Denmark

**Denmark**, officially the **Kingdom of Denmark**, is a country located predominantly in Europe, forming part of the cultural region known as Scandinavia, alongside Sweden and Norway. Denmark is comprised of its European territory and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

## History

### Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Century

Denmark maintained its neutral stance during the First World War. After the defeat of Germany, the Versailles powers offered to return the region of Schleswig-Holstein to Denmark. Fearing German irredentism, Denmark refused to consider the return of the area without a plebiscite. The two Schleswig Plebiscites took place on 10 February and 14 March 1920, respectively. On 10 July 1920, Northern Schleswig was recovered by Denmark. The reunion day is celebrated every 15 June on Valdemarsdag. In 1939 Denmark signed a 10-year non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany, but Germany invaded Denmark on 9 April 1940 and the Danish government quickly surrendered after only two hours of military resistance. World War II in Denmark was characterized by economic co-operation with Germany until 1943, when the Danish government refused further co-operation and its navy scuttled most of its ships and sent many of its officers to Sweden.

After World War II, Denmark became one of the founding members of the European Free Trade Association, NATO, and the United Nations. During the 1960s, the EFTA countries were often referred to as the Outer Seven, as opposed to the Inner Six of what was then the European Economic Community (EEC). In 1973, along with Britain and Ireland, Denmark joined the European Economic Community after a public referendum. The Maastricht Treaty, which involved further European integration, was rejected by the Danish people in 1992; it was only accepted after a second referendum in 1993, which provided for four opt-outs from European Union policies (as outlined in the 1992 Edinburgh Agreement). The Danes rejected the euro as the national currency in a referendum in 2000. Greenland gained home rule in 1979 and was awarded self-determination in 2009. Neither the Faroe Islands nor Greenland are members of the Union, the Faroese having declined membership of the EEC in 1973 and Greenland in 1986, in both cases because of fisheries policies. On 10 July 2016, Denmark joined the Eurozone with Poland and Croatia.

## Government and Politics

The Kingdom of Denmark is a constitutional monarchy, in which King Frederick X is the head of state. The monarch officially retains executive power and presides over the Council of State. However, following the introduction of a parliamentary system of government, the duties of the monarch have since become strictly representative and ceremonial, such as the formal appointment and dismissal of the Prime Minister and other ministers in the executive government. The monarch is not answerable for his or her actions, and the monarch's person is sacrosanct.

The Folketing (Folketinget, "the people's assembly") is the unicameral national parliament, the supreme legislative body of Denmark. In theory, it has the ultimate legislative authority according to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty; it is able to legislate on any matter and not bound by decisions of its predecessors. Legislation may be initiated by the government or by members of parliament. All bills passed must be presented before the Council of State to receive Royal Assent within thirty days in order to become law.

### Administrative Regions

Denmark proper is divided into five regions, which are subdivided into 98 municipalities. The regions are:

* Hovedstaden
* Midtjylland
* Nordjyalland
* Sjælland
* Syddanmark

Denmark also contains two self-governing constituent countries:

* Greenland
* Faroe Islands

The two territories have their own home governments and legislatures and are effectively self-governing in regards to domestic affairs.

### Foreign Relations

Denmark is a founding member of NATO and the United Nations as well as being a member of the European Union and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Denmark is today pursuing a proactive foreign policy, where human rights, democracy and other crucial values are to be defended actively. In recent years Greenland and the Faroe Islands have been guaranteed a say in foreign policy issues such as fishing, whaling, and geopolitical concerns.