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57-658: The Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein had been united under Danish rule since 1460. While Schleswig north of the Eider River was a Danish fief, the Duchies of Holstein officially remained an estate of the Holy Roman Empire which the Kings of Denmark held as an Imperial fief. In 1815 King Frederick VI of Denmark also acquired the adjacent Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg. Both Holstein and Lauenburg were member states of

114-602: A 1979 referendum . In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received " self rule ", thus leaving the government of Denmark with little influence over the matters of internal affairs that are devolved to the local governments of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The country or realm has land borders with Germany (the Danish-German border ) and Canada ( Hans Island ), and

171-574: A Danish county ( amt ); the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand (County Governor) and replaced it with the role of Rigsombudsmand ( High Commissioner of the Danish government ). These powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an "equal partner" with the Danish government. The 1978 "Greenland Home Rule Act" devolves powers in much the same way as

228-595: A Supreme Court judge, said that due to the special circumstances, the scope of delegation need not be strictly defined. Proponents of the second interpretation include Edward Mitens, Max Sørensen and Frederik Harhoff . Mitens, a Faeroese jurist and politician, argued that the Faeroese home rule had been approved by both the Løgting and the Rigsdag , so it was an agreement between two parties, in particular because

285-580: A road and rail bridge-tunnel that connects to Malmö , Sweden (the Danish-Swedish border ). The Constitution of the Kingdom of Denmark refers to the state's territory as Danmarks Rige (Danish Realm), which means "The Realm of Denmark". The Danish term rigsfællesskabet , translated as "The unity of the Realm", the "commonwealth of the Realm", or the "Danish Commonwealth" refers to

342-482: A separate people under international law. Greenland is now described as having " self rule ", with its home government exercising a wider range of powers. There are a number of matters that can not be acquired by the territories; Constitutional affairs, foreign policy, defence , the Supreme Court , citizenship , and monetary policy . Additionally, the Faroese and Greenlandic parliaments are subordinate to

399-714: A population above 50,000 people. Denmark is populated by the Danes , the Faroe Island by the Faroese , and Greenland by the Greenlandic Inuit . In both the Faroe Islands and Greenland, Danes make up 7.6% of the population, as of 2018 . As of 2020 , there are about 11,000 Faeroese-born and 17,000 Greenlandic-born people living in Denmark. With respect to area, Greenland is by far the largest, and makes up 98% of

456-839: A province of the Free State of Prussia . With the Greater Hamburg Act of 1937, the Hanseatic City of Lübeck and the Oldenburgian exclave Region of Lübeck were incorporated into the Schleswig-Holstein province, while a number of Hamburg's adjacent municipalities, among them the city districts of Altona and Wandsbek , were incorporated into the Hanseatic City of Hamburg . This again ceded its exclaves of Geesthacht and Großhansdorf to Schleswig-Holstein. After World War II , Schleswig-Holstein

513-577: A referendum in Greenland. It also needs consent from the Folketing, in accordance with section 19 of the Danish constitution. That section states that any changes to the Kingdom's territory needs to be approved by the Folketing. Greenlandic independence does not require a constitutional change; instead, should Greenland become independent, the rules in the constitution regarding Greenland becomes void. With regards to international law , Denmark signed

570-665: A war with the Austrian Empire as well as to eliminate Austria from the German Confederation. The Austrian government had tolerated the rule of Duke Frederick VIII of Schleswig-Holstein , much to the chagrin of Prussia. On 1 June 1866 Austria asked the Federal Convention for a resolution on the status of Holstein, which Prussia regarded as a breach of the mutual agreement. Under this pretext, Prussian troops entered Holstein nine days later which led to

627-835: A whole is a member of the United Nations , NATO , the OECD and the World Trade Organization . The Faroe Islands and Greenland are associated members of the Nordic Council in their own right as part of Denmark's membership. Although the Kingdom of Denmark is a member of the European Union , both areas have special dispensation and remain outside the EU. Greenland joined the EU as part of Denmark in 1973, but opted to leave in 1985 after Greenlandic home rule

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684-602: Is a unitary sovereign state. It has Arctic territorial claims in the Arctic Ocean : various sites near the North Pole ( Lomonosov Ridge , Gakkel Ridge , and the Alpha - Mendeleev Ridge complex). Constitutionally, the Kingdom of Denmark encompasses the realm or the country, but the Faroe Islands and Greenland have an extended degree of autonomy to govern their relations. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been under

741-582: The Danish parliament , where the two territories are represented by two seats each (from a total of 179 seats). The Faroe Islands have gradually taken control of more and more areas of responsibility according to their Home Rule Act from 1948. The Faroese/Danish act of 2005 states: "This law is based on an agreement between the Governments of the Faroe Islands and Denmark as equal partners." Previously, most foreign relations were undertaken exclusively by

798-578: The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention in 1996 and acknowledged the Greenlandic Inuit as an Indigenous people . In the 2009 self rule act, Denmark recognised the Greenlandic people as a "people" within the context of international law, and their inherent right to self-determination . The Kingdom of Denmark constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that

855-623: The Northern Atlantic and are rugged with cliffs along the coast, while Greenland is in the North Atlantic and Arctic , and is 79% covered in ice . Greenland is the most sparsely populated territory in the world, according to the World Bank . The Kingdom has submitted five claims to the United Nations that its exclusive economic zone extends beyond the usual 200 nautical miles limit: one north and one south of

912-635: The Treaty of Kiel , but kept control of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. The colonies on Greenland were situated on the west coast, and as a condition for the sale of the Danish West Indies to the United States in 1917, the U.S. recognised Danish sovereignty over the whole island, and most countries followed suit. One exception was Norway who in 1931 occupied parts of East Greenland , but abandoned their claim in 1933, when it lost

969-540: The Treaty of Vienna signed on 30 October 1864 had to cede the Elbe Duchies to victorious Prussia and Austria. After the war, the two powers faced the issue of governing the provinces formerly held by the Danish royal House of Glücksburg in personal union . Prussia aimed at the annexation of the territories as provinces with her state territory, against the strong resistance of the Austrians, who persisted on

1026-495: The constitutional status of the relationship between Denmark, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland. The name was used by Danish and Greenlandic authorities in the negotiations for home rule introduced in 1979, and has become popular since the beginning of the 1990s. The acts establishing the 1948 Faroese home rule and the 1979 Greenlandic home rule use the term rigsenheden instead. Jurist Frederik Harhoff argued in 1993 that rigsenheden should be replaced with rigsfællesskabet , as

1083-420: The 1915 constitution gave Risdagen the legislative power, any laws by the Løgting necessarily derived its authority from powers delegated to it from Rigsdagen. With regards to the extent Rigsdagen was allowed to delegate its legislative power under section 2, Meyers argued that more powers could be delegated to the Faroe Islands than other parts of the country, due to its special history. Similarly, Christensen,

1140-574: The Crown of Denmark since 1397 ( de facto ) when the Kalmar Union was ratified, and part of the Danish Realm since 1814 ( de jure ). However, due to their separate historical and cultural identities, these parts of the Realm now have an extensive degree of self-government and have assumed legislative and administrative responsibility in a substantial number of fields. Legal matters in

1197-485: The Faeroese voted for independence, but the result was rejected by the Danish government. Instead, after negotiations between the Faroe Islands and Denmark, the Faroe Islands were granted "home rule" in 1948. Greenland was originally administered as two separate colonies, viz. North and South Greenland . In 1950, these two were merged as the Colony of Greenland . Following the constitutional reform in 1953 , Greenland

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1254-524: The Faroe Islands and Greenland to be somewhere in between the constitution and a usual act by the Folketing, as it had been treated as such . The Greenlandic self rule act of 2009 gives Greenland a way to achieve independence. First, the Greenlandic people must make the decision, after which there should be negotiations between the Greenlandic government ( Naalakkersuisut ) and the Danish government about how to practically implement it. The agreement reached needs to be ratified by Inatsisartut, and approved in

1311-558: The Faroe Islands must be prepared for that court, like any Danish matter. Danish currency is also legal tender in Greenland, but not in the Faroes. Denmark is responsible for the military defence of both nations. The Kingdom of Denmark is a member state of the European Communities , the predecessor of the European Union , since 1973. In 1982, Greenland voted to leave the Communities after gaining home rule from

1368-411: The Faroe Islands were given "home rule" in 1948, and Greenland in 1979. Greenland's home rule was replaced in 2009 by "self rule". There is an ongoing legal debate about what constitutional weight these arrangements have. In general, there are two conflicting views: (a) the laws delegate power from the Folketing and can be revoked unilaterally by it, and (b) the laws have special status so changes require

1425-525: The Faroe Islands, and three around Greenland. One Greenlandic claim includes the North Pole and the Lomonosov Ridge , and extend all the way to the Russian exclusive economic zone. Claims overlapping with other nations' claims have to be resolved through negotiation; in 2019, Iceland , Norway and the Kingdom of Denmark settled their claims to the area north of the Faroe Islands. The Kingdom

1482-605: The Faroese Home Rule Act. It sets out a home rule government and Greenlandic parliament . Specific areas of governance specified in the act include: Organization of local government; Fishing and agriculture; Welfare system; protection of the environment ; other areas affecting Greenlanders directly, etc. On 21 June 2009, Greenland assumed self-determination with responsibility for self-government of judicial affairs, policing, natural resources, immigration and border controls. Also, Greenlanders were recognised as

1539-750: The French emperor Napoleon III responded with protest, while the British saw their interests in the North Sea as threatened; the treaty was nevertheless appreciated by Russia in view of her enmity with Austria after the Crimean War . The Gastein Convention marked the end of all attempts to seek a peaceful solution of the German question. It soon collapsed due to Bismarck's successful efforts to provoke

1596-490: The German Confederation since 1815. When in 1858 the Danish national liberal Council President Carl Christian Hall drafted the 'November Constitution' in order to link Schleswig more closely to the Danish kingdom, he sparked German protests, and troops of the German Confederation eventually occupied Holstein and Lauenburg in 1863. In the following Second Schleswig War , Denmark was defeated and according to

1653-643: The Government of Denmark on behalf of the entire realm, but more recently the Faroe Islands and Greenland have increased their role in foreign policy. Representatives for both have joined Danish delegations in discussions on some international matters, such as fishing rights. Greenlandic representatives were included in the process of a new treaty between Denmark and the US regarding the Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark as

1710-473: The Kingdom of Denmark". The sovereignty of the Faroe Islands and Greenland is held by the Danish state. The Kingdom of Denmark is a unitary state , with the Folketing being its unicameral legislature. The Faroe Islands and Greenland each elect two members to the parliament; the remaining 175 members are elected in Denmark. The Folketing have by law given the Faroe Islands and Greenland extensive autonomy;

1767-486: The Prussian king in personal union for a purchase price of 2.5 million Danish rigsdalers . The eleven articles of the agreement signed on 14 August 1865 covered: The treaty was ratified by both parties on 19 August. King William I of Prussia went on to rule Lauenburg in personal union and assumed the ducal title. Bismarck's negotiation skills had apparently been underestimated by Blome. Though Prussia benefitted from

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1824-704: The Realm of Denmark. The Faroe Islands was never part of the EU, as explicitly asserted by both Rome treaties. The relations of the Faroe Islands with the EU are governed by a Fisheries Agreement (1977) and a Free Trade Agreement (1991, revised 1998). The main reason for remaining outside the EU is disagreements about the Common Fisheries Policy . Denmark: Faroe Islands: Greenland: Province of Schleswig-Holstein The Province of Schleswig-Holstein ( German : Provinz Schleswig-Holstein [ˌʃleːsvɪç ˈhɔlʃtaɪn] )

1881-467: The United States . The Faroe Islands were made a Danish county in 1816, and with the constitution of 1849 , it gained representation in the Rigsdag . During World War II, the Faroe Islands were occupied by the United Kingdom and they largely administered themselves. After the war, it was clear that the old system could not be reinstated. In an independence referendum in 1946, 50.7% of

1938-418: The approval by the Løgting happened according to special rules put in place in 1940 with the consent of the Danish representative there, during the occupation by the United Kingdom. Sørensen said the intention with the Faeroese home rule was that it should not be unilaterally changed, as stated in the preamble, so it had that effect. Harhoff, in his 1993 Doctorate dissertation, considered the home rule acts of

1995-551: The case at the Permanent Court of International Justice . In Iceland there was a growing nationalism in the 19th century, and Iceland was in 1874 given its own constitution and increased autonomy, but still with the executive power in Danish hands. Iceland was granted home rule in 1904, and, by the Danish–Icelandic Act of Union , full independence in 1918. The act established a personal union between Denmark and

2052-552: The consent of the Faeroese Løgting or the Greenlandic Inatsisartut , respectively. Proponents of the first interpretation include Alf Ross , Poul Meyer and Jens Peter Christensen . Ross, the chief architect of the Faeroese home rule, argued that it was "a municipal self-government of extraordinary extensive scope". Meyer wrote in 1947, prior to the Faeroese home rule, that since section 2 of

2109-645: The country or realm are subject to the Constitution of the Realm of Denmark . It stipulates that it applies for all parts of the Kingdom of Denmark and that legislative, executive and judicial powers are the responsibility of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Folketing ), the Government of Denmark and the Supreme Court of Denmark . The Faroe Islands were granted home rule via an independence referendum in 1946, and Greenland did so in

2166-453: The devolved powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government, thus the state remains de jure unitary. The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese and the Greenlandic political authorities. The Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have

2223-466: The economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides an annual grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 "Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands" sets out the terms of Faroese home rule . The Act states, "...the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark." It establishes

2280-417: The former implies a common identity, while the latter implied a community of different identities. The use of the expression Rigsfællesskabet though can be traced back to at least 1908. Denmark's population is by far the largest of the three; 5.8 million people live in Denmark, and about 52,000 and 56,000 in the Faroe Island and Greenland, respectively. In comparison, there are ten cities in Denmark with

2337-659: The home government of the Faroe Islands ( Landsstýrið ) and the Faroese parliament, the Løgting . More significantly, the Act specifies the powers devolved from the Government of Denmark, including: local government and municipal affairs; taxation , at a local and territorial level; public services , including police and town planning; welfare services , such as housing; primary and secondary education; Archives, libraries, museums; agriculture and fishing; entertainment; among other areas. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as

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2394-401: The newly created Kingdom of Iceland , with Denmark handling coastal protection and foreign affairs. In 1944, Iceland abolished the personal union and adopted a new constitution that established the current republic , after a referendum on the subject. This happened during World War II, where Denmark and Iceland were cut off from each other, as Denmark was occupied by Germany , and Iceland by

2451-636: The outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War , also known as the Seven Weeks' War . The Peace of Prague in 1866 confirmed Denmark's cession of Schlewig and Holstein, which were both annexed by Prussia, but promised a plebiscite to decide whether north Schleswig wished to return to Danish rule. This provision was bilaterally set aside by a resolution of Prussia and Austria in 1878. Instead the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein

2508-541: The realm's two autonomous regions: the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America . The relationship between the three parts of the Kingdom is known as The unity of the Realm . The Kingdom of Denmark is not a federation ; it is a concept encompassing the three autonomous legal systems of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, united under its monarch . The Kingdom of Denmark

2565-472: The realm. The entire kingdom has an area of 2.2 million square kilometres (0.85 million square miles), and is according to The World Factbook the twelfth largest country in the world, the same rank held by Greenland alone. Denmark alone has an area of about 43,000 km , and is no. 133 on that list. Denmark is situated in Northern Europe and is flat and arable, the Faroe Islands in

2622-666: The status of autonomous duchies of the Confederation ruled as a condominium . To ease tensions, the Prussian minister-president Otto von Bismarck met with the Austrian envoy Gustav von Blome at the spa town of Bad Gastein in the Austrian Alps. In the negotiations, the administration of the gained territories was split between the two powers: Prussia would rule over Schleswig and Austria over Holstein. Austria would officially renounce Saxe-Lauenburg, which would be ruled by

2679-519: The treaty, the minister-president noted that the 'bonding of cracks' did not answer the German question nor did it ease the Austria–Prussia rivalry . Moreover the treaty ran counter to the legal basis of the German Confederation, which led to the refusal by the smaller Confederation states and turned out detrimental to the reputation especially of the Austrian side. The European powers reacted strongly,

2736-522: The words Dansk (Danish) and Danmark (Denmark). The provisions for home rule are limited to internal matters only. Neither Greenland nor the Faroe Islands can write laws that concern the relationship with other states, nor laws that apply to the entire Realm; furthermore, the Supreme Court (Danish: Højesteret ) in Copenhagen is the final legal instance, and legal matters from Greenland and

2793-422: Was a free state until 1262/1264, when it came under Norwegian taxation. Greenland, already populated by the Indigenous Greenlandic Inuit , was settled by Norwegians in the 10th century, among those Erik the Red . The connection to Greenland was lost in the 15th century, but Denmark–Norway again established connections in 1721 through the missionary Hans Egede . In 1814, Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden under

2850-432: Was incorporated into Denmark as a county and given representation in the Folketing . When Denmark joined the European Communities (EC) in 1972, Greenland followed, despite 70% of the Greenlandic voters voting against it in the referendum . As a home rule agreement would allow them to leave again (the Faroe Islands did not join the EC ), this was an important factor in the increasing support for home rule. Another factor

2907-470: Was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia (from 1868 to 1918) and the Free State of Prussia (from 1918 to 1946). It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein , which had been conquered by Prussia and the Austrian Empire from Denmark in the Second War of Schleswig in 1864. Following the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, which ended in Austrian defeat, Schleswig and Holstein were annexed by decree of William I on 12 January 1867. The province

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2964-451: Was a desire to make Greenland more Greenlandic and less Danish . They were given home rule in 1979 and left the EC in 1985. Under the home rule agreement, Greenland gradually took over more responsibility from the Danish state. In 2009, the home rule was replaced with "self rule", granting greater autonomy. The Danish constitution also applies in the Faroe Islands and Greenland, as section one states that it "shall apply to all parts of

3021-407: Was created in 1868, and it incorporated the Duchy of Lauenburg from 1876 onward. Following the defeat of Imperial Germany in World War I, the Allied powers organised two plebiscites in Northern and Central Schleswig on 10 February and 14 March 1920, respectively. In Northern Schleswig, 75% voted for reunification with Denmark and 25% for staying with Germany. In Central Schleswig, the situation

3078-528: Was created in 1868. Both territories were to be admitted to the Zollverein (German Customs Union), headed by Prussia, of which Austria was not a member. Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm , officially the Kingdom of Denmark , or simply Denmark , is a sovereign state and refers to the area over which the Constitution of Denmark applies. It consists of metropolitan Denmark —the kingdom's territory in continental Europe and sometimes called "Denmark proper" (Danish: egentlige Danmark )—and

3135-420: Was in a dispute with Canada on who has sovereignty over Hans Island between 1978 and 2022. The two governments eventually settled on a border running approximately halfway through the island, establishing a land border between the two states. The Faroe Islands were settled by Norwegian Vikings in the 9th century, displacing Irish monks already there. Iceland was settled in the 9th century by Norsemen , and

3192-515: Was introduced in 1979. The "Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands" specifies that a 'Faroese' shall be understood to mean a person who is a " national of Denmark and a resident of the Faroe Islands". The Government of Denmark issues special passports for its citizens living in the Faroe Islands and Greenland with the right to choose a regular Danish passport as well. The Faroese Home Rule Act states that, in Faroese passports , Føroyingur (Faroese) and Føroyar (Faroe Islands) shall be inserted after

3249-404: Was reversed, with 80% voting for Germany and 20% for Denmark. No vote ever took place in the southern third of Schleswig, as it was considered a foregone conclusion that almost all the inhabitants would vote to remain in Germany. On 15 June 1920, Northern Schleswig was officially reunited with Denmark (see: South Jutland County ). The remainder of Schleswig remained part of Schleswig-Holstein, now

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