The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a polity, political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defin ...

located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of metropolitan Denmark, the kingdom's territory in continental Europe and sometimes called "Denmark proper" ( da, egentlige Danmark, links=no), and the realm's two autonomous regions: the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic archipelago, island group and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotlan ...

and

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...

.Administrative divisions – Denmark

The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available ...

. Access date: 14 April 2012 The relationship between the three parts of the Kingdom is also known as The unity of the Realm (; fo, ríkisfelagsskapurin, links=no; kl, naalagaaffeqatigiinneq, links=no). The Kingdom of Denmark is not a

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...

; similar to the Realm of New Zealand, 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 is a unitary sovereign state. It has Arctic territorial claims in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

: various sites near the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

(

Lomonosov Ridge The Lomonosov Ridge (russian: Хребет Ломоносова, da, Lomonosovryggen) is an unusual underwater ridge of continental crust in the Arctic Ocean. It spans between the New Siberian Islands over the central part of the ocean to Elles ...

, Gakkel Ridge, Alpha- Mendeleev Ridge complex, and the Chukchi Borderland). Constitutionally, the Kingdom of Denmark encompasses the realm, but the Faroe Islands and Greenland have an extended degree of autonomy to govern their relations. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been under the Crown of Denmark since 1397 (''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

'') when the Kalmar Union was ratified, and part of the Danish Realm since 1814 (''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legall ...

''). 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 the 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 ( da, Folketing, links=no), the Government of Denmark and the Supreme Court of Denmark. The Faroe Islands received home rule in 1948 and Greenland did so in a 1979 referendum. In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received "

self rule __NOTOC__ Self-governance, self-government, or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any form of ...

", 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.

Name

The

that holds

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

over the Realm of Denmark () is named "Kingdom of Denmark" (). The Constitution of the Kingdom of Denmark refers to the state's territory as , which means "The Realm of Denmark". The Danish term , translated as "The unity of the Realm", the "commonwealth of the Realm", or the "Danish Commonwealth" refers to 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 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.

Population and area

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 a population above 50,000 people. Denmark is populated by the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard ...

, 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, . , 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 the realm. The entire kingdom has an area of , and is according to ''

'' the twelfth largest country in the world, the same rank held by Greenland alone. Denmark alone has an area of about 43,000 km², and is no. 133 on that list. Denmark is situated in Northern Europe and is flat and arable, the Faroe Islands in the Northern Atlantic and are rugged with cliffs along the coast, while Greenland is in the North Atlantic and

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada ( Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm ( Greenland), Finland, Iceland ...

, and is 79% covered in ice. Greenland is the most sparsely populated territory in the world, according to the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

. The Kingdom has submitted five claims to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

that its exclusive economic zone extends beyond the usual 200 nautical miles limit: one north and one south of the Faroe Islands, and three around Greenland. One Greenlandic claim includes the

and the

, and extend all the way to the Russian exclusive economic zone. Claims overlapping with other nation's claims has to be resolved through negotiation; in 2019,

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and the Kingdom of Denmark settled their claims to the area north of the Faroe Islands. The Kingdom was in a dispute with Canada on who has sovereignty over

Hans Island Hans Island ( Inuktitut and kl, Tartupaluk, ; Inuktitut syllabics: ; da, Hans Ø; french: Île Hans) is an island in the very centre of the Kennedy Channel of Nares Strait in the high Arctic region, split between the Canadian territory of ...

between 1978 and 2022. The two governments eventually settled on a border running approximately halfway through the island.

Historical background

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 The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the ...

, and 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 though the missionary Hans Egede. In 1814, Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden under 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 the case at the Permanent Court of International Justice. In Iceland there were 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 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 the United States. The Faroe Islands were made a Danish

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 administrated themselves. After the war, it was clear that the old system could not be reinstated. In an independence referendum in 1946, 50.7% of 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 administrated as two separate colonies, viz.

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''no ...

and South Greenland. In 1950, these two were merged as the

Colony of Greenland The colony of Greenland was a Danish colony created in 1950 with the union of North Greenland and South Greenland, and was ruled by one governor. In 1953, the colony of Greenland was made an equal part of Denmark as an amt Amt is a type of ad ...

. Following the constitutional reform in 1953, Greenland was incorporated into Denmark as a county and given representation in the Folketing. When Denmark joined the

European Communities The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), and th ...

(EC) in 1972, Greenland followed, despite 70% of the Greenlandic voters voted 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 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.

Constitutional status

The Danish constitution also applies in the Faroe Island and Greenland, as section one states that it "shall apply to all parts of 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 A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only th ...

, with the Folketing being its unicameral legislature. The Faroe Island and Greenland each elect two members to the parliament; the remaining 175 members are elected in Denmark.

Home rule and self rule

The Folketing have by law given the Faroe Island and Greenland extensive autonomy; the Faroe Island was given "home rule" in 1948, and Greenland was too in 1979. Greenland's home rule was in 2009 replaced 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 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, compared it to an extended version of the autonomy of municipalities. Meyer wrote in 1947, prior to the Faeroese home rule, that if power was delegated as extensive in other parts of the country, it would probably breach section 2 of the 1915 constitution, suggesting it did not do that here due to the Faroe Islands' separate history. Similarly, Christensen, a

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

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 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 A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' ...

dissertation, considered the home rule acts of 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.

Greenlandic independence

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 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 International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

, Denmark signed the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention in 1996 and acknowledged the Greenlandic Inuit as an

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original 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 right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a '' jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It st ...

Devolved powers

The Kingdom of Denmark constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from

federalism Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (provincial, state, cantonal, territorial, or other sub-unit governments) in a single po ...

in that the devolved powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government, thus the state remains ''

'' 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 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. Tinganes

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 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 Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-lo ...

and municipal affairs;

taxation A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, o ...

, at a local and territorial level;

public service A public service is any Service (economics), service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through pub ...

s, including police and town planning; welfare services, such as housing; primary and secondary education; Archives, libraries, museums;

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

and fishing; entertainment; among other areas. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as 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 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

with responsibility for self-government of judicial affairs, policing, natural resources, immigration and border controls. Also, Greenlanders were recognised as a separate people under international law. Greenland is now described as having "

", with its home government exercising a wider range of powers. There are a number of matters that can not be acquired by the territories;

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

al affairs, foreign policy,

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

, the

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

, and

monetary policy Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority of a nation to control either the interest rate payable for very short-term borrowing (borrowing by banks from each other to meet their short-term needs) or the money supply, often ...

. Additionally, the Faroese and Greenlandic parliaments are subordinate to 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."

Foreign affairs

Previously, most foreign relations were undertaken exclusively by 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

Thule Air Base Thule Air Base (pronounced or , kl, Qaanaaq Mitarfik, da, Thule Lufthavn), or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport , is the United States Space Force's northernmost base, and the northernmost installation of the U.S. Armed Forces, located north o ...

in northwest Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark as a whole is a member of the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

, the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate ...

and the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...

. The Faroe Islands and Greenland are associated members of the

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomo ...

in their own right as part of Denmark's membership. Although the Kingdom of Denmark is a member of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

, 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 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 passport Faroese ( ) or Faroish ( ) may refer to anything pertaining to the Faroe Islands, e.g.: *the Faroese language * the Faroese people Faroese people or Faroe Islanders ( fo, føroyingar; da, færinger) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation ...

s, ''Føroyingur'' (Faroese) and ''Føroyar'' (Faroe Islands) shall be inserted after the words ''Dansk'' (Danish) and ''Danmark'' (Denmark).

Not devolved

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 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.

Relationship with the European Union

The Kingdom of Denmark is a member state of the

, the predecessor of the

, since 1973. In 1982,

voted to leave the Communities after gaining home rule from the Realm of Denmark. The

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.

Terminology

; : Meaning " home rule", it indicates an autonomous administration (present in both in Greenland and the Faroe Islands) that has power over many internal affairs. In this arrangement, the Danish government deals with external matters such as defence and foreign affairs. Greenland and the Faroe Islands maintain their own elected assemblies and administrations, headed by a premier who appoints a cabinet. This is synonymous with "self-governing". ; : Following a referendum on 25 November 2008 (the 30th anniversary of the establishment of home rule in Greenland), the relationship between the Danish and Greenlandic governments changed, with Greenland gaining greater autonomy. Further powers were granted to the Greenlandic government on 21 June 2009, including control of the police force, coastguard, and courts. Additionally, Greenland now receives fewer Danish subsidies, becoming more self-sufficient.Greenland votes for more autonomy
BBC News, 26 November 2008 As a result of these changes, Greenland was then said to have ''self rule'' with minimal support from Denmark, as opposed to "home rule". ; :

High Commissioners High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...

represent the interests of Denmark in the

and

. There is one Danish High Commissioner in each territory. The commissioner can attend the meetings at the Løgting in the Faroes and at the Inatsisartut in Greenland, but can't vote. ; : Members of the Folketing from the Faroe Islands and Greenland: Greenland and the Faroe Islands and their self-rule administrations take part in consultations on policies and decisions affecting their region, including negotiations with the devolved legislatures and the Danish parliament (folketing). Greenland and the Faroe Islands have two members of the Danish each, with full voting privileges.

Literature

* Adriansen, Inge (2003):
Nationale symboler i Det Danske Rige 1830–2000
', Vol I (Fra fyrstestat til nationalstater), Museum Tusculanum Press, University of Copenhagen. * Adriansen, Inge (2003):
Nationale symboler i Det Danske Rige 1830–2000
', Vol II (Fra undersåtter til nation), Museum Tusculanum Press, University of Copenhagen.

Notes

References

Sources

* The Danish Constitution for the Danish Realm
Danmarks Riges Grundlov
no. 169 of 5 June 1953.

External links

General

(Prime Minister's Office)
Tourism portal
at ''VisitDenmark''.
Tourism portal
at ''VisitGreenland''.
Tourism portal
at ''VisitFaroeIslands''.

Government

''Denmark:''

– official Danish government website
um.dk
– official Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark website
Statistics Denmark (DST)
– Key figures from the Danish bureau of statistics * ''Faroe Islands:''
Government.fo
– official Faroese government website
Government.fo
– official Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Faroe Islands website
Statistics Faroe Islands (FST)
– Key figures from the Faroese bureau of statistics * ''Greenland:''
Naalakkersuisut.gl
– official Greenlandic government website
Naalakkersuisut.gl
– official Ministry of Foreign Relations of Greenland website
Statistics Greenland (GST)
– Key figures from the Greenlandic bureau of statistics *

News and media

Google news The unity of the Realm

Google news Kingdom of Denmark – term used to include Greenland and the Faroe Islands

Google news Danish Realm
{{Greenland topics Politics of Denmark Government of Denmark Government of the Faroe Islands Government of Greenland