The prime minister of Denmark is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark comprising the three constituent countries: Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Before the creation of the modern office, the kingdom did not initially have a head of government separate from its head of state, namely the monarch, in whom the executive authority was vested. The Constitution of 1849 established a constitutional monarchy by limiting the powers of the monarch and creating the office of premierminister. The inaugural holder of the office was Adam Wilhelm Moltke.
At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself neutral, but that neutrality did not prevent Nazi Germany from occupying the country almost immediately after the outbreak of war; the occupation lasted until Germany's defeat. The decision to occupy Denmark was taken in Berlin on 17 December 1939. On 9 April 1940, Germany occupied Denmark in Operation Weserübung. The Danish government and king functioned in a relatively normal manner until 29 August 1943, when Germany placed Denmark under direct military occupation, which lasted until the Allied victory on 5 May 1945. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupation, most Danish institutions continued to function relatively normally until 1945. Both the Danish government and king remained in the country in an uneasy relationship between a democratic and a totalitarian system until 1943 when the Danish government stepped down in protest against German demands that included instituting the death penalty for sabotage.
Thorvald August Marinus Stauning was the first social democratic Prime Minister of Denmark. He served as Prime Minister from 1924 to 1926 and again from 1929 until his death in 1942.
Jens Otto Krag was a Danish politician, who served as 42nd and 44th prime minister of Denmark from 1962 to 1968 and again from 1971 to 1972, and as leader of the Social Democrats from 1962 to 1972. He was president of the Nordic Council in 1971.
Eva Kjer Hansen is a Danish former politician, who was a member of the Folketing for the Venstre political party. She held many ministerial positions, the last being as minister of Fisheries, Gender Equality and Nordic Cooperation from 2 May 2018 to 27 June 2019. Hansen was a member of parliament from the 1990 Danish general election to the 2022 Danish general election where she was not re-elected.
Vilhelm Buhl was a Danish politician who served as two-time Prime Minister of Denmark from May to November 1942 during the Nazi occupation of Denmark, and again after Danish Liberation Day from May to November 1945.
After the 1994 Danish parliamentary election, the sitting Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen was able to form a government coalition of his own Social Democrats, the Danish Social Liberal Party and the Centre Democrats. The resulting cabinet, which replaced the Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen I, was formed on 27 September 1994 and was called the Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen II.
The Moltke II cabinet was the government of Denmark from 16 November 1848 to 13 July 1851. It was also referred to as the November Cabinet.
Peter Alfred Jensen was a Danish politician and government minister. He was a member of the Danish Communist Party (DKP) of which he served as vice-chairman.
The politics of Denmark take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy and a decentralised unitary state in which the monarch of Denmark, King Frederik X, is the head of state. Denmark is a nation state. Danish politics and governance are characterized by a common striving for broad consensus on important issues, within both the political community and society as a whole.
Hans Christian Poul Hansen, simply known as Poul Hansen, was a Danish politician, who served as Defence Minister of Denmark from 1956 to 1962 and Danish Minister of Finance from 1962 to 1965. He represented the Social Democrats in the Folketinget parliament for 21 years.
The cabinet of Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt was the cabinet government of Denmark from 3 October 2011 to 3 February 2014. It was a coalition between the Social Democrats, the Danish Social Liberal Party and the Socialist People's Party. On 9 August 2013, Helle Thorning-Schmidt made a cabinet reshuffle and on 12 December 2013, she made a second cabinet reshuffle. The cabinet resigned on 3 February 2014, following the Socialist People's Party left the government on 30 January 2014. It was succeeded by the Cabinet of Helle Thorning-Schmidt II
The Scavenius cabinet was the government of Denmark from 9 November 1942 to 5 May 1945. It replaced the first Buhl cabinet, which collapsed due to the Telegram Crisis in November 1942, when the Germans demanded changes to the Danish government. The Germans wanted nonpolitical ministers and Nazi ministers in the new government, however only the first demand was met.
Benny Engelbrecht is a Danish politician who has been a member of the Folketing for the Social Democrats since the 2007 general elections. He served as the Minister of Transport from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as Minister of Taxation from 2014 to 2015.
The Sixth Stauning cabinet was the government of Denmark from 8 July 1940, to 4 May 1942.
The First Buhl cabinet was the government of Denmark from 4 May 1942 to 9 November 1942. It was created following the death of Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning.
The Second Christensen Cabinet was the government of Denmark from 24 July 1908 to 12 October 1908.
Gunnar Larsen (1902–1973) was a Danish chemical engineer, businessman and politician. He served as the minister for transport between 1940 and 1943. He left Denmark in 1954 and exiled into Ireland where he lived until his death.
