Prime Minister of Denmark

The Prime Minister of Denmark (Danish: statsminister) is the head of government in Danish politics. The Prime Minister is traditionally the leader of a political coalition in the Folketing (Danish parliament) and presides over the cabinet.

The Prime Minister and cabinet are appointed by the monarch, determined by the party composition in the Folketing and must not be opposed by a majority in the Folketing.^[1] If a government loses a vote of no confidence, the Prime Minister must either resign along with the entire cabinet or ask the monarch to dissolve the Folketing and call a new election.

The Prime Minister has the power to dissolve the Folketing and call a new election, which he or she is obligated to do within four years of the previous election. In spite of this, the Prime Minister has no political say in regard to Denmark's autonomous regions, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, while the Folketing on the other hand does. As all laws passed by the Faroese and Greenlandic parliaments must be ratified by the Folketing.

The current Prime Minister of Denmark is Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the first woman to hold the position. She leads a coalition government consisting of the Social Democrats, Socialist People's Party and the Danish Social Liberal Party with parliamentary support from the Red-Green Alliance.

History

From 1848 to 1855, the head of government was titled "Premierminister" (Prime Minister). In 1855, the title was changed to ”Konseilspræsident” (Council President); then in 1918 it was changed again to "Statsminister" (State Minister). The official date of the founding of the prime minister's office is January 1, 1914.

See also

• List of Prime Ministers of Denmark
• Constitution of Denmark

References

• The Prime Minister's Office
• Official Denmark Constitution, from the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.