Regions o Denmark

The Regions o Denmark are the first-tier admeenistrative diveesions o Denmark. Thay wur creatit as pairt o the 2007 Dens Municipal Reform. The five regions replace the umwhile saxteen coonties (amter). At the same time, the nummer o municipalities (kommuner) wis cut frae 270 tae 98. The reform wis made effective on 1 Januar 2007.

Admeenistrative diveesion o Denmark.

Leet o regions eedit

The names o the regions in Scots are no uniform. The govrenment aften uises the Dens names[1] or directly translatit Inglis names (e.g. Greater Copenhagen, Zealand, North Jutland, Southern Denmark, Central Jutland).[2] The regions thairsels pairtially uise ither names in Inglis, substitutin 'Jutland' for 'Denmark', as shawn belaw.

Dens name Scots name Seat o admeenistration Lairgest ceety Population
(1 Januar 2008)
Aurie (km²) Pop. density
(per km²)
Correspondin coonties (1970–2006)
Region Hovedstaden Caipital Region o Denmark Hillerød Copenhagen 1,645,825 2,561 642.6 Copenhagen Coonty an Frederiksborg, an the municipalities o Copenhagen, Frederiksberg an Bornholm
Region Midtjylland Central Denmark Region Viborg Aarhus 1,237,041 13,142 94.2 Ringkjøbing, nearly aw o Århus, the soothren pairt o Viborg an the northren pairt o Vejle
Region Nordjylland North Denmark Region Aalborg Aalborg 578,839 7,927 73.2 North Jutland, the northren pairt o Viborg Coonty an a sma pairt o Århus Coonty
Region Sjælland Region Zealand Sorø Roskilde 819,427 7,273 112.7 Roskilde, Storstrøm, an Wast Zealand
Region Syddanmark Region o Soothren Denmark Vejle Odense 1,194,659 12,191 97.99 Funen, Ribe, Sooth Jutland an the soothren hauf o Vejle Coonty
Entire kintra 5,475,791 43,094 127.0

Tasks eedit

The maist important aurie o responsibility for the new regions is the public heal service. Thay are an aw responsible for employment policies an public mass transit (buses an a few local railways). Housomeivver, in eastren Denmark (Region Zealand an the Caipital Region) transit is haundelt bi a single transport agency, Movia.

Admeenistration an politics eedit

Regions are led bi directly electit cooncils (regionsråd). Thay conseest o 41 members each. Elections are held simultaneously wi municipal elections ivery fower years. The last Dens local elections wur held on 17 November 2009.

Unlik the umwhile coonties, regions are no entitled tae levy thair awn taxes. Sicweys, the present regions rely entirely on central state fundin (aroond 70%) an fundin comin frae the municipalities (aroond 30%). A central govrenment "health contribution" tax (sundhedsbidrag) at 8.00% on the preliminary an feenal income statement forms haes replacit the coonty tax (amtsskat).

90% o the budgets o the regions are allocatit tae the naitional heal service. Health issues hae remained the primary het issue in regional politics, especially acause grand chynges o Denmark's hospital layoot wur annooncit immediately efter the municipal reform. The new hospital schemes hae no been fully fenalised yet (as o 2009).

History eedit

The reform haes been cried the biggest reform in thirty years. It wis an important policy issue for the current Liberal-Conservative cabinet, maist importantly for Lars Løkke Rasmussen, then meenister o the Interior an Health.

The abolition o the coonties haed lang been an important goal for baith the Conservatives an the Dens Fowkpairty. In Juin 2004, the Dens Fowkpairty decidit tae back the reform, sicweys securin a majority in the Dens parliament (Folketing), awtho the pairty haed preferred juist abolishin the coonties athoot replacin them wi a new intermediate admeenistrative level (the ither twa bein the govrenment an the municipalities). The pairties who wantit tae leemit the regional tier o govrenment prevailed insofar as the regions hae nae authority tae levy ony taxes, unlik the umwhile coonties.

State admeenistrations eedit

The 5 state admeenistrations (statsforvaltning) are the representations o the central govrenment in the five regions. Thay belang tae The Meenistry o the Interior an Health. Thair jurisdictions follae the region borders. Thir admeenistrations are no subordinate tae the regional cooncils, but rather the direct presence o the state (seemilar tae govrenates or prefecturs in certaint kintras).

A state admeenistration office exists in each region, supervisin the daily business o municipalities an regions, an functionin as a body o appeal for ceetizens who wish tae complain ower a decision bi the municipality or region. The offices an aw haundle affairs concernin adoption, citizenship an divorces.

Each office is led bi a Director o the State Admeenistration (forvaltningsdirektør) who is a varsity graduate o law.

History eedit

 
Henrik Frederik von Söhlenthal, a Dens coonty prefect in the 18t century

The predecessor o the state admeenistrations, afore the 2007 reform, wur the state coonties (statsamt). In Copenhagen the prefectur wis cried the 'Upper Presidium' (Københavns Overpræsidium). Each o thir wur led bi a govrenmental ceevil servant, the coonty prefect ((stats)amtmand). In Copenhagen he wis cried the 'Upper Preses' (Københavns overpræsident), a title datin frae 1747, but no widely kent bi the public. In some coonties the prefect wis cried a diocesal coonty prefect (stiftamtmand), an aw bein a pairt o the diocesan authorities athin the Naitional Kirk.

The coonty prefect wis an aw the poleetical leader o coonty cooncils till the first municipal reform o 1970, when this task wis taken ower bi the coonty mayor (amtsborgmester) who wis ane o the elected coonty cooncil members. In Copenhagen, the switch wis made in 1938 when the title o Upper Mayor (overborgmester) wis creatit.

Efter the 1970 reform, the prefecturs wur no vera regardit bi the common ceetizen, wi the notable exception o cases concernin divorce an child custody. An aw, the coonty prefect in his uniform wad be the person tae receive the Queen on her visits throughoot the kintra.

See an aw eedit

References eedit

  1. E.g. [Statistics Denmark] in the Statistical Yearbook 2009, page 32
  2. English names of state administrations

Freemit airtins eedit