Danish Parliament

The Danish Parliament Folketinget
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker of the Folketing	Pia Kjærsgaard, Danish People's Party Since 3 July 2015
Structure
Seats	179
Political groups	Government (53)      Venstre - Liberal Party (34)      Liberal Alliance (13)      Conservative People's Party (6) Supported by (37)      Danish People's Party (37) Official Opposition (47)      Social Democrats (47) Other Opposition (42)      Red-Green Alliance (14)      Alternative (9)      Social Liberal Party (8)      Socialist People's Party (7)      Social Democratic Party (1)1      Community of the People (1)1      Forward (1)1      Republic (1)1
Elections
Voting system	Open list proportional representation with a 2% election threshold
Last election	18 June 2015
Next election	Before 18 June 2019
Meeting place
Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen
Website
www.ft.dk
Footnotes
1. Faroese and Greenlandic political parties represented in the Danish parliament

Government (53)

Supported by (37)

Official Opposition (47)

Other Opposition (42)

The Folketing (Danish: Folketinget, pronounced [ˈfʌlɡ̊ətˢeŋˀð]; lit. the people's thing), also known as the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national parliament (legislature) of the Kingdom of Denmark. Established in 1849, until 1953 the Folketing was the lower house of a bicameral parliament, called the Rigsdag; the upper house was the Landsting. It meets in Christiansborg Palace, on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen.

The Folketing passes all laws, approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government. It is also responsible for adopting the state's budgets and approving the state's accounts. As set out in the Danish Constitution, the Folketing shares power with the reigning monarch. In practice, however, the monarch's role is limited to signing laws passed by the legislature; this must be done within 30 days of adoption.

The Folketing consists of 179 representatives; 175 from Denmark, 2 from Greenland and a further 2 from the Faroe Islands. General elections must be held every four years, but it is within the powers of the Prime Minister to ask the monarch to call for an election before the term has elapsed. On a vote of no confidence, the Folketing may force a single Minister or the entire government to resign.