Denmark

G

World War II

In May 1939 the Danish government signed a 10-year non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany. In April 1940, however, Germany occupied Denmark; the Danish government was nevertheless able to maintain much control over the country’s legal and domestic affairs until 1943. There was a small but dedicated resistance movement in occupied Denmark, and many Danish citizens helped Denmark’s 6,000 Jews to escape to neutral Sweden on the eve of their arrest and deportation. Great Britain occupied the Faroes and in 1941 the United States established a temporary protectorate over Greenland, building various weather stations, air bases, and early warning stations in that country. In 1944 Iceland, following a national referendum, severed all ties with Denmark and proclaimed itself a sovereign republic.

H

Post-War Denmark

Three years after the end of World War II Denmark granted home rule to the Faroes. It joined NATO in 1949 and subsequently became a member of several other international organizations, including the European Free Trade Association (1959) and the European Economic Community (now European Union) (1972).

In 1953 a revised constitution was adopted, creating a unicameral parliament, permitting female accession to the throne and incorporating Greenland as an integral part of Denmark. Greenland was granted home rule in 1979.

Four decades of dominance by the Social Democratic Party ended with the 1968 elections. Hilmar Baunsgaard, leader of the Radical Liberal Party, formed a coalition government that lasted until 1971, when Jens Otto Krag, a former Social Democratic prime minister, was returned to office. King Frederick IX died in 1972 and was succeeded by his daughter, Margrethe II. Later that year Krag resigned and was replaced as prime minister and party leader by Anker Jørgensen.

The Social Democrats suffered losses in the elections of late 1973, and Poul Hartling, a Liberal, formed a minority Cabinet. Following elections in early 1975, however, Jørgensen returned to power, also at the head of a minority government. He retained his leadership until September 1982, when Poul Schlüter, a Conservative, became head of a right-of-centre coalition. Elections in January 1984 increased the membership of the coalition, which retained power in the elections of September 1987, May 1988, and December 1990.

I

Environmental Concerns

In 1985 the Folketing voted against any inclusion of nuclear power plants in national energy plans, committed the government to work actively to establish a Nordic nuclear-free zone. The moves were resisted by the government and such disputes in the Danish polity over NATO-related policies damaged Denmark’s relationship with the organization.

Good relations were largely restored by 1988 after a general election fought largely on the issues of defence policy and membership of NATO. The destruction of lobster colonies in the strait between Denmark and Sweden in 1986 and other ecological disasters in 1988 resulted in the passage of some of the world’s most rigorous environmental protection measures by the Folketing.

Denmark’s influence on environmental issues has continued abroad; links with Baltic former Soviet bloc states are being enhanced in an attempt to persuade them to reduce air pollution. In February 1998 Denmark became the first nation to accept the NATO proposal to include the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland.

J

Immigration and EU Issues

Prime Minister Schlüter resigned in January 1993 in the wake of a scandal concerning immigration visas. By 1995 the former justice minister Erik Ninn Hansen was given a four-month suspended sentence for his part in this scandal. Following a widely publicized survey that revealed an increase in public concern over immigration, a new interior minister, intent on strengthening immigration rules, was appointed in 1997.

The immigration issue remains central to politics in Denmark. Copenhagen was the scene of serious rioting in November 1999 when a Danish-born man of Turkish origin was ordered to leave the country as he had failed to apply for citizenship.

Following Prime Minister Schlüter’s resignation a coalition government was formed in 1993, with Social Democrat Poul Nyrup Rasmussen as the prime minister. The coalition survived the 1994 elections, albeit with a reduced majority, reflecting popular discontent over unemployment and concern over the future of the welfare state. At the end of 1996 the Centre Democrats withdrew from the coalition, but pledged continuing support for Rasmussen’s government, from outside the coalition. In the general election of February 1998 the Social Democratic Party increased its slim majority by 1 per cent (from 35 to 36 per cent of seats), as did the Liberals (from 23 to 24 per cent).

The political scene in Denmark in the 1990s was dominated by issues surrounding further integration with the EU. In 1992 Danish voters narrowly rejected the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty), which provides for increased political and monetary integration within the EU. After modifications to the pact, exempting Denmark from the provisions on monetary union, European citizenship, and defence, the Danes voted their approval in 1993. Opponents of further integration with the EU mounted a legal challenge to the validity of the Maastricht Treaty; the Supreme Court rejected the challenge in 1998, which attempted to sue Prime Minister Rasmussen for having signed the Treaty. The Court stated that in the event of a conflict between EU law and the constitution, the latter would assume precedence. In the May 1998 referendum, the Danish people approved the Amsterdam treaty on European union by a narrow majority.

In January 1999, Denmark exercised its agreed opt-out from the launch of the single European currency, the Euro. In September 2000 the electorate rejected the Euro at the first referendum to be held by an EU member state on the issue. This vote was especially significant as all the main Danish political parties, along with business leaders, had campaigned for a “yes” vote.

After an increase in popularity and support for the prime minister Poul Rasmussen following the September 11 terrorist attacks, he called a snap election in November. In a campaign dominated by the issues of immigration and asylum, Rasmussen’s gamble on his popularity backfired with the nation shifting to the right politically in an election with a high turnout of 87 per cent. The centre-right coalition of the Liberal Party (headed by Anders Fogh Rasmussen) and the Conservative Party won most votes. Gains were also made by the far-right Danish People’s Party. Poul Rasmussen resigned and was replaced as prime minister by Anders Fogh Rasmussen (no relation). As promised in their election campaign, the new government’s policies included the toughening of policy on immigration and introducing a new Cabinet post of Minister of Immigration and Integration. Denmark took over the presidency of the EU from July to December 2002.

In elections held in Greenland in December, most seats were taken by the Siumut party and the Inuit Ataqatigiit party, both favouring independence from Denmark. The Greenland government plans to hold a referendum on the issue by 2005.

The 2005 general election, held in February, saw a victory for Liberal Party leader Anders Fogh Rasmussen and he established another ruling coalition alongside the Conservatives, with 94 seats in total. He became the first Danish Liberal leader to win a second consecutive term. The country immediately faced a crisis after a series of cartoons, which satirically depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, was published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. Protests took place around the Muslim world, with numerous protestors being killed; Danish goods and services were also boycotted. The newspaper apologized but the crisis drove a wedge between Muslims and those who argued the case for the freedom of the press.

Rasmussen called an early election for November 2007 and campaigning centred on the economy and the tightening of immigration laws. Rasmussen's party once more won most seats in parliament, securing 46 as opposed to the Social Democrats with 45 and the Danish People's Party with 25. Rasmussen announced that he wished to broaden the appeal of the governing coalition and entered into talks with the centrist New Alliance, a party led by Naser Khader, a Muslim member of parliament.