Regions of Denmark - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Regions of Denmark were created as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform. The five regions replace the former sixteen counties

Counties of Denmark

Denmark was until December 31, 2006 divided into 15 counties , and 270 municipalities . On January 1, 2007, the counties were replaced by five Regions and the number of municipalities slashed to 98....

(amter). At the same time, the number of municipalities (kommuner) was cut from 270 to 98. The reform was made effective on 1 January 2007.

List of regions

The names of the regions in English are not uniform. The government often uses the Danish names or directly translated English names (e.g. Greater Copenhagen, Zealand, North Jutland, Southern Denmark, Central Jutland). The regions themselves partially use other names in English, substituting 'Jutland

Jutland

Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...

' for 'Denmark', as shown below.

Danish name	English name	Seat of administration	Largest city	Population (January 1, 2008) !! Area (km²) !! Pop. density (per km²) !! Corresponding counties (1970–2006)
Region Hovedstaden	Capital Region of Denmark	Hillerød Hillerød Hillerød Kommune is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden . The municipality covers an area of 191 km² , and has a total population of 46,568...	Copenhagen Copenhagen Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...	1,645,825	2,561	642.6	Copenhagen County Copenhagen County Københavns Amt is a former county on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. It covered the municipalities in the metropolitan Copenhagen area, with the exception of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg. Effective January 1, 2007, the county was abolished and merged into Region Hovedstaden Københavns... and Frederiksborg Frederiksborg County Frederiksborg Amt is a former county in the north of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. Effective January 1, 2007, the county was abolished and merged into Region Hovedstaden .... , and the municipalities of Copenhagen Copenhagen Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region... , Frederiksberg Frederiksberg Frederiksberg Kommune is a municipality on the island of Zealand in Denmark. It surrounded by the city of Copenhagen. The municipality, co-extensive with its seat, covers an area of and has a total population of 98,782 making it the smallest municipality in Denmark area-wise, the fifth most... and Bornholm Bornholm Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...
Region Midtjylland	Central Denmark Region	Viborg Viborg, Denmark Viborg , a town in central Jutland, Denmark, is the seat of both Viborg municipality and Region Midtjylland. Viborg is also the seat of the Western High Court, the High Court for the Jutland peninsula...	Århus	1,237,041	13,142	94.2	Ringkjøbing Ringkjøbing County Ringkjøbing Amt is a former county on the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark. It had the lowest population density of all the Danish counties. The county was abolished effective January 1, 2007, when it merged into Region Midtjylland Ringkjøbing Amt (English, Ringkjøbing County) is a former... , nearly all of Århus, the southern part of Viborg Viborg County Viborg Amt is a former county in the north-central part of the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark. The county was abolished on 1 January 2007, when most of it merged into Region Midtjylland... and the northern part of Vejle Vejle County Vejle Amt is a former county on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in southern Denmark. The county was abolished effective January 1, 2007, when it was divided between Region Midtjylland and Region of Southern Denmark...
Region Nordjylland	North Denmark Region	Aalborg Aalborg -Transport:On the north side of the Limfjord is Nørresundby, which is connected to Aalborg by a road bridge Limfjordsbroen, an iron railway bridge Jernbanebroen over Limfjorden, as well as a motorway tunnel running under the Limfjord Limfjordstunnelen....	Aalborg Aalborg -Transport:On the north side of the Limfjord is Nørresundby, which is connected to Aalborg by a road bridge Limfjordsbroen, an iron railway bridge Jernbanebroen over Limfjorden, as well as a motorway tunnel running under the Limfjord Limfjordstunnelen....	578,839	7,927	73.2	North Jutland North Jutland County North Jutland County is a former county in northern Denmark. It was located on the eastern half of Vendsyssel-Thy and the northernmost part of the Jutland peninsula. It was the largest county in Denmark, but with a relatively low population. The county seat was Aalborg, Denmark's fourth largest... , the northern part of Viborg County Viborg County Viborg Amt is a former county in the north-central part of the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark. The county was abolished on 1 January 2007, when most of it merged into Region Midtjylland... and a small part of Århus County
Region Sjælland	Region Zealand	Sorø Sorø Sorø is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand in east Denmark. The population is 7,805 . The municipal council and the regional council are located in Sorø....	Roskilde Roskilde Roskilde is the main city in Roskilde Municipality, Denmark on the island of Zealand. It is an ancient city, dating from the Viking Age and is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network....	819,427	7,273	112.7	Roskilde, Storstrøm Storstrøm County Storstrøms Amt is a former county on the islands of Zealand , Møn, Falster, Lolland and some minor islands in southeast Denmark. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising the former counties of Maribo and Præstø. The county was abolished effective January 1, 2007, when it merged into... , and West Zealand West Zealand County Vestsjællands Amt is a former county in the west-central part of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. The county was abolished effective January 1, 2007, when it merged into Region Sjælland Vestsjællands Amt is a former county (Danish: amt) in the west-central part of the island of Zealand...
Region Syddanmark	Region of Southern Denmark	Vejle Vejle Vejle is a town in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle and Grejs Rivers and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality and the Region of Southern Denmark...	Odense Odense The city of Odense is the third largest city in Denmark.Odense City has a population of 167,615 and is the main city of the island of Funen...	1,194,659	12,191	97.99	Funen Funen County Fyns Amt is a former county in central Denmark, comprising the islands of Funen, Langeland, Tåsinge, Ærø, and approximately 90 other islands, of which only 25 are inhabited. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising the former counties of Odense and Svendborg. The county was abolished... , Ribe Ribe County Ribe Amt is a former county on the Jutland peninsula of southwest Denmark. It included Denmark's fifth largest city, Esbjerg. The county was abolished effective January 1, 2007, when it merged into Region of Southern Denmark .-List of County Mayors:-Municipalities :... , South Jutland South Jutland County South Jutland County is a former county on the south-central portion of the Jutland Peninsula in southern Denmark.... and the southern half of Vejle County Vejle County Vejle Amt is a former county on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in southern Denmark. The county was abolished effective January 1, 2007, when it was divided between Region Midtjylland and Region of Southern Denmark...
Entire country				5,475,791	43,094	127.0

Tasks

The most important area of responsibility for the new regions is the public health service. They are also responsible for employment policies and public mass transit (buses and a few local railways). However, in eastern Denmark (Region Zealand and the Capital Region) transit is handled by a single transport agency, Movia

Movia (transit agency)

Trafikselskabet Movia is the public transport agency that is responsible for buses and certain local railways in Copenhagen and the part of Denmark east of the Great Belt, covering the regions Sjælland and Hovedstaden, except for Bornholm. It does not own any buses and trains itself, but pays...

Administration and politics

Regions are led by directly elected councils (regionsråd). They consist of 41 members each. Elections are held simultaneously with municipal elections every four years. The last Danish local elections

Danish local elections, 2009

The Danish local elections of 2009 were held on 17 November 2009. Councils were elected in Denmark's 98 municipalities and the five regions.-Legal basis:The electoral details are laid down in the municipal and regional electoral act...

were held on 17 November 2009.

Unlike the former counties, regions are not entitled to levy their own taxes. Thus, the present regions rely entirely on central state funding (around 70%) and funding coming from the municipalities (around 30%). A central government "health contribution" tax (sundhedsbidrag) at 8.00% on the preliminary and final income statement forms has replaced the county tax (amtsskat).

90% of the budgets of the regions are allocated to the national health service. Health issues have remained the primary hot issue in regional politics, especially because grand changes of Denmark's hospital layout were announced immediately after the municipal reform. The new hospital schemes have not been fully finalised yet (as of 2009).

History

The reform has been called the biggest reform in thirty years. It was an important policy issue for the current Liberal

Venstre (Denmark)

VenstreThe party name is officially not translated into any other language, but is in English often referred to as the Liberal Party. Similar rules apply for the name of the party's youth wing Venstres Ungdom. , full name Venstre, Danmarks Liberale Parti , is the largest political party in Denmark...

-Conservative

Conservative People's Party (Denmark)

The Conservative People's Party , also known as Conservatives is a Danish political party.-History:The party was founded 1915 based mostly on its predecessor, Højre , but also on the Free Conservatives and a moderate faction of Venstre , the liberals.The party has participated in several coalition...

cabinet

Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen II

Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen retained his parliamentary support in the 2005 Danish parliamentary election, and was able to continue as head of his government. On 18 February 2005, he presented his updated cabinet, the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen II...

, most importantly for Lars Løkke Rasmussen

Lars Løkke Rasmussen

Lars Løkke Rasmussen is a Danish politician who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from April 2009 to October 2011. He is the leader of the centre-right liberal party, Venstre....

, then minister of the Interior and Health.

The abolition of the counties had long been an important goal for both the Conservatives

Conservative People's Party (Denmark)

and the Danish People's Party

Danish People's Party

The Danish People's Party is a political party in Denmark which is frequently described as right-wing populist by political scientists and commentators. The party is led by Pia Kjærsgaard...

. In June 2004, the Danish People's Party

Danish People's Party

The Danish People's Party is a political party in Denmark which is frequently described as right-wing populist by political scientists and commentators. The party is led by Pia Kjærsgaard...

decided to back the reform, thus securing a majority in the Danish parliament (Folketing
Folketing
The Folketing , is the national parliament of Denmark. The name literally means "People's thing"—that is, the people's governing assembly. It is located in Christiansborg Palace, on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen....

), although the party had preferred just abolishing the counties without replacing them with a new intermediate administrative level (the other two being the government and the municipalities). The parties who wanted to limit the regional tier of government prevailed insofar as the regions have no authority to levy any taxes, unlike the former counties.

State administrations

The 5 state administrations (statsforvaltning) are the representations of the central government in the five regions. They belong to The Ministry of the Interior and Health. Their jurisdictions follow the region borders. These administrations are not subordinate to the regional councils, but rather the direct presence of the state (similar to governates or prefecture

Prefecture

A prefecture is an administrative jurisdiction or subdivision in any of various countries and within some international church structures, and in antiquity a Roman district governed by an appointed prefect.-Antiquity:...

s in certain countries).

A state administration office exists in each region, supervising the daily business of municipalities and regions, and functioning as a body of appeal for citizens who wish to complain over a decision by the municipality or region. The offices also handle affairs concerning adoption

Adoption

Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...

, citizenship

Citizenship

Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...

and divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

s.

Each office is led by a Director of the State Administration (forvaltningsdirektør) who is a university graduate of law.

History

The predecessor of the state administrations, before the 2007 reform, were the state counties (statsamt). In Copenhagen the prefecture was called the 'Upper Presidium' (Københavns Overpræsidium). Each of these were led by a governmental civil servant, the county prefect

Prefect

Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....

((stats)amtmand). In Copenhagen he was called the 'Upper President' (Københavns overpræsident), a title dating from 1747, but not widely known by the public. In some counties the prefect was called a diocesal county prefect (stiftamtmand), also being a part of the diocesan

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

authorities within the National Church

Church of Denmark

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark, Church of Denmark or Danish National Church, is the state church and largest denomination in Denmark and Greenland...

.

The county prefect was also the political leader of county councils until the first municipal reform of 1970, when this task was taken over by the county mayor (amtsborgmester) who was one of the elected county council members. In Copenhagen, the switch was made in 1938 when the title of Upper Mayor (overborgmester) was created.

After the 1970 reform, the prefectures were not very regarded by the common citizen, with the notable exception of cases concerning divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

and child custody

Child custody

Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...

. Also, the county prefect in his uniform would be the person to receive the Queen on her visits throughout the country.

External links

Explanation of and background for Municipal Reform with links to the Danish Ministry of the Interior and Health
The agreement on the Municipal Reform from the Danish Ministry of the Interior and Health
The Ministry´s home page with report from the Commission on Administrative Structure etc.
Home page of Regions. Click on map to access a Region's home page
Budget of the Regions
Statistikbanken.dk Budget
Statistikbanken.dk Budget
English home page of State Administrations
Areas of concern (adoption etc.)
Ministry of Employment
Links to the 4 employment regions
Regionalization and devolution: Proposed new regions of Norway (powerpoint slide show)
Maps (pdf) showing local/regional administration 1660-2007
Map with named municipalities and regions
Krak searchable/printable map(outline of municipality visible, but does not print out!)
Statistics Denmark

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

List of regions

Tasks

Administration and politics

History

State administrations

History

See also

External links