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The Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Danmarks Riges Grundlov) was introduced on June 5, 1849 and effectively put an end to the absolute monarchy which had been introduced in 1660.

The Constitution of 1849 established a bicameral parliament, the Rigsdag, consisting of the Landsting and the Folketing. The constitution severely limited the monarch's power and secured basic human rights; the most recent revision in 1953 abolished the Landsting and enabled women to inherit the throne.

Apart from the Constitution itself, the Act of Succession to the Danish Throne (Danish: "Tronfølgeloven") of 27 March 1953 also has status as a constitutional law, as it is directly referred to in Article 2 of the Constitional Act. Therefore, amendments to the Act of Succession require adherence to the constitutional amendment procedure as provided for in Article 88 of the Danish Constition Act. A bill to amend the Act of Succession is currently underway in order to abolish male preference to the throne (bill no. 1, Folketing session of 2005-06).

Finally, certain particular customs which are not explicitly referred to in the Constitutional Act itself, but that have been recognised as carrying constitutional legal weight (such as the right of the Finance Committee to authorise public expenditure outside of the national budget), also form part of Danish Constitional law.

History

The first constitution of Denmark was Lex Regia (Royal Law) of 1665. It established absolute power for King Frederick III of Denmark, replacing the old feudal system based on tradition. This is Europe's only formal absolutist constitution.

Absolute power was passed along with a succession of Danish monarchs until Frederick VII who agreed to sign the new constitution into law on 5 June 1849, which has since been a Danish national holiday.

Frederick VII's father and immediate predecessor, Christian VIII, ruled Denmark from 1839 to 1848, had earlier been king of Norway until political turmoil of 1814 forced him to abdicate after a constitutional convention. Those who supported similar constitutional reforms in Denmark were disappointed with his refusal to acknowledge any limitations to his inherited absolute power, and had to wait for his successor to put through the reforms.[1]

Gallery


The Constitution of 1849

The National Constitutional Assembly (painting by Constantin Hansen) (Frederiksborg Castle, Hillerød)


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Motto
none
(Royal motto: Guds hjælp, Folkets kærlighed, Danmarks styrke
"The Help of God, the Love of the People, the Strength of Denmark" )
Anthem
Der er et yndigt land  (national)
Kong Christian
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Denmark

This article is part of the series:
Politics of Denmark

  • Constitution
  • The Crown: Margrethe II
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    Margrethe II (Margrethe Alexandrine Şórhildur Ingrid) (born 16 April 1940) is the Queen regnant of Denmark. Only very rarely is her name anglicized as Margaret II.
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    Denmark

    This article is part of the series:
    Politics of Denmark

    • Constitution
    • The Crown: Margrethe II
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    Denmark

    This article is part of the series:
    Politics of Denmark

    • Constitution
    • The Crown: Margrethe II
    • Council of State
    • Government
    • Former governments

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    Denmark

    This article is part of the series:
    Politics of Denmark

    • Constitution
    • The Crown: Margrethe II
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    • Former governments

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    Denmark

    This article is part of the series:
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    Anders Fogh Rasmussen [⁽ˈ⁾ɑnɐs fo ˈʀɑsmusn̩], also:
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    Denmark

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    Folketing

    Type Unicameral

    Speaker of the Folketing Christian Mejdahl, Venstre
    since March 18, 2003

    Members 179
    Political groups Venstre (52)
    Social Democrats (47)
    Danish People's Party (24)
    Conservative People's Party (18)
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    Christian Mejdahl (IPA: [kʰʁisd̥jɑn mɑ:ɪğ̥ɑl], born December 31 1939 at Tverå in the Faroe Islands) is a Danish politician representing the Liberal party, Venstre.
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    Denmark

    This article is part of the series:
    Politics of Denmark

    • Constitution
    • The Crown: Margrethe II
    • Council of State
    • Government
    • Former governments

    ..... Click the link for more information.
    Denmark

    This article is part of the series:
    Politics of Denmark

    • Constitution
    • The Crown: Margrethe II
    • Council of State
    • Government
    • Former governments

    ..... Click the link for more information.
    Denmark

    This article is part of the series:
    Politics of Denmark

    • Constitution
    • The Crown: Margrethe II
    • Council of State
    • Government
    • Former governments

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    This article or section contains information about a forthcoming or ongoing election.
    Content may change dramatically as the election approaches and unfolds.
    Denmark

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    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 traditional thirteen counties (amter).
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    Denmark

    This article is part of the series:
    Politics of Denmark

    • Constitution
    • The Crown: Margrethe II
    • Council of State
    • Government
    • Former governments

    ..... Click the link for more information.
    Denmark

    This article is part of the series:
    Politics of Denmark

    • Constitution
    • The Crown: Margrethe II
    • Council of State
    • Government
    • Former governments

    ..... Click the link for more information.
    Denmark

    This article is part of the series:
    Politics of Denmark

    • Constitution
    • The Crown: Margrethe II
    • Council of State
    • Government
    • Former governments

    ..... Click the link for more information.
    Denmark

    This article is part of the series:
    Politics of Denmark

    • Constitution
    • The Crown: Margrethe II
    • Council of State
    • Government
    • Former governments

    ..... Click the link for more information.
    Faroe Islands

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    Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty.
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    Motto
    none
    (Royal motto: Guds hjælp, Folkets kærlighed, Danmarks styrke
    "The Help of God, the Love of the People, the Strength of Denmark" )
    Anthem
    Der er et yndigt land  (national)
    Kong Christian
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    Danish}}} 
    Official status
    Official language of:  Denmark
     Greenland
     Faroe Islands
     European Union
    Nordic Council
    Regulated by: Dansk Sprognævn ("Danish Language Committee")
    Language codes
    ISO 639-1: da
    ISO 639-2:
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    5,5 Richter Scale, 34º36'00S, 57º53'59'W.
  • 1900 - Second Boer War: British soldiers take Pretoria.
  • 1907 - BAPS Swaminarayan religion established.
  • 1915 - Denmark amends its constitution to allow women's suffrage.
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    • 18th century - 19th century - 20th century
    1810s  1820s  1830s  - 1840s -  1850s  1860s  1870s
    1846 1847 1848 - 1849 - 1850 1851 1852

    :
    Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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    Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government where the monarch has the power to rule his or her land or country and its citizens freely, with no laws or legally-organized direct opposition in force.
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    16th century - 17th century - 18th century
    1630s  1640s  1650s  - 1660s -  1670s  1680s  1690s
    1657 1658 1659 - 1660 - 1661 1662 1663

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