Cabinet of Denmark in the context of Coalition governments

The Folketing (Danish: Folketinget [ˈfʌlkəˌtsʰe̝ŋˀð̩], lit. 'The people's thing' or 'People's assembly'), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Established in 1849, the Folketing was the lower house of the bicameral parliament called the Rigsdag until 1953; the upper house was the Landsting.

The Folketing meets in Christiansborg Palace, on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen. It passes all laws, approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government. It is also responsible for adopting the state's budgets and approving the state's accounts. As set out in the Constitution of Denmark, the Folketing shares power with the reigning monarch. But in practice, the monarch's role is limited to signing laws passed by the legislature; this must be done within 30 days of adoption.

The Prime Minister of Denmark is the head of government of the Kingdom of Denmark and leader of the Cabinet. The Prime Minister is formally appointed by the Monarch, who is head of state.

The first four heads of government were titled premierminister (lit. 'prime minister'), between 1855 and 1920 the title was Konseilspræsident (lit. 'council president'). Since 1920, the title has been Danish: statsminister (lit. 'Minister of State').

The prime minister of Denmark (Danish: Danmarks statsminister, Faroese: Forsætisráðharri, Greenlandic: Ministeriuneq) is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark comprising the three constituent countries: Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The kingdom did not initially have a head of government separate from its head of state, namely the monarch, in whom the executive authority was vested. The Constitution of 1849 established a constitutional monarchy by limiting the powers of the monarch and creating the office of premierminister. The inaugural holder of the office was Adam Wilhelm Moltke.

The prime minister presides over a cabinet that is formally appointed by the monarch. In practice, the appointment of the prime minister is determined by their support in the Folketing (the National Parliament). Since the beginning of the 20th century, no single party has held a majority in the Folketing so the prime minister must head a coalition of political parties, as well as their own party. Additionally, only four coalition governments since World War II have enjoyed a majority in the Folketing, so the coalitions (and the prime minister) must also gain loose support from other minor parties.

The politics of Denmark take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy and a decentralised unitary state in which the monarch of Denmark, King Frederik X, is the head of state. Denmark is a nation state. Danish politics and governance are characterized by a common striving for broad consensus on important issues, within both the political community and society as a whole.

Executive power is exercised by the cabinet of Denmark (commonly known as "the Government", Danish: regeringen), presided over by the Prime Minister (statsminister) who is first among equals. Legislative power is exercised by the Folketing, the unicameral parliament, and secondarily by the Cabinet, although it is common that members of the Folketing are also members of the Cabinet. Members of the judiciary are nominated by the executive (conventionally by recommendation of the judiciary itself), formally appointed by the monarch and employed until retirement.