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The Council of State (, , ) is the privy council of the Kingdom of Denmark. The body of advisors to the
Danish monarch This is a list of Danish monarchs, that is, the kings and queens regnant of Denmark. This includes: * The Kingdom of Denmark (up to 1397) ** Personal union of Denmark and Norway (1380–1397) * The Kalmar Union (1397–1536) ** Union of Denmark ...
, the council is a formal institution, with largely ceremonial functions. Chaired by the monarch, the council comprises all cabinet ministers and the
crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
or hereditary princess when coming of age. When unavailable, the monarch is represented by the regent or Lord Protector (). In its beginnings, the council was a place of debate amongst the ministers over government policy. However, since the formation of real political parties at the beginning of the 20th century, these debates were moved from the council to informal ministerial meetings where government
policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...
could be coordinated – usually held every Wednesday. As a result, the primary function of the council today is to grant
royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...
, which is done by the
counter-signature In law, countersignature refers to a second signature onto a document. For example, a contract or other official document signed by the representative of a company may be countersigned by their supervisor to verify the authority of the representat ...
s of the monarch and a minister. Before granting the assent, a relevant minister explains the general aim of the bill brought before the council. According to section 22 of the Danish constitution, a bill must be granted assent within thirty days of its passing by parliament, at the latest, for it to become an Act. In urgent cases, or if a passed law will be in conflict with this time limit if only signed at the next scheduled council meeting, the responsible minister for the law is also allowed to visit the royal institution at a separate meeting ahead of the scheduled council meeting, and ask for royal assent. The monarch cannot be held responsible for any granted assent. Besides enacting parliamentary bills, as a rule all government bills also have to have formal approval by the monarch and a minister before introduction to parliament. Approval is also given by the council to all of the monarch's official actions as head of state. Council protocols are secret. Although being a formal part of the legal enactment procedure in Denmark, the royal assent is nowadays only a formality, as the Danish monarch does not directly participate in formal decision-making and is obliged to sign all passed laws at the monthly called Statsråd meetings. Unlike its
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
and Canadian counterparts, membership of the council does not carry along with it an entitlement to a special title or form of address.


The Council and the Constitution

Section 17 of the Danish constitution () in broad terms set the rules for the council. Section 18 of the constitution which allows for ministers to hold council meetings without the monarch, a so-called Council of Ministers, is no longer in effect.
Section 17
(1) The body of Ministers shall form the Council of State, in which the Heir to the Throne shall have a seat when of age. The Council of State shall be presided over by the King except in the instance mentioned in section 8, and in instances where the legislature in pursuance of section 9 may have delegated the conduct of government to the Council of State.
(2) All Bills and important government measures shall be discussed in the Council of State.


From Council Presidium to Prime Ministers Office

From 1848 to 1918 the person in charge of the Council’s presidium () wore the title of President of the Council and was the de facto prime minister. In 1918 the presidium had formed into a regular cabinet office and was transformed into what today is known as the Ministry of the State of Denmark (). The office consists of the Prime Minister, a secretariat to the Prime Minister and a department headed by a permanent secretary of state. Besides being the office of the PM, it is also the ministry for the press and Greenland and 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 ...
.


External links


Statens Arkiver om gehejmekonseillet





Statministeriet om statsrådet i dag


References

{{Reflist Privy councils Politics of Denmark Faroe Council of State Greenland Council of State Greenland Council of State Government of Denmark