Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig. Its capital city is Kiel; other notable cities are Lübeck and Flensburg. It covers an area of 15,763 km2 (6,086 sq mi), making it the 5th smallest German federal state by area. Historically, the name can also refer to a larger region, containing both present-day Schleswig-Holstein and the former South Jutland County in Denmark.
Southern Schleswig is the southern half of the former Duchy of Schleswig in Germany on the Jutland Peninsula. The geographical area today covers the large area between the Eider river in the south and the Flensburg Fjord in the north, where it borders Denmark. Northern Schleswig, congruent with the former South Jutland County, forms the southernmost part of Denmark. The area belonged to the Crown of Denmark until Prussia and Austria declared war on Denmark in 1864. Denmark wanted to give away the German-speaking Holsten and set the new border at the small river Ejderen. Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck concluded that this justified a war, and even proclaimed it a "holy war". He also turned to the Emperor of Austria, Franz Joseph I of Austria for help. A similar war in 1848 had gone poorly for the Prussians. With Prussia's modern weapons and the help from both the Austrians and General Moltke, the Danish army was destroyed and forced to make a disorderly retreat. The Prussian-Danish border was then moved from the Elbe up in Jutland to the Kongeåen creek.
The Danish ethnic minority in Southern Schleswig, Germany, has existed by this name since 1920, when the Schleswig Plebiscite split German-ruled Schleswig into two parts: Northern Schleswig with a Danish majority and a German minority was united with Denmark, while Southern Schleswig remained a part of Germany and had a German majority and Danish and Frisian minority populations. Their historic roots go back to the beginning of Danish settlement after the emigration of the Angles. One of the most common names they use to describe themselves is danske sydslesvigere.
The Social Democrats is a social democratic political party in Denmark. A member of the Party of European Socialists, the Social Democrats have 50 out of 179 members of the Danish parliament, Folketing, and three out of fourteen MEPs elected from Denmark.
The Folketing, also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Established in 1849, the Folketing was the lower house of the bicameral parliament called the Rigsdag until 1953; the upper house was the Landsting. It meets in Christiansborg Palace, on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen.
General elections were held in Denmark on 21 September 1971 and in the Faroe Islands on 5 October. The Social Democratic Party remained the largest in the Folketing, with 70 of the 179 seats. Voter turnout was 87% in Denmark proper, 57% in the Faroe Islands and 52% in Greenland.
The Constitutional Act of the Realm of Denmark, also known as the Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply the Constitution, is the constitution of the Kingdom of Denmark, applying equally in the Realm of Denmark: Denmark proper, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The first democratic constitution was adopted in 1849, replacing the 1665 absolutist constitution. The current constitution is from 1953. The Constitutional Act has been changed a few times. The wording is general enough to still apply today.
The Free Social Democrats were a political party in Denmark.
The Schleswig plebiscites were two plebiscites, organized according to section XII, articles 109 to 114 of the Treaty of Versailles of 28 June 1919, in order to determine the future border between Denmark and Germany through the former Duchy of Schleswig. The process was monitored by a commission with representatives from France, the United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden.
Folketing elections were held in Denmark on 26 April 1920, except in the Faroe Islands, where they were held on 20 May. The election campaign was the most aggressive and bitter in Denmark in the 20th century. Voter turnout was 80.6% in Denmark proper and 58.8% in the Faroe Islands.
Folketing elections were held in Denmark on 21 September 1920, except in the Faroe Islands, where they were held on 30 October. They were the first in which South Jutland County participated since the Schleswig Plebiscites and the return to Danish rule, and the total number of seats in the Folketing was increased from 140 to 149. The result was a victory for Venstre, which won 51 of the 149 seats. Voter turnout was 77.0% in Denmark proper and 56.2% in the Faroe Islands.
Folketing elections were held in Denmark on 3 April 1939, except in the Faroe Islands where they were held on 19 April. They followed a dissolution of both chambers in order to call a referendum on changing the constitution. The referendum was held on 23 May but failed due to a low voter turnout. The result of the elections was a victory for the Social Democratic Party, which won 64 of the 149 seats. Voter turnout was 79.2% in Denmark proper and 47.8% in the Faroes.
A constitutional and electoral age referendum was held in Denmark on 28 May 1953. Both proposals were approved by voters, leading to both a new constitution taking effect on 5 June, and the electoral age being lowered from 25 to 23 years, also starting on 5 June. Voter turnout was 59.1% for the constitution question and 57.1% for the voting age question.
General elections were held in Denmark on 15 September 2011 to elect the 179 members of the Folketing. Of those 179, 175 members were elected in Denmark, two in the Faroe Islands and two in Greenland.
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.
Approximately 15,000 people in Denmark belong to an autochthonous ethnic German minority traditionally referred to as hjemmetyskere, meaning "Home Germans" in Danish, and as Nordschleswiger in German. They are Danish citizens and most self-identify as ethnic Germans. They generally speak Low Saxon and South Jutlandic Danish as their home languages.
Søren Pape Poulsen was a Danish politician who served as a member of the Folketing for the Danish Conservative Party and its leader from 2014 until his death. He was previously Mayor of Viborg Municipality from 2010 to 2014 and Justice Minister of Denmark from 2016 to 2019.
The Alternative is a green and pro-European political party in Denmark. The party was publicly launched on 27 November 2013 by former Minister of Culture Uffe Elbæk and Josephine Fock; Elbæk had been a parliamentarian for the Social Liberal Party. Elbæk was the leader of the party until February 2020, where he stepped down and was succeeded by Fock. Currently the party is led by Franciska Rosenkilde. It collaborates with DiEM25 at the European level. The Alternative regards itself as a political movement and a cultural voice, as well as a political party.
Carsten Leth Schmidt is a Danish politician. He has been the leader of Schleswig Party since 2012, and has been a part of the municipal council in Haderslev Municipality since 2017. He is a farmer, and lives in the village of Sønderballe in Haderslev Municipality.
Stefan Seidler is a Danish-German politician of the South Schleswig Voters' Association (SSW), the party representing the interests of the Danish and Frisian minority populations in Germany. He was elected to the Bundestag from Schleswig-Holstein in the 2021 German federal election. His election represented the first time the SSW won a seat since 1949. The SSW last contested a federal election in the 1961 West German election.
