The history of the constitutional democracy of Denmark

The history of the constitutional democracy of Denmark is interesting as it dates back to the Danish Constitution of 1849. Denmark, like a number of its European counterparts, is a constitutional monarchy with the Queen of the country being the official head of the government, although a ceremonial role. The Danish have a governance system that is characterised by a parliamentary democracy led by a Prime Minister. From this, we can conclude that the Prime Minister is the leader of parliament (called Folketinget) and occupies the primary leadership role. The national government of Denmark is voted in by the citizens of the country through a national election that is held every four years. In the history of the country, no singular party has managed to win the majority of the votes during the country’s elections and as a result, the Danish parliament is ruled as a coalition government consisting of several political parties.

The structure of government in Denmark is broken down into three structures. These are; Central, Regional and Municipal. The central government is tasked with the passing of national legislation as the first layer of government. The Regional layer of the government is reliant on the Regional Government Act and each region is led by a regional council that is allowed to decide upon its structure and organisation. The Regions, which are five in number, therefore are not controlled by the Central government on how they are to be organised and structured. The Municipal layer of the government relies on the Local Government Act and is under the leadership of the Mayor in the local council, although inferior to the Central government in authority it is allowed to decide upon its structure and organisation.

REFERENCE LIST

European Committee of the Regions. Denmark. portal.cor.europa.eu/divisionpowers/Pages/Denmark-Introduction.aspx. Accessed 01April 2021

Krunke, Helle. The Role of the Danish Constitution in European Transitional Governance. link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978–94–6265–273–6_7 Accessed 01 April 2021

Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Government and Politics. tykiet.um.dk/en/about-denmark/government-and-politics/ . Accessed 01 April 2021

Stokkink, Inger. The Rules of the Game; Understanding the Danish Political System. 05 October 2020. yourdanishlife.dk/the-rules-of-the-game-the-danish-political-system-for-beginners/ . Accessed 01 April 2021.