Folketing
Type	Unicameral
Speaker of the Folketing	Thor Pedersen, Venstre since 28 November 2007
Members	179
Political groups	Venstre (47) Social Democrats (45) Danish People's Party (25) Socialist People's Party (23) Conservative People's Party (17) Social Liberal Party (9) New Alliance (3) Red-Green Alliance (4) Siumut (1) Inuit Ataqatigiit (1) Republican Party (1) Union Party (1) Independent (2)
Last elections	13 November 2007
Meeting place	Christiansborg Castle, Copenhagen
Web site	Folketing

The Folketing [ˈfɔlgəˌtʰeŋˤ], or Folketinget, is the national parliament of Denmark. Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or Parliamentary chamber Thor Pedersen (born June 14 1945) is a Danish Politician representing the Liberal party Venstre. Venstre (ˈʋɛnsd̥(ʁɐ in Danish literally Left) full name Venstre Danmarks Liberale Parti ( Venstre Liberal Party of Denmark) is the For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Venstre (ˈʋɛnsd̥(ʁɐ in Danish literally Left) full name Venstre Danmarks Liberale Parti ( Venstre Liberal Party of Denmark) is the The Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterne is a Danish political party The Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti is a social conservative, National conservative political party in Denmark. The Socialist People's Party (Danish Socialistisk Folkeparti, SF is a Danish socialist and Green Political party. The Conservative People's Party (Det Konservative Folkeparti also known as Conservatives ( Konservative) is a Danish Political party. Det Radikale Venstre (literally The Radical Left is a Social liberal party in Denmark. The Red-Green Alliance ( Enhedslisten lit Unity List) is a left-wing Political party in Denmark. Forward ( Greenlandic: Siumut) is a Social democratic Political party in Greenland and member of the Socialist International Inuit Ataqatigiit ( Greenlandic for Community of the People) is a Leftist Political party in Greenland. The Republic (Tjóðveldi also known as the Republican Party) is a Left-of-centre Political party in the Faroe Islands committed to Faroese The Union Party (Sambandsflokkurin also translated Unionist Party) is a conservative liberal Political party in the Faroe Islands. In Politics, an independent is a Politician who is not Affiliated with any Political party. Events 1002 - English king Ethelred orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Christiansborg Palace on Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, is the house of Denmark 's three supreme powers the executive power, the Copenhagen (ˌkəʊpənˈheɪgən ˌkəʊpənˈhɑːgən ˈkəʊpənˌheɪgən ˈkəʊpənˌhɑːgən kʰøb̥ənˈhɑʊ̯ˀn kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn is the capital and largest city TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A  parliament is a Legislature, especially in those The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The name literally means “(the) People's Ting”—that is, the people's governing assembly. See also Medieval Scandinavian laws A thing or ting ( Old Norse, Old English and Icelandic: þing; other modern

History

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 the Landsting. In Government, bicameralism (bi + Latin la ''camera'' chamber is the practice of having two legislative or Parliamentary chambers Thus a bicameral The Rigsdag was the name of the Parliament of Denmark from 1849 to 1953 The Landsting was a house of the Rigsdag in Denmark from 1849 until 1953 when the bicameral system was abolished Since both houses, in principle, had equal power, the terms "upper house" and "lower house" were not used. The difference between the houses was voter representation.

The Folketing was elected by common vote and consisted mainly of independent farmers, traders and merchants as well as the educated classes (i. e. the liberal forces of society). Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal From 1866 to 1915 the right of vote for the Landsting was restricted to the wealthiest, and some of its members were even appointed by the king, thus it predominantly represented the old aristocracy and other conservatives. From 1915 the Landsting was also elected by common vote, although indirectly and with a higher age limit than for 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 the people by popular vote adopted a revised constitution. Among the changes was the elimination of the Landsting and the introduction of a unicameral parliament, known only as the Folketing. Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or Parliamentary chamber Christiansborg Palace has been the domicile of parliament since 1849. Christiansborg Palace on Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, is the house of Denmark 's three supreme powers the executive power, the The palace is located in the heart of Copenhagen. Copenhagen (ˌkəʊpənˈheɪgən ˌkəʊpənˈhɑːgən ˈkəʊpənˌheɪgən ˈkəʊpənˌhɑːgən kʰøb̥ənˈhɑʊ̯ˀn kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn is the capital and largest city

Last election results

Following the election, Gitte Seeberg has left New Alliance and Pia Christmas-Møller has left the Conservative's, and both are now represented in parliament outside of political parties. Gitte Seeberg (born on 25 June 1960 in Copenhagen)is a Danish Politician and member of parliament. Pia Christmas-Møller (born January 21, 1961) is a Danish politician Malou Aamund has left New Alliance and is now representing the party Venstre. Malou Aamund (born July 28 1969 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a member of parliament for the party Venstre.

Denmark

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Denmark

Constitution The Crown: Margrethe II Council of State Government Former governments Prime Minister (list) Anders Fogh Rasmussen Parliament Speaker: Thor Pedersen Elections: 2001 · 2005 · 2007 Local government Regions Municipalities Former subdivisions Counties Political parties Foreign relations See also Politics of the Faroe Islands Politics of Greenland EU Politics

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Constitutional Requirements

• The Folketing consists of 179 members all elected for a four-year term or until the Prime Minister (via the Queen-in-council) calls for elections, whichever comes first. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The Politics of Denmark takes place in a framework of a parliamentary, Representative democratic, Constitutional monarchy, in which the The Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark (Danmarks Riges Grundlov was introduced on June 5, 1849 and effectively put an end to the Absolute monarchy This is a list of Danish Monarchs, that is the Kings and Queens regnant of Denmark. Early life Princess Margrethe was born, to Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Ingrid. The Council of State ( Statsrådet) is the Privy council of Denmark. Denmark is a Constitutional monarchy with a Representative democracy based on a unicameral parliamentary system In Denmark governments are named after the Prime Minister, who is also the leader of the government. The Prime Minister of Denmark (statsminister is the Head of government in Danish politics. This is a list over the heads of government in Denmark since 1848 Anders Fogh Rasmussen (⁽ˈ⁾ɑnɐs foˀ ˈʀɑsmusn̩, informally known as Anders Fogh ( ˈfoːˀ ⁽ˈ⁾ɑnɐs ˈfɔʊ̯ˀ or simply Fogh, (born January Thor Pedersen (born June 14 1945) is a Danish Politician representing the Liberal party Venstre. Elections in Denmark gives information on Elections and election results in Denmark. The Danish Parliamentary Election of 2001 held on November 20, 2001 saw a dramatic change in the political composition of the Danish parliament or Folketing Legislative elections were held in Denmark on February 8, 2005. The 66th Folketing election in Denmark was held on November 13, 2007. The Regions of Denmark were created on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform which created five new administrative units to replace the country's Legal foundation of municipalities The Constitution of Denmark states "Article 82 Denmark was until December 31, 2006 divided into 15 counties ( Danish: amter) and 270 municipalities ( This article lists political parties in Denmark. Denmark has a Multi-party system with two or three strong parties and four or five other significant Danish foreign policy is founded upon four cornerstones the United Nations, NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation the EU, and Nordic cooperation Politics of the Faroe Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby the Prime Minister of the Politics of Greenland takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Danish dependency, whereby the Prime Minister The European Union is a unique entity possessing elements of Intergovernmentalism, Supranationalism and a Multi-party Parliamentary democracy Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent Greenland and the Faroe Islands each elect 2 members separately. Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat meaning "Land of the Greenlanders" Grønland is a self-governing Danish Province located between the The Faroe Islands or Faeroe Islands or simply Faroe(s or Faeroes (Føroyar meaning " Sheep Islands" Færøerne Old Norse
• Members are elected in accordance with the principle of proportional majority.
• The Constitution requires for "equal representation of the various opinions of the electorate", and for regional representation to be secured. The electoral act stipulates the details for this: 135 seats are elected by proportional representation in 17 districts, and 40 supplementary seats are allotted to make out for the difference between district and nation-wide vote.
• The result is proportional representation; however, in rare cases, the biggest parties may gain one or two seats extra from smaller parties.
• The voter may vote for a party list, one of the candidates on a party list, or an independent candidate.
• Parties (usually district party assemblies) decide on the nomination of candidates before the election. When co-nomination is assigned, candidates are elected according to personal votes. When priority order is assigned, only an extreme number of personal votes can change the rank.
• Parties must either pass the threshold, 2% of the national vote, or gain a district seat to gain any supplemental seats. In Party-list proportional representation systems an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes either Though possible, it is very rare for a party to gain a district seat without getting 2% of the national vote.
• To contest an election, parties which are not currently represented in Parliament must collect certificates of support from ca. 20,000 voters (number of votes equivalent to one seat) and have these individually stamped by the registration offices in these voters' municipalities of residence.
• Denmark has universal suffrage for all citizens over 18 years who live in the realm and who have not been declared incapable of managing their own affairs. The constitution makes it possible to restrict suffrage for convicted criminals and people receiving social benefits, but this option has not been used for several decades.
• All voters who have not been convicted of criminal acts, making them unworthy for a seat in the parliament, are eligible. The Folketing decides if a member is eligible or not (after his election).
• The constitution does not mention political parties at all, although the electoral act does, and MPs are virtually always elected for a party. The only independent who has been elected in modern times is the comedian Jacob Haugaard, but independents, usually unknown ones, are seen at every election. Requirements for standing as an independent candidate are much smaller than for a new party, but independents are only allowed to contest in a single district, making it very difficult to gain the needed number of votes for a seat.
• Members enjoy immunity, meaning that no criminal charges may be brought against an MP, unless he is caught red-handed, provided that the Folketing doesn't lift the immunity. The purpose of this is to prevent political persecution. In practice, the Folketing has always lifted the immunity when a member has been accused of a crime, usually with the consent of the accused member himself.
• Debates can be conducted behind closed doors, although this hasn't happened since 9 April 1940, day of the German invasion in WW II. Events 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans) Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
• Ministers may hold a seat in parliament, but they don't need to. Supreme Court judges — according to convention — may not hold a seat whilst also acting as judges.
• Ministers may — even if they are not MPs — demand talking time whenever they want.
• Bills may be brought before parliament by members (private bills) and ministers. A private bill is an act considered or acted upon by a Legislature that helps a single individual group of individuals or corporate entity by affording relief from another Bills are predominantly brought before parliament by ministers, since they have the Law Office of the Ministry of Justice at their disposal. Instead of putting forward a private bill, the opposition usually put forward a proposal for parliamentary decision, i. e. a short resolution which addresses the subject and directs the relevant minister to propose a bill concerning it.

List of Speakers of the Folketing

See also

• Politics of Denmark
• Cabinet of Denmark
• Elections in Denmark
• List of Prime Ministers of Denmark
• Løgting - Faroe Islands
• Landsting - Greenland

References

External links

• (English) Folketinget – Official site