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The Social Democrats , is a Danish
Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
 political party. It is currently
Danish parliamentary election, 2007

The 66th Folketing election in Denmark was held on November 13, 2007. The election allowed Prime minister of Denmark Anders Fogh Rasmussen to continue for a third term in a coalition government consisting of the Venstre and the Conservative People's Party with parliamentary support from the Danish People's Party....
 the second largest party with 25.5% of votes and 45 of 175 seats. Since the Social Democrats were last in government, ending 2001, it is the first time the Social Democrats are not the most popular party since the end of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
.






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Socialdemokratiet1945
The Social Democrats , is a Danish
Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
 political party. It is currently
Danish parliamentary election, 2007

The 66th Folketing election in Denmark was held on November 13, 2007. The election allowed Prime minister of Denmark Anders Fogh Rasmussen to continue for a third term in a coalition government consisting of the Venstre and the Conservative People's Party with parliamentary support from the Danish People's Party....
 the second largest party with 25.5% of votes and 45 of 175 seats. Since the Social Democrats were last in government, ending 2001, it is the first time the Social Democrats are not the most popular party since the end of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. The party is currently led by Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Helle Thorning-Schmidt

Helle Thorning-Schmidt is a Denmark politician. She was elected leader of the Danish Social Democrats by the party members on April 12 2005, ahead of the other candidate, Frank Jensen....
, and it is a member of the Party of European Socialists
Party of European Socialists

The Party of European Socialists is a European political party comprising of thirty-three Socialism, Social democracy and labour movement parties from each European Union member state and other European nations such as Norway....
 and the Socialist International
Socialist International

Socialist International is a worldwide organization of Democratic socialism, social democracy and labour party political parties. It was formed in 1951....
. It has five MEPs in the European Parliament
European Parliament

The European Parliament is the only direct election parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union , it forms the bicameral Institutions of the European Union#Legislature of the Institutions of the European Union and has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world....
, an increase of three after the election in 2004. The increase was mainly supported by the large number of voters who voted for former party leader and Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Denmark

The Prime Minister of Denmark is the head of government in Danish politics. He is the leader of a political coalition in the Denmark parliament and the leader of the cabinet of Denmark....
 Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen , informally Poul Nyrup , born June 15, 1943), was Prime Minister of Denmark from January 25, 1993 to November 27, 2001 and is currently a Member of the European Parliament and President of the Party of European Socialists ....
. He got 400.000 personal votes.

Recent history


In government 1993–2001

The Social Democrats' social policy through the 1990s and continuing in the 21st century involved a significant redistribution of income
Income

Income, refers to consumption opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings received......
 and the maintenance of a large state apparatus with collectively financed core services such as healthcare, education
Education

File:Inukshuk Monterrey 1.jpgEducation can be seen as a product or a process and considered in a broad sense or a technical sense. According to philosophy of education George F....
 and infrastructure
Infrastructure

Infrastructure can be defined as the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise , or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function....
.

Social Democrat-led coalition governments (the Cabinets of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen I, II
Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen II

After the 1994 Danish parliamentary election, the sitting Denmark Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen was able to form a government coalition of his own Social Democrats , the Danish Social Liberal Party and the Centre Democrats....
, III
Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen III

After the Centre Democrats left the government coalition in 1996, the sitting Denmark Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen was able to form a government coalition of his own Social Democrats and the Danish Social Liberal Party....
, IV
Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen IV

After the 1998 Danish parliamentary election, the sitting Denmark Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen was able to reform the government coalition of his own Social Democrats and the Danish Social Liberal Party....
) implemented the system known as flexicurity
Flexicurity

Flexicurity is a welfare state model with a pro-active labour market policy. The model is a combination of easy hiring and firing and high benefits for the unemployment ....
 (flexibility and social security), mixing strong Scandinavian unemployment benefits with a more lax regulation of employment, making it easier for employers to fire people in order to encourage economic growth and reduce unemployment. It is required for people to continually try to remain an active part of the job force in order to receive benefits if they lose their job. This plan has proven to be successful at reducing unemployment, and it has been proposed as a plausible model for other European countries such as France.

The Cabinets of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen maintained a parliamentary majority during the period from 1993 to 2001 by virtue of their support from the Socialist People's Party
Socialist People's Party (Denmark)

The Socialist People's Party is a Politics of Denmark Socialism and Green Politics political party....
 and the Red-Green Alliance
Red-Green Alliance (Denmark)

The Red-Green Alliance is a Left-wing politics political party in Denmark....
.

Towards the end of the 1990s, a trade surplus of 30 billion kroner
Danish krone

The krone is the currency of Denmark, including the autonomous provinces of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The krone is pegged to the euro via the European Union's exchange rate mechanism....
 (USD
United States dollar

The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States and was defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be between 371 and 416 grains of silver ....
 4.9 billion) turned into a deficit
Deficit

A budget deficit occurs when an entity spends more money than it takes in. The opposite of a budget deficit is a budget surplus. Debt is essentially an accumulated flow of deficits....
. To combat this, the government increased taxes, limiting private consumption. The 1998 initiative, which was dubbed the Whitsun Packet (Danish: Pinsepakken) from the season it was issued, was not universally popular with the electorate, which may have been a factor in the Social Democrats' defeat in the 2001 parliamentary election
Danish parliamentary election, 2001

The Danish Parliamentary Election of 2001 held on November 20, 2001 saw a dramatic change in the political composition of the Danish parliament or Folketing....
.

In opposition 2001–present

After the defeat to the Liberal Party
Venstre (Denmark)

VenstreThe party name is officially not translated into any other language, but is in English often referred to as the Liberal Party....
 in the 2001 election, the party chairmanship went to former finance
Finance Minister of Denmark

The Finance Minister of Denmark is the head of the Ministry of Finance of Denmark, and a member of the Cabinet of Denmark. As head of the ministry, the minister has responsibility for the ministry's tasks of administrering the state finances via the fiscal policy, and making economic predictions and recommendations....
 and foreign minister
Foreign Minister of Denmark

The Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs handles Denmark's foreign affairs. The Foreign Minister works in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark....
 Mogens Lykketoft
Mogens Lykketoft

Mogens Lykketoft is a Denmark politician and government minister. In December 2002 he succeeded former Danish prime minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen as leader of the Social Democratic party ....
. Following another defeat in the January 2005 election, Lykketoft announced his resignation as party leader, and at an extraordinary congress on 12 March, it was decided that all members of the party would cast votes in an election of a new party leader. The two contenders for the leadership represented the two wings in the party, with Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Helle Thorning-Schmidt

Helle Thorning-Schmidt is a Denmark politician. She was elected leader of the Danish Social Democrats by the party members on April 12 2005, ahead of the other candidate, Frank Jensen....
 being viewed as centrist and Frank Jensen
Frank Jensen

Frank Jensen is a Denmark politician, member of the Social Democrats . He was Minister for Research 27 September 1994 to 30 December 1996 in the Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen II and Justice Minister of Denmark from 30 December 1996 to 27 November 2001 in the Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen III and Cabinet of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen IV....
 being viewed as slightly more left-wing. On 12 April 2005 Helle Thorning-Schmidt was elected as the new leader.

Leaders of the Social Democrats

  • 1871 – 1872: Louis Pio
    Louis Pio

    Louis Pio was one of the principal founders of the organized worker's movement in Denmark, and the principal founder of the Social Democrats ....
  • 1872 – 1873: Carl Würtz
  • 1874 – 1875: Ernst Wilhelm Klein
  • 1875 – February 1877: Louis Pio
    Louis Pio

    Louis Pio was one of the principal founders of the organized worker's movement in Denmark, and the principal founder of the Social Democrats ....
  • 1877 February – July 1878: Chresten Hørdum
  • 1878 February – July: A.C. Meyer
  • 1878 – 1879: Saxo W. Wiegell
  • 1880 – 1882: Chresten Hørdum
  • 1882 – 1910: Peter Christian Knudsen
    Peter Christian Knudsen

    Peter Christian Knudsen was the leader of the Denmark Social Democrats from 1882-1910. He was a member of the Danish parliament in 1898-1901 and 1902-1909....
  • 1910 – 1939: Thorvald Stauning
    Thorvald Stauning

    Thorvald August Marinus Stauning was the first Social Democrats Prime Minister of Denmark. He served as Prime Minister from 1924 to 1926 and again from 1929 until his death in 1942....
  • 1939 – 1955: Hans Hedtoft
    Hans Hedtoft

    Hans Hedtoft Hansen was Prime Minister of Denmark from 13 November, 1947 to 30 October, 1950 as the leader of the Cabinet of Hans Hedtoft I and again from 30 September, 1953 to 29 January, 1955 as the leader of the Cabinet of Hans Hedtoft II....
     (Alsing Andersen
    Alsing Andersen

    Alsing Emanuel Andersen , was a Denmark social democracy politician. Andersen served as the Defence Minister of Denmark for Denmark. From 8 July 1940 to 1945, he served as the vice chairman of the Social Democrats , and as the acting chairman of the party from the death of Thorvald Stauning until the end of the Occupation of Denmark in 19...
     as de-facto leader in 1941-1945)
  • 1955 – 1960: H. C. Hansen
    H. C. Hansen

    Hans Christian Svane Hansen , often known as H. C. Hansen or simply H. C., was a Social Democrats and Prime Minister of Denmark of Denmark from 29 January 1955 to 19 February 1960 as the head of the Cabinet of H....
  • 1960 – 1962: Viggo Kampmann
    Viggo Kampmann

    Viggo Olfert Fischer Kampmann was the leader of the Denmark Social Democrats and Prime Minister of Denmark from 19 February 1960 until 3 September 1962....
  • 1962 – 1972: Jens Otto Krag
    Jens Otto Krag

    Jens Otto Krag was a Denmark politician. He was Prime Minister from 1962 to 1968 and again from 1971 to 1972.Krag was born in Randers, Denmark....
     (Erling Dinesen as de-facto leader from October 1972 to September 1973)
  • 1973 – 1987: Anker Jørgensen
    Anker Jørgensen

    Anker J?rgensen is a former Denmark Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. He led or represented the Social Democrats for well over 30 years....
  • 1987 – 1992: Svend Auken
    Svend Auken

    Svend Auken is a Denmark politician. He has represented the Social Democrats as a member of the Danish parliament since 1971.Auken holds a degree in political science from the University of Aarhus and also taught there for a period in the very early 1970s....
  • 1992 – 2002: Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
    Poul Nyrup Rasmussen

    Poul Nyrup Rasmussen , informally Poul Nyrup , born June 15, 1943), was Prime Minister of Denmark from January 25, 1993 to November 27, 2001 and is currently a Member of the European Parliament and President of the Party of European Socialists ....
  • 2002 – 2005: Mogens Lykketoft
    Mogens Lykketoft

    Mogens Lykketoft is a Denmark politician and government minister. In December 2002 he succeeded former Danish prime minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen as leader of the Social Democratic party ....
  • 2005 – : Helle Thorning-Schmidt
    Helle Thorning-Schmidt

    Helle Thorning-Schmidt is a Denmark politician. She was elected leader of the Danish Social Democrats by the party members on April 12 2005, ahead of the other candidate, Frank Jensen....


See also

  • Politics of Denmark
    Politics of Denmark

    The Politics of Denmark takes place in a framework of a parliamentary system, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy, in which the Prime Minister of Denmark is the head of government, and of a multi-party system....
  • List of political parties in Denmark
    List of political parties in Denmark

    This article lists political party in Denmark.Denmark has a multi-party system, with two or three strong parties, and four or five other significant parties....
  • Social Democratic Youth of Denmark
    Social Democratic Youth of Denmark

    The Danmarks Socialdemokratiske Ungdom is the youth organisation of the Denmark Social Democrats . It is a member of Dansk Ungdoms F?llesr?d, the International Union of Socialist Youth, the ECOSY and the Forbundet Nordens Socialdemokratiske Ungdom....
     - DSU


External links

  •  — official English website