Danish Act of Succession referendum, 2009

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A referendum on changing the Danish Act of Succession, the rules governing the succession to the Danish throne, was held in Denmark, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland on 7 June 2009, simultaneously with the election to the European Parliament, in Denmark proper. [1]

The Danish Act of Succession of 27 March 1953 was accepted after a 1953 referendum in Denmark and dictates the rules governing the line of succession to the Danish throne. The 1953 referendum changed the act so that it became possible for a woman to inherit the throne in the event that she has no older or younger brothers, a system known as male-preference cognatic preference primogeniture. As the reigning King Frederick IX had three daughters and no sons, this meant that Princess Margrethe became the heir presumptive instead of her uncle Prince Knud. As Frederick IX's wife Ingrid of Sweden was not expected to have any more children, this effectively ensured that Princess Margrethe would become Queen of Denmark, which she did.

Denmark constitutional monarchy in Europe

Denmark, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, is a Nordic country and the southernmost of the Scandinavian nations. Denmark lies southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and is bordered to the south by Germany. The Kingdom of Denmark also comprises two autonomous constituent countries in the North Atlantic Ocean: the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Denmark proper consists of a peninsula, Jutland, and an archipelago of 443 named islands, with the largest being Zealand, Funen and the North Jutlandic Island. The islands are characterised by flat, arable land and sandy coasts, low elevation and a temperate climate. Denmark has a total area of 42,924 km2 (16,573 sq mi), land area of 42,394 km2 (16,368 sq mi), and the total area including Greenland and the Faroe Islands is 2,210,579 km2 (853,509 sq mi), and a population of 5.8 million.

Faroe Islands Autonomus constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark

The Faroe Islands, or the Faeroe Islands—a North Atlantic archipelago located 200 miles (320 km) north-northwest of the United Kingdom and about halfway between Norway and Iceland—are an autonomous country of the Kingdom of Denmark. Total area is about 1,400 square kilometres (540 sq mi) with a population of 50,322 in October 2017.

Contents

The law, which passed with 85.4% of the popular vote, [2] eliminates male-preference primogeniture in favour of absolute primogeniture, resulting in sons losing precedence over daughters in the line of succession. The law did not affect anyone in the line of succession at the time of the referendum: the Queen's two children are both male, as is the Crown Prince's eldest child, born in 2005. However, had the referendum not been successful, Prince Vincent, who was born in 2011, would have been higher in the line of succession than Princess Isabella, born in 2007.

Margrethe II of Denmark Queen of Denmark

Margrethe II is the Queen of Denmark, as well as the supreme authority of the Church of Denmark and Commander-in-Chief of the Danish Defence. Born into the House of Glücksburg, a royal house with origins in Northern Germany, she was the eldest child of Frederick IX of Denmark and Ingrid of Sweden. She succeeded her father upon his death on 14 January 1972, having become heir presumptive to her father in 1953, when a constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit the throne. On her accession, Margrethe became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margrethe I, ruler of the Scandinavian kingdoms in 1375–1412 during the Kalmar Union. In 1967, she married Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, with whom she has two sons: Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim. She has been on the Danish throne for 47 years, becoming the second-longest-reigning Danish monarch after her ancestor Christian IV.

Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark heir apparent to the throne of Denmark

Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, is the heir apparent to the throne of Denmark. Frederik is the elder son of Queen Margrethe II and the late Henrik, Prince Consort.

Prince Christian of Denmark elder son of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary

Prince Christian of Denmark, Count of Monpezat is the eldest child of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary. He is a grandson of Queen Margrethe II and her husband, the late Prince Henrik. He is second in the Danish line of succession, after his father.

In parliament

Under the rules for change of constitution, the law must be passed by two Parliaments, before and after an election, and then approved by a referendum. The law was passed in 2006 with only one abstention (Simon Emil Ammitzbøll of the Social Liberal Party, who later formed his own party, Borgerligt Centrum). The law was passed again by the new Folketing elected in 2007 on 24 February 2009 with two abstentions (of the left-wing Enhedslisten). It was then submitted to a referendum. [3] [4] [5]

Borgerligt Centrum("Civil Centre") was a Danish political party founded on 6 January 2009, by MP Simon Emil Ammitzbøll, a former member of the Social Liberal Party. The party describes itself as a "centre right party founded on liberal and humanistic values".

Folketing Parliament of Denmark

The Folketing, also known as the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national parliament (legislature) of Denmark. Established in 1849, until 1953 the Folketing was the lower house of a bicameral parliament, called the Rigsdag; the upper house was Landstinget. It meets in Christiansborg Palace, on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen.

Relation to constitution

No changes would be made to the constitution and §2 would continue to refer to the Act of Succession of 1953 even though that reference would become invalid. Jens Peter Christensen, then Professor of administrative law at the University of Aarhus and now a member of the Danish Supreme Court, [6] has described this as "a mess" and as an "overly clever" way for then-Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen to signal that the government will oppose any other changes to the constitution. At the same time Christensen emphasizes that he has no doubt that the procedure is legal. [7]

Prime Minister of Denmark position

The Prime Minister of Denmark is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark. Before the creation of the modern office, Denmark 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.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen former Prime Minister of Denmark and NATO secretary general

Anders Fogh Rasmussen is a Danish politician who was the 24th Prime Minister of Denmark from November 2001 to April 2009 and the 12th Secretary General of NATO from August 2009 to October 2014. He is now CEO of political consultancy Rasmussen Global and a senior advisor at The Boston Consulting Group's Copenhagen office.

Twoway diagram showing minimum combinations of voter turnout and votes in favour required to pass the law Required percentages Danish Act of Succession referendum 2009.svg
Twoway diagram showing minimum combinations of voter turnout and votes in favour required to pass the law

Skepticism from opposition

There was skepticism from the opposition to the proposal, as they preferred a major constitutional reform, modernising the language and content of the 1953 constitution, in which certain rules prevail from 1849. A frequent demand from the left wing is to integrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a number of other basic rights in the constitution. The Conservative-Liberal cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen, however, opposed such changes. The national Danish People's Party are staunch opponents of constitutional change, as they fear socialist stipulations and human rights, e.g. about refugees, will be codified in such a reform. Eventually, all parties in parliament except Enhedslisten supported the change because they would not vote against equal rights. Enhedslisten abstained because they are pro-republic and because the new law still bars royal children born out of wedlock from the throne, and because successors to the throne must have their marriages approved by the monarch and the government. Enhedslisten polemically called this "arranged marriages".

Universal Declaration of Human Rights declaration adopted in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a historic document that was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at its third session on 10 December 1948 as Resolution 217 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France. Of the then 58 members of the United Nations, 48 voted in favor, none against, eight abstained, and two did not vote.

The Danish People's Party (DPP) is a political party in Denmark which is generally described as right-wing populist by academics and far-right by international media. It has also been described in academia and the media as a nativist and anti-immigrant party. The party was founded in 1995 by Pia Kjærsgaard, who was the leader of the party until 2012, when she passed the leadership on to Kristian Thulesen Dahl. The DPP lent its support to the Liberal-Conservative government from the general election of 2001 until the 2011 election defeat. While not part of the cabinet, DPP cooperated closely with the governing coalition on most issues and received support for key political stances in return, to the point that the government was commonly referred to as the "VKO-government".

Human rights Inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled

Human rights are "the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled" Examples of rights and freedoms which are often thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life, liberty, and property, freedom of expression, pursuit of happiness and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in science and culture, the right to work, and the right to education.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Prognosis for referendum

Changes to the act of succession in Denmark follow the same rules as changes to the constitution. First, it must be passed by parliament, then passed in unchanged form by the next parliament following parliamentary elections, and then be submitted to a public referendum. In order for the law to be approved in the referendum, it must get both a majority of votes cast in favour and at least 40% of all eligible voters voting in favour. [4] [8] Although an opinion poll from May 2005 showed a majority of 77% in favour of the change, [9] it would not guarantee passage of the bill. In fact turnout at the preceding European Parliament elections in 2004 was so low (47.6%), that even a 77% margin in favour would not take the proposal past the 40% threshold. However, turnout increased and at midnight on the election night with most votes counted, the threshold had been passed and the law was certain to pass. [10]

Campaign and positions

In late May, the government launched an official campaign, [11] costing 5 million kroner. It was instantly criticised for being one-sided, undemocratic and patronising. The Prime Minister's Department admitted the official campaign video is an imitation of a sketch from the British comedy show, Harry Enfield's Television Programme . [12] The PR agency responsible for the video, Kunde & Co., declined to comment on whether the copyright issue was sorted out.

The Conservative Youth of Denmark campaigned for a no vote, arguing there is no sense in talking about equal rights in a monarchy, and fearing the change would endanger the traditions of the royal house.

A surprising amount of opposition to the law arose at the end of May. Parts of the Social Liberal Youth, Enhedslisten and republican circles advocate a blank vote, effectively having the same effect as a no vote. Others argued a blank vote because it would improve possibilities for a future in-depth constitutional reform. Some people argued for drawing an extra "Republic" box on the ballot or writing the words "Republic Now!" on it, which would render a spoilt vote.

According to historian Steffen Heiberg in a Ritzau story on 1 June 2009, Queen Margrethe II herself is "rather opposed" to the change. [13] The royal house abstains from commenting on political issues, but according to then Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, he had "discussed the matter" with members of the royal house before submitting the proposal in Parliament in 2005.

Results

As the electorate was 4,042,185, [14] and the minimum threshold of passing was 40 percent of the electorate, at least 1,616,874 people must have voted in favor of the change, while maintaining a majority in votes cast. 85.4% voted for the change, whilst 14.6% voted against change. [2] The referendum had a 58.3% turnout. [15]

The number of blank and invalid votes was much higher in big cities, especially Copenhagen. If based on the local results from Copenhagen alone, the change would not have passed.

Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen stated that the referendum "was important for gender equality" and "a strong signal that shows that we want to be a society where men and women have the same opportunities, whether it is for ordinary people or princes and princesses". [2]

Referendum results
AnswerOf eligible votes castOf total electorate
Votes%Votes%
Yes, change the act of succession1,858,21185.31,858,21145.1
No, do not change the act of succession318,93414.6318,9347.8
Total2,177,145100.00——————
Blank votes206,1955.0
Invalid votes16,6080.4
Turnout2,399,94858.32
Electorate4,114,789
Source: Statistics Denmark

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References

  1. ↑ Hüttemeier, Christian (6 October 2008). Vi skal stemme om tronfølgen Archived 9 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine .(in Danish). Politiken. Retrieved on 6 October 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 "Denmark votes to change royal succession rules". Deutsche Welle. 9 June 2009. Archived from the original on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  3. ↑ "Females get the nod in Denmark WORLD | NEWS". tvnz.co.nz. Archived from the original on 13 November 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
  4. 1 2 2005-06 - L 1 (oversigt): Forslag til lov om ændring af tronfølgeloven. (Ligestilling mellem kønnene i arvefølgen - fremsat i henhold til proceduren i grundlovens § 88). Folketinget (in Danish). Retrieved on 25 November 2007.
  5. ↑ 2008-09 – Afstemning nr. 202: 3. behandling af L 1, om tronfølgeloven. Folketinget (in Danish).
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  7. ↑ Professor: Sjusk med tronfølgeloven (19 October 2005) (in Danish). Danmarks Radio. Retrieved on 7 December 2008.
  8. ↑ "Danish constitution" (in Danish). Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
  9. ↑ Ligestilling i kongehuset [ permanent dead link ] (3 May 2005) (in Danish). Catinét Research. Retrieved on 18 October 2008.
  10. ↑ DR, "Tronfølgeloven bliver ændret" Archived 11 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine ., 8 June 2009.
  11. ↑ Official information campaign site Archived 28 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine ., Prime Minister's Department
  12. ↑ Women know your limits Archived 2 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine ., Harry Enfield Show, Youtube
  13. ↑ "Dronningen imod ændring af tronfølgeloven" Archived 11 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine ., Berlingske Tidende, 1 June 2009
  14. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 September 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  15. ↑ "Statistics Denmark". Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
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