Government & politics — Denmark
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Government & politics at a glance
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations. Key figure for Denmark: Kingdom of Denmark
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Identity & names
- Full Country Name
Kingdom of Denmark
- Country Name
Denmark
- Local - Long
Kongeriget Danmark
- Local - Short
Danmark
- Etymology- history of name
the name derives from the words "Dane(s)" and "mark"; the latter referring to a march (borderland) or forest
- 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
Political system
- Government Type
parliamentary constitutional monarchy
- 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
- Executive Branch:
- chief of state: King FREDERIK X (since 14 January 2024); Heir Apparent Crown Prince CHRISTIAN (son of the king, born 15 October 2005); note - Queen MARGRETHE II abdicated on 14 January 2024, the first Danish monarch to volunt
- Prime Minister Mette FREDERIKSEN (since 27 June 2019) cabinet: Cou
- ncil 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 party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms unless the Folketing is dissolved earlier)
Elections
last held on 1 November 2022 (next to be held by 31 October 2026)
Election Results
- percent of vote by party - SDP 27.5%, V 13.3%, M 9.3%, SF 8.3%, E 8.1%, LA 8.1%, C 5.5%, EL 5.1%, SLP 3.8%, AP 3.3%, NB 3.3%, DF 2.6%
- seats by party - SDP 50, V 23, M 16, SF 15, E 14, LA 14, C 10, EL 9, SLP 7, AP 6, NB 6, DF 5
- composition as of January 2024 - men 98, women 81, percent of women 45.3%
- Judicial Branch:
- highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the cour
- t 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 ap
- pointed for life with retirement at age 70 subordinate courts: Special Court of Indictment and Revision; 2 High Courts; Maritime and Commercial Court; county courts
- Regions or States:
metropolitan Denmark - 5 regions (regioner, singular - region); Hovedstaden (Capital), Midtjylland (Central Jutland), Nordjylland (North Jutland), Sjaelland (Zealand), Syddanmark (Southern Denmark)
- Political Parties and Leaders:
- The Alternative or AP [Franciska ROSENKILDE]
- Conservative People's Party or DKF or C [Soren PAPE POULSEN]
- Danish People's Party or DF or O [Morten MESSERSCHMIDT]
- Denmark Democrats or E [Inger STOJBERG]
- Green Left or SF or F [Pia OLSEN DYHR] (formerly Socialist People's Party or SF or F)
- Liberal Alliance or LA or I [Alex VANOPSLAGH]
- Liberal Party (Venstre) or V [Jakob ELLEMANN-JENSEN]
- Moderates or M [Lars Lokke RASMUSSEN]
- New Right Party or NB or D [Ann Pernille VERMUND TVEDE]
- Red-Green Alliance (Unity List) or EL [collective leadership, Mai VILLADSEN, spokesperson]
- Social Democrats or SDP or A [Mette FREDERIKSEN]
- Social Liberal Party or SLP or B [Martin LIDEGAARD]
- Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
- Citizenship Criteria:
- no citizenship by descent only: at least one pa
- yes residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years
Capital & time
- Capital Name
Copenhagen
- Capital - geographic coordinate
55 40 N, 12 35 E
- Capital Time Difference
UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Daylight Savings Time
- +1hr, begins last Sunday in March
- ends last Sunday in October
- note - applies to continental Denmark only, not to its North Atlantic components
International role
- International Organization Participation:
ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
- International Law Organization Participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
- Diplomatic Representation from US:
chief of mission
Ambassador Alan LEVENTHAL (since 1 July 2022) embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Kobenhavn 0 mailing address: 5280 Copenhagen Place, Washington DC 20521-5280
telephone
[45] 33-41-71-00
FAX
[45] 35-43-02-23
Email address and website
- CopenhagenACS@state.gov
- https://dk.usembassy.gov/
- Diplomatic Representation in the US:
chief of mission
Ambassador Jesper Møller SØRENSEN (since 15 September 2023)
chancery
3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone
[1] (202) 234-4300
FAX
[1] (202) 328-1470
Email address and website
- wasamb@um.dk
- https://usa.um.dk/en
consulate(s) general
Chicago, Houston, New York, Silicon Valley (CA)