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| Official name: Kongeriget Danmark (The Kingdom of Denmark)
Head of State: Queen Margrethe II Head of government: Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen (V) (since Nov 2001) Ruling party: Right-wing coalition government comprising the Venstre (V) (Liberal Party) and the Konservative Folkeparti (KF) (Conservative People's Party) Area: 43,080 square km Population: 5.41 million (2004) Capital: Copenhagen Official language: Danish Currency: Danish krone (Kr) = 100 ore Exchange rate: Kr5.75 per US$ (Nov 2004) (pegged through the original European Exchange Rate Mechanism; trades around Kr7.43 per euro) GDP per capita: US$39,453 (2003) GDP real growth: 0.50% (2003) Labour force: 2.86 million (2003) Unemployment: 5.50% (2003) Inflation: 2.00% (2003) Oil production: 368,000 bpd (2003) Balance of trade: US$9.14 billion (2003) Foreign debt: US$21.70 billion (2003) |
Historical profile
Denmark is an ancient kingdom situated on an archipelago, which has historically
served as a bridge between continental Europe and the Scandinavian peninsula.
During the Napoleonic era, the Danes sided with the French and, as a result of their defeat, lost their dominance in Scandinavia.
1397 The Union of Kalmar united Denmark, Sweden and Norway under a single monarch.
1523 Denmark recognised Swedish independence.
1729 Greenland became a Danish province.
1814 Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden.
1849 Denmark became a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament.
1903 Iceland was granted home rule from Denmark.
1918 Iceland became a sovereign state in union with Denmark.
1914<196>18 Denmark was neutral during the First World War.
1918 Denmark's transition to parliamentary government with universal suffrage was fully established after the First World War and has been suspended only during the Nazi occupation of the Second World War.
1939 Denmark signed a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany.
1940 Germany invaded Denmark.
1945 The German occupation ended. Denmark recognised the independence of Iceland.
1948 The Faroe Islands were granted self-government within the Kingdom.
1949 Denmark was one of the founder members of NATO.
1953 A revision of the constitution allowed for female succession to the throne, abolition of the upper house of parliament and the introduction of proportional representation. Greenland became an integral part of Denmark.
1959 Denmark joined the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
1972 Queen Margrethe ascended the throne.
1973 Denmark joined the European Economic Community (EEC).
1979 Greenland was granted home rule; Denmark retained control over Greenland's foreign affairs and defence.
1985 Parliament passed legislation to ban the construction of nuclear power plants.
1992 In a referendum, voters rejected the Maastricht Treaty on further European integration.
1993 Poul Schlüter, prime minister since 1982, resigned after a judicial enquiry criticised him for misleading parliament in 1989 over the Tamil visa scandal. A four-party coalition government was formed by Poul Nyrup Rasmussen. Denmark voted in favour of a revised Maastricht treaty.
1994 Rasmussen was returned to power after a general election.
1998 Danish voters endorsed the EU's Amsterdam treaty, which prepared the way for former eastern bloc countries to join the EU.
2000 In a referendum, Denmark voted against joining Europe's single currency.
2001 The Venstre (Liberal Party), led by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, beat the ruling Socialdemokratiet (Social Democrats) led by Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, in the elections. Fogh Rasmussen was only able to form a minority administration, in coalition with the Konservative Folkeparti (KF) (Conservative People's Party), relying on support from the right-wing Dansk Folkeparti (DF) (Danish People's Party) in order to command a majority in parliament.
2002 Proposed government measures aimed at reducing immigration sparked controversy. The EU-Russia summit was moved from Copenhagen to Brussels because of a diplomatic row between Denmark and Russia over the Copenhagen conference of Chechen exiles, when President Putin threatened to boycott the summit if it was held in Copenhagen.
2003 Two commercial radio networks were launched.
2004 In May, Crown Prince Frederik married Australian-born Mary Donaldson – the first Australian to join a European royal family.
2005 In the 8 February parliamentary elections, the ruling coalition retained power.
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