the north and historically, Jutland comprises the regions of South Jutland, West Jutland, East Jutland and North Jutland. There are several subdivisions and regional names, some of which are still occasionally encountered today. They include Nørrejyllland, Sydvestjylland and Slesvig, Jutland was regulated by the Law Code of Jutland. This civic code covered the Jutland Peninsula from the north of the River Eider to Funen as well as the North Jutlandic Island. The Danish part of Jutland is currently divided into three regions, North Denmark Region, Central Denmark Region and Region of Southern Denmark.
These three regions have an area of 29,775 km2, a population of 2,599,104. The northernmost part of Jutland is separated from the mainland by the Limfjord and this area is called the North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy or simply Jutland north of the Limfjord, it is only partly co-terminous with the North Jutland region. Inhabitants of Als would agree to be South Jutlanders, but not necessarily Jutlanders, the Danish Wadden Sea Islands and the German North Frisian Islands stretch along the southwest coast of Jutland in the German Bight. Jutland has historically been one of the three lands of Denmark, the two being Scania and Zealand. Before that, according to Ptolemy, Jutland or the Cimbric Chersonese was the home of Teutons, many Angles and Jutes migrated from Continental Europe to Great Britain starting in c.450 AD. The Angles themselves gave their name to the new emerging kingdoms called England and this is thought by some to be related to the invasion of Europe by the Huns from Asia. Saxons and Frisii migrated to the region in the part of the Christian era.
Old Saxony was on referred to as Holstein, during the First World War, the Battle of Jutland in the North Sea west of Jutland was one of the largest naval battles in history. In this pitched battle, the British Royal Navy engaged the Imperial German Navy, the British fleet sustained greater losses, but remained in control of the North Sea, so in strategic terms, most historians regard Jutland either as a British victory or as indecisive. The distinctive Jutish dialects differ substantially from standard Danish, especially West Jutlandic, dialect usage, although in decline, is better preserved in Jutland than in eastern Denmark, and Jutlander speech remains a stereotype among many Copenhageners and eastern Danes. Administratively, Danish Jutland comprises three of Denmarks five regions, namely the Region Nordjylland, Region Midtjylland and the half of Region of Southern Denmark
Copenhagen Municipality
Their combined population stands at 763,908. The Municipality of Copenhagen is the most populous in the country with a population of 602,481 inhabitants, the municipal seat of government is the Copenhagen City Hall. The Lord Mayor of Copenhagen is Frank Jensen, since 2010, the relationship between Copenhagen Municipality and the wider city of Copenhagen is one of an administrative unit within a significantly larger city, cf. the City of London or the City of Brussels. In the Middle Ages, Copenhagen was defined as the area enclosed within the city walls, the city centre lies in the area originally defined by the old ramparts, which are still referred to as the Fortification Ring and kept as a partial green band around it. In 1856 the ramparts were pulled down allowing for growth and expansion, in 1901 the city expanded to include Amager and Valby, while Frederiksberg became an enclave within the municipality. The Finger Plan in the half of the 20th century led to expansion outside of the municipal boundary.
Copenhagen Municipality was one of the three last Danish municipalities not belonging to a county, the others being Frederiksberg Municipality and Bornholm, on 1 January 2007, the municipality lost its county privileges and became part of Region Hovedstaden. Copenhagen Municipality is a division covering the central city and certain additional areas. It encloses Frederiksberg Municipality and stretches east to the waterfront, neighboring municipalities are Gentofte and Herlev to the north, Rødovre and Hvidovre to the west, and Tårnby to the south. The City Hall Square is the old centre of the city, from which an old shopping street leads northeast to Kongens Nytorv, christiansborg Palace, which houses the Danish parliament, is located on the islet of Slotsholmen. The municipality is divided into ten administrative and tax districts, the suffix -bro in the names Østerbro, Nørrebro and Amagerbro should not be confused with the Danish word for bridge, which is bro. The term is thought to be an abbreviation or short form of the Danish word brolagt meaning paved, the two figures for 1 February 1901 are before and after the municipality annexed some nearby parishes.
The apparent decline since the mid-1900s are due to the figures not including the suburban and urban areas - notably Frederiksberg - outside Copenhagen municipality, Copenhagen Municipality is distinct from the wider Copenhagen urban area. The seat of Copenhagens municipal council is the Copenhagen City Hall, the council is chaired by the Lord Mayor—currently Frank Jensen—who oversees the civic duties of the fifty-five representatives of the council. The council usually meets every week at 17,30 on a Thursday. All members of the council are elected every four years, in the municipal elections in November 2013, the Social Democrats remained in first place with 27. 8% of the vote, while the Red-Green Alliance was in second place with 19. 5%. The Social Democrats have claimed the office of mayor for the past 110 years and it has six political committees and a finance committee. The annual budget for the city is proposed in August and finalized in October, the accounting firm Deloitte is responsible for auditing the City of Copenhagens accounts
Ballerup Municipality
Ballerup Kommune is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. It is located approximately 15 kilometers from central Copenhagen, the municipality covers an area of 34.09 km², and has a population of 48,514. It is the name of the seat, Ballerup. The current mayor is Jesper Würtzen of the Social Democrats, other than Ballerup, the towns that make up the municipality are Måløv and Skovlunde. Neighboring municipalities are Herlev to the east, Furesø to the north, Egedal to the west, the geography of Ballerup municipality was not affected on January 1,2007 as the result of the nationwide Kommunalreformen. The municipality is home to offices such as GN Store Nord
Little Belt
The Little Belt is a strait between the island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits that drain and connect the Baltic Sea to the Kattegat strait, which drains west to the North Sea, numerous small Danish islands lie within the belt. In part because of its depth, 10% of the moving between the inner Baltic Sea and the Kattegat flows through the Little Belt. The Little Belt stretches from the town of Juelsminde in the north to the island of Als in the south, with a course in between. The northern end is the widest at over 15 km, from there it runs southwest, narrowing to about 1 km at a place called Snævringen, where the two Little Belt Bridges are located. South of Fænø, the strait widens to about 10 km until it reaches the Baltic Sea near Als, the Little Belts western coastline is largely broken up by irregular inlets called fjords, and both sides feature steep sand bluffs. The area around the Little Belt is shaped by glacial moraines. The notable tunnel valleys were formed by meltwater, the terminal moraines from the northeast ices glacial maximum are some of the oldest in Denmark.
The Little Belt is a wetland under the Ramsar Convention. The Little Belt is home to several thousand harbour porpoises, the only resident cetacean in the inner Danish waters, observation tours are accessible nearby as well. Other species such as minke and fin whales visit the waters rather sporadically, the deep waters attract many species of fish, including cod and trout, and the Little Belt is a destination for recreational fishing. Human populations lived around the Little Belt during the Stone Age, hunting aurochs, reindeer and geological changes brought new plants and animals to the area and made the fishery in the fjords and neighboring archipelagoes into an important food source. Around 4000 BC, temperatures rose again, and the Funnelbeaker culture was active in the area, there are many archaeological sites from the Funnelbeaker culture and other Neolithic cultures in the area. Throughout the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Viking Age, trade with other populations increased, in the 14th century, the towns of Kolding and Vejle received merchant town privileges, and today they are the areas two largest towns.
From the Middle Ages until the end of the 19th century, local fishermen were involved in whaling - specifically. Harbor porpoises winter in Danish waterways, and whalers would wait in the parts of the belt. Whale oil from the porpoises was in use as a lamp oil until the spread of electric lighting undermined the whaling economy. In the winter of 1854-55,1,742 porpoises were captured, but otherwise, porpoise whaling was regulated by laws dating to at least 1593
Danish People's Party
The Danish Peoples Party is a political party in Denmark which is generally described as right-wing populist by academics and far-right by international media. It has described in academia and the media as a nativist. The party was founded in 1995 by Pia Kjærsgaard, who led the party until 2012, the DPP lent its support to the Liberal-Conservative government from the general election of 2001 until the 2011 election defeat. In comparison to its predecessor, the Progress Party, the DPP focus more on immigration, while overall considered part of the radical right, its policies on most economic issues would rather place the party in the centre to centre-left. The partys current leader, Kristian Thulesen Dahl, once declared DPP an anti-Muslim party, in 2014 the party won the European Parliament election in Denmark by a wide margin, securing 27% of the vote. After the election, it joined the European Conservatives and Reformists group alongside parties such as the United Kingdoms Conservative Party and Polands Law and Justice.
The Danish Peoples Party was founded on 6 October 1995, after Pia Kjærsgaard, Kristian Thulesen Dahl, Poul Nødgaard and its first national convention was held in Vissenbjerg on 1 June 1996, where Pia Kjærsgaard was unanimously elected as the partys chairman. The party was established in protest over the conditions of the Progress Party. It was initially seen by many as a clone of the Progress Party, the party saw a highly centralized party leadership as necessary, as it would not tolerate internal conflicts and disagreements with the official strategy. In 1997, the party won about 7% in the municipal elections, by 1998, the party had 2,500 registered members. The party made its debut in the 1998 Danish parliamentary election. The party was, left no influence in the formation of a government. In the 2001 election, the party won 12% of the vote and 22 seats in parliament and it became the third largest party in the parliament, giving them a key position, as they would have a parliamentary majority together with the Conservative Peoples Party and Venstre.
DPP was favoured by these parties, as it had supported the Venstre candidate for Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, during the election campaign. The party had a key role in writing the rules and conditions for immigration in the law that was established by the government in May 2002. In the 2005 election the party increased their vote. By young first-time voters the party showed even more popular, receiving one fifth of their votes, the party continued to support the government, and developed a broader policy base, as it made welfare policies its core issue, together with immigration policies. In 2006, the popularity rose dramatically in opinion polls following the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
Albertslund Municipality
Albertslund Municipality is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 23,04 km², and has a population of 27,780 and its mayor is Steen Christiansen, a member of the Social Democrats political party. As of 2010 the social democrats have 9 of the 21 seats in the city council, the main town and the site of its municipal council is the town of Albertslund. The original name of the municipality was Herstedernes Kommune, in 1973 the name was changed to Albertslund Kommune. The name Herstederne represents the two communities of Herstedvester and Herstedøster which were the villages in the area together with Vridsløse. Neighboring municipalities are Glostrup to the east and Egedal municipality to the north, Høje-Taastrup to the west, Albertslund is home to Danmarks International Kollegium, which has won many awards for its design. Albertslund is known for its effort in raising awareness about climate change, Albertslund Municipality was not merged with other municipalities by January 1,2007 as the result of nationwide 2007 Municipal Reform.
In 1973 Friluftsbadet Badesøen opened for the first time in Albertslund, companies headquartered in the municipality include FDB and Kemp & Lauritzen. Distribution of the 21 seats in the municipal council, badesøens distinctive, round pool is 60 m in diameter. It has a surface of 2800 m2 and contains 3.6 million gallons of water. Water depth varies from 25 cm along the edge to 380 cm during the 1 and 3 meter lashes, in the childrens departments is the water depth from 25 to 80 cm deep. The basin is divided into areas for children, for children who cannot swim. There is in the area are two bathing bridges, between which there are a number of 50-meter lanes. Badesøens two waterslides are respectively 60 and 43 meters long, the water temperature at approximately 22 degrees is powered by solar energy. The whole area is 5000 m2 and includes a volleyball court, ball field, streetbasket field, childrens area, café area, boccia court, locker facilities. On a warm summer days Badesøen visited 3,000 customers
South Jutland County
South Jutland County is a former county on the south-central portion of the Jutland Peninsula in southern Denmark. The county was formed on April 1,1970, comprising the counties of Aabenraa, Haderslev, Sønderborg. The county was abolished effective January 1,2007, when the Region of Southern Denmark was formed, following the reunification of the region with Denmark, the Church of Denmark elevated Haderslev to a diocese in 1923 and divided the region between the dioceses of Ribe and Haderslev. South Jutland county is known as Northern Schleswig. Denmark lost the Duchy of Schleswig, as well as the German Duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg, following Austrias defeat in the Austro-Prussian War, all three provinces were annexed to Prussia. Following the defeat of Germany in World War I, the Allied powers organised two plebiscites in Northern and Central Schleswig on 10 February and 14 March 1920, respectively, in Northern Schleswig 75% voted for reunification with Denmark and 25% for staying with Germany.
In Central Schleswig the situation was reversed with 80% voting for Germany, no vote ever took place in the southern third of Schleswig, as the result was a foregone conclusion. On 15 June 1920, Northern Schleswig was officially reunited with Denmark and it is the only one of the German transfers of territory after World War I that the Nazis did not dispute. Central Schleswig chose to remain with Southern Schleswig as part of Germany and is today a part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, a small ethnic German minority still lives in South Jutland county - predominantly in and near the towns of Tønder and Aabenraa. Important settlements, Sønderborg, Haderslev and Tønder, the coat of arms of South Jutland County was designed in 1980 and is derived from the historic coat of arms of Schleswig which in turn is derived from the national coat of arms of Denmark. The inspiration for the Dannebrog pennant was a 13th-century seal used by Erik Abelsøn, Duke of Schleswig
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