:: wikimiki.org ::

Unicameral

Unicameral

Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Many countries with unicameral legislatures are often small and homogeneous unitary states and consider an upper house or second chamber unnecessary. A view in favor of unicameral legislatures is that if an upper house is democratic, it simply mirrors the equally democratic lower house, and is therefore duplicative. A theory in favor of this view is that the functions of a second chamber, such as reviewing or revising legislation, can be performed by parliamentary committees, while further constitutional safeguards can be provided by a written Constitution. In many instances, the governments that now have unicameral legislatures were once bicameral and subsequently eliminated the upper chamber. One reason for some such a changes is because an elected upper house had overlapped the lower house and obstructed passage of legislation, an example being the case of the Landsting in Denmark (abolished in 1953). Another reason is because an appointed chamber had proven ineffectual, one example being the case of the Legislative Council in New Zealand (abolished in 1951). Supporters of unicameralism noted the need to control government spending and the elimination of redundant work done by both chambers. Critics of unicameralism pointed out the double checks and balances that a bicameral system affords, forcing a greater level of consensus on legislative issues. Another disadvantage of unicameralism is that urban areas with large populations have more influence than sparsely populated rural ones. In many cases the only way to get the smaller population areas on board for unified governments is to implement a bicameral system (such as the early United States). Some of the subnational entities with unicameral legislatures include Nebraska in the United States, Queensland in Australia, all of the provinces and territories in Canada, and all of the German Bundesländer (Bavaria having abolished its Senate in 1999). In the United Kingdom, the devolved Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly are also unicameral. Virtually all city legislatures are also unicameral in the sense that the city councils are not divided into two chambers. Until the turn of the 20th century, bicameral city councils were common in the United States. The American Commonwealth of Puerto Rico currently has a bicameral legislature composed of a Senate (Senado) and a House of Representatives (Camara de Representantes). In a referendum was held on July 10, 2005, Puerto Rican voters approved the change to a unicameral legislature by 456,267 votes in favor versus 88,720 against. However, another referendum will be held in that commonwealth during 2007 to approve the specific amendments to the Puerto Rican Constitution that are required for the change. If those constitutional changes are likewise approved, Puerto Rico will switch to a unicameral legislature from 2009.

Examples

2009
- National People's Congress in the People's Republic of China
- Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
- Croatian Sabor
- The Folketing of Denmark
- Parlamento Nacional of East Timor
- The Eduskunta of Finland
- The Vouli ton Ellinon of Greece
- The Legislative Council of Hong Kong (divide into two chambers for private members' bills)
- The Althing of Iceland
- Knesset of Israel
- National Assembly of Iraq
- The National Assembly of Mauritius
- New Zealand Parliament
- The Storting of Norway (may divide into two chambers for some purposes)
- Assembly of the Republic of Portugal
- Scottish Parliament
- The Parlament of Catalunya / Catalonia
- Assemblée Nationale of Seychelles
- Gukhoe of South Korea
- Parliament of Singapore
- Parliament of Sri Lanka
- The Riksdag of Sweden (since 1971)
- Turkey's Büyük Millet Meclisi
- Asamblea Nacional of Venezuela

Parliament

:This article is about the legislative institution. For alternative meanings, see: Parliament (disambiguation). Parliament (disambiguation).]] A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system derived from that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French parlement, the action of parler (to speak): a parlement is a talk, a discussion, hence a meeting (an assembly, a court) where people discuss matters. While all parliaments are legislatures, not all legislatures are parliaments. The British Parliament is often referred to as the "Mother of Parliaments"—in fact a misquotation of John Bright, who remarked in 1865 that "England is the Mother of Parliaments"—because the British Parliament has been the model for most other parliamentary systems, and its Acts have created many other parliaments. The first English Parliament was formed during the reign of King Henry III in the 13th century. In the United Kingdom, Parliament consists of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Monarch. The House of Commons is composed of over 600 members who are directly elected by British citizens to represent various cities, communities, and other electoral districts. The party that can win the most seats in the House of Commons forms the government, and the party leader becomes the Prime Minister and head of government. Legislation originates from and is voted on by members of the House of Commons. If passed, it goes to the House of Lords. The House of Lords is a body of long-serving, unelected members: 92 of whom inherit their seats and 574 of whom have been appointed to lifetime seats. The Lords must vote to approve all legislation from the House before it can go before the monarch and receive the formal ratification to become a law (however, under certain circumstances the House of Commons may overrule it using the Parliament Acts). In addition, specific members of the House of Lords act as the ultimate court of appeal in the United Kingdom. In a similar fashion, most other nations with parliaments have to some degree emulated the British, "three-tier" model. Most countries in Europe and the Commonwealth have similarly organized parliaments with a largely ceremonial head of state who formally opens and closes parliament, a large elected lower house and a smaller, upper house. The lower house is almost always the originator of legislation, and the upper house is the body that offers the "second look" and decides whether to veto or approve the bills. This style of two houses is called bicameral; also parliaments with only one house exist (see unicameralism). A parliament's lower house is usually composed of at least 200 members, in countries with populations of over 3 million. The number of seats rarely exceeds 400, even in very large countries. The upper house customarily has anywhere from 20, 50, or 100 seats, but almost always significantly fewer than the lower house. A nation's prime minister ("PM") is almost always the leader of the majority party in the lower house of parliament, but only holds his or her office as long as the "confidence of the house" is maintained. If members of parliament lose faith in the leader for whatever reason, they can often call a vote of no confidence and force the PM to resign. This can be particularly dangerous to a government when the distribution of seats is relatively even, in which case a new election is often called shortly thereafter. Parliaments can be contrasted with congresses in the model of the United States. Typically, congresses do not select or dismiss the head of government, and cannot themselves be dissolved early as is often the case for parliaments.

List of parliaments

:List is not exhaustive

Contemporary national parliaments

- European Parliament
- Pan-African Parliament
- Central American Parliament
- Parliament of Australia
- Parliament of Canada :
- The federal government of Canada has a bicameral parliament, and each of Canada's 10 provinces has a unicameral parliament.
- Parliament of the Fiji Islands
- Parliament of France (Parlement)
- Parliament of Germany - The Bundestag
- Hungarian Parliament Building (Országház)
- Parliament of India consisting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
- Parliament of Israel - The Knesset
- Parliament of Italy (Parlamento Italiano)
- Parliament of Malaysia
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro
- Parliament of Singapore
- Parliament of South Africa
- Parliament of Sri Lanka
- Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago
- Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Scottish Parliament

Equivalent national legislatures

- Majlis, e.g. in Iran
- in Afghanistan : Wolesi Jirga (elected, legislative lower house) and Meshrano Jirga (mainly advisory, indirect representation); in special cases, e.g. as constituant assembly, a Loya Jirga

Defunct

- Parliament of Ireland (1200-1801 AD)
- Parliament of Southern Ireland (1921-1922)
- Parliament of Northern Ireland (1921-1973)

Subnational parliaments

- In the federal (bicameral) kingdom of Belgium, after many constitutional contortions but no violent confrontation, there is a curious asymmetrical constellation serving as directly elected legislatures for three 'territorial' regions -Flanders (Dutch language), Brussels (bilingual, certain peculiarities of competence, also the only region not comprizing any of the 10 provinces) and Walloonia (French)- and three cultural communities -Flemish (Dutch language, competent in Flanders and for the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Brussels), Francophone (French language, for Walloonia and francopones in Brussels) and German (for speakers of that language in a a few designated municipalities in the east of the Walloon Region, always alongside francophones but under two different regimes)
- Vlaams Parlement ('Flemish Parliament'; originally styled Vlaamse Raad 'Flemish Council') served both the Flemish Community (whose same it uses) and, in application of a Belgian constitutional option, of the region of Flanders (in all matters of regional competence, its decisions have no effect in Brussels)
- parliament of the French Community
- parliament of the German Community
- parliament of the Walloon region
- parliament of the Brussels 'capital' region;
- within the capital's regional assembly however, there also exist two so-called Community Commissions (fixed numbers, not an automatical repartition of the regional assembly), a Dutch-speaking one and a francophone one, for various matters split up by linguistic community but under Brssels' regional competence, and even 'joint community ccmmissions' consisting of both for certain instititutions that could be split up but aren't

Unicameral

Examples

Upper house

An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.

Common characteristics

An upper house is usually distinct from the lower house in at least one of a number of ways. Upper houses are frequently:
- Given less power than the lower house, with special reservations.
- Composed of members selected in a manner other than by popular election, such as peers or nobles.
- Used to represent the states of a federation.
- Smaller than the lower house.
- Elected for longer terms than those of the lower house (If elected; if composed of peers or nobles, they generally sit for the duration of their life or sanity, whichever is shorter).
- Elected in portions for staggered terms, rather than all at once.
- 'Houses of review', in that they cannot start legislation, only consider the lower houses. Also, they may not be able to outright veto legislation.
- In presidential systems, the upper house usually has the sole power to try impeachments against the executive following enabling resolutions passed by the lower house.

Powers

- In parliamentary systems the upper house is frequently seen as an advisory or "revising" chamber, for this reason its powers of direct action are often blunted or totally nonexistant in some of these ways:
- It usually has no control over the executive.
- It cannot outright veto or block legislation.
- It cannot start legislation.
- It cannot block or modify supply (See the Australian Constitutional Crisis of 1975 for an example of an upper house trying to block supply and what happened to them). It is the role of a revising chamber to scrutinise legislation that may have been drafted over-hastily in the lower house, and to suggest amendments that the lower house may nevertheless reject if it wishes to. An example: The British House of Lords, which under the Parliament Acts may not stop, only delay, bills. It is sometimes seen as having a special role of safeguarding the Constitution of the United Kingdom and important civil liberties against ill-considered change. By delaying but not vetoing legislation, an upper house may nevertheless defeat legislation: by giving the lower house the opportunity to reconsider, by preventing it from having sufficient time for a bill in the legislative schedule, or simply by embarrassing the other chamber into abandoning an unpopular measure.
- In presidential systems, the upper house is frequently given other powers to compensate for its restrictions:
- It usually has to sign off on appointments the executive makes to the cabinet and other offices.
- It frequently has the sole authority to ratify or denounce foreign treaties.

Election or appointment

Many upper houses are not directly elected, but appointed: either by the head of government or in some other way. This is usually intended to produce a house of experts or otherwise distinguished citizens, who would not be returned in an election. For example, members of the Canadian Senate are appointed by the monarch on the direction of the prime minister. In these systems, the seats are sometimes hereditary, as was the case in the British House of Lords (until 1998), and the Japanese House of Peers (until this house was abolished in 1947). However, it is also common that the upper house consist of delegates who are indirectly elected by state governments - for example, in the German Bundesrat. Also, the upper house of many nations is directly elected, but in different proportions to the lower house - for example, the Senates of Australia and The United States have a fixed number of elected representatives from each state, regardless of the population.

Abolition

Many jurisdictions, such as Denmark, Sweden, Venezuela, New Zealand, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and New Brunswick, once possessed upper houses but abolished them, to adopt unicameral systems. Newfoundland had a Legislative Council prior to joining Canada, as did Ontario when it was Upper Canada. The Australian state of Queensland also once had a legislative council before abolishing it, but all other Australian states continue to have bicameral systems. Nebraska is the only state in the United States to have a unicameral legislature, which it achieved when it abolished its lower house in 1934.

Titles of upper houses

Common ones

- Senate - Far and away the most common
- House of Lords - Seen mostly in British Commonwealth countries
- Legislative Council
- Council of States (in a Federation) - Bundesrat (Germany, Austria), Council of States (Switzerland), Federation Council (Russia), Rajya Sabha (India)

Unique titles

- Eerste Kamer (Dutch: First Chamber) - Netherlands
- Shura Council ((Consultative Council)) - Egypt
- House of Councillors - Japan
- National Council - Slovenia

Lower house

A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. The supremacy of the lower house usually arises from special restrictions placed on the powers of the upper house, which often can only delay rather than veto legislation or has less control over money bills. Under parliamentary systems it is usually the lower house alone that designates the head of government or prime minister, and may remove them through a vote of no confidence. There are exceptions to this however, such as the Prime Minister of Japan, who is formally selected with the approval of both houses of the Diet. A legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.

Common attributes

In comparison with the upper house, lower houses frequently display the certain characteristics:
- Given greater power, usually based on restrictions against the upper house.
- Directly elected (and based on fair apportionment).
- Given more members.
- Elected more often, and all at once.
- Given total or original control over budget and monetary laws.
- Able to override the upper house in some ways.
- In a Presidential system, given the sole power to impeach the executive (The upper house then has to try the impeached).

Titles of lower houses

Common names

- House of Representatives
- National Assembly
- Chamber of Deputies
- House of Assembly
- Legislative Assembly
- House of Commons - Many British Commonwealth countries
- Chamber of Representatives Many lower houses are named in the following pattern: House/Chamber of Representatives/the People/Commons/Deputies.

Less common titles

- Congress of Deputies - Spain
- National Council - Switzerland, Austria
- Dáil - Republic of Ireland
- State Duma - Russia
- House of Keys - Isle of Man
- Lok Sabha (House of the People) - India
- Sejm - Poland
- Tweede Kamer (Second Chamber) - Netherlands

Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark) is geographically the smallest and southernmost Nordic country, and is part of the European Union. It is located at in Scandinavia which is in northern Europe, but it does not lie on the Scandinavian Peninsula. Denmark borders the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, and consists of a peninsula attached to Northern Germany named Jutland (Jylland), the islands Funen (Fyn), Zealand (Sjælland), Bornholm and many smaller islands, the waters of which are often referred to as the Danish Archipelago. Denmark lies north of Germany (its only land neighbour), southwest of Sweden, and south of Norway. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are Crown territories of Denmark, each with political home rule.

History

:Main article: History of Denmark The origin of Denmark is lost in prehistory. The oldest Danevirke is from the 7th century, at the same time as the new Runic alphabet. Oldest city: Ribe is from about 810. Up into the 10th century the Danes were known as Vikings, together with Norwegians and Swedes, colonising, raiding and trading in all parts of Europe. Viking explorers first discovered Iceland by accident in the ninth century, en route to the Faroe Islands. Erik the Red, or Erik Thorvaldson, was exiled from the colony for manslaughter in 980, and set sail for the west, to explore the lands to the west. He established the first settelments in Greenland around this time, naming the land, according to ledgend, to attract settelers. Erik's son Leif the Lucky(Leif Ericson)finally set foot in the Americas around the year 1000. While some say he was blown off course, it is most likely that he was diliberatly seeking the land spotted by Bjarni Herjulfsson several years earlier. He established a colony at L'Anse aux Meadows, which lasted only a year. Two further attempts at colonization by his brother ended in failure. At various times the King of Denmark has ruled parts of England and Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, France, especially Normandy and the Virgin Islands, Tranquebar in India, Estonia and what is now Northern Germany. Scania, Blekinge and Halland were part of Denmark for most of its early history, but were lost to Sweden in 1658. The union with Norway was dissolved in 1814, when Norway entered a new union with Sweden (until 1905). The Danish liberal and national movement gained momentum in the 1830s, and after the European revolutions of 1848 Denmark became a constitutional monarchy June 5 1849. After the Second War of Schleswig (Danish: Slesvig) in 1864 Denmark was forced to cede Schleswig-Holstein to Prussia, in a defeat that left deep marks in the Danish national identity. After this point Denmark adopted a policy of neutrality, as a result of which Denmark stayed neutral in World War I. Following the defeat of Germany, Denmark was offered by the Versailles powers the return of Schleswig-Holstein. Fearing German irredentism Denmark refused to consider the return of Holstein and insisted on a plebiscite concerning the return of Schleswig. In 1920, following the plebiscite, Northern Schleswig was recovered by Denmark. Despite its continued neutrality Denmark was invaded by Germany (Operation Weserübung), on April 9, 1940. Though at first accorded self-rule (which ended in 1943 due to a mounting resistance movement), Denmark remained militarily occupied throughout World War II. The Danish sympathy for the Allied Cause was strong; 1,900 Danish Police Officers were arrested by the Gestapo and sent, under guard, to be interned in Buchenwald. After the war, Denmark became one of the founding members of NATO and, in 1973, joined the European Economic Community (later, the European Union).

Politics and government

:Main article: Politics of Denmark Denmark is the oldest monarchy in the world. In 1849, it became a constitutional monarchy with the adoption of a new constitution. The monarch is formally head of state, a role which is mainly ceremonial, since executive power is exercised by the cabinet ministers, with the prime minister acting as the first among equals (primus inter pares). Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Danish parliament, known as the Folketing, which consists of (no more than) 179 members. The Danish Judiciary is functionally and administratively independent of the executive and the legislature. Elections for parliament must be held at least every four years; but the prime minister can call for an earlier election, if he so decides. Should parliament succeed in a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister the entire government resigns. The country is often run by minority governments.

Counties

:Main article: Counties of Denmark Denmark is divided into 13 counties (amter, singular: amt), and 271 municipalities (kommuner, singular kommune). The coming Danish Municipal Reform will replace the counties with five new regions and reduce the number of municipalities to 98. The new municipalities will take over most of the responsibilities of the former counties. Most of the new municipalities will have a population of at least 20,000 people. The reform will be implemented on 1 January 2007.
- Aarhus (Århus)
- Frederiksborg
- Funen (Fyn)
- Copenhagen (København)
- North Jutland (Nordjylland)
- Ribe
- Ringkjøbing
- Roskilde
- South Jutland (Sønderjylland)
- Storstrøm
- Vejle
- Viborg
- West Zealand (Vestsjælland) Three municipalities have county privileges:
- Bornholm (regional municipality)
- Copenhagen (København)
- Frederiksberg Copenhagen County comprises the municipalities of metropolitan Copenhagen, except Copenhagen Municipality and Frederiksberg Municipality. Bornholm Regional Municipality comprise the five former municipalities on the island Bornholm and the island's former county. Greenland and the Faroe Islands also belong to the Kingdom of Denmark, but have autonomous status and are largely self-governing, and are each represented by two seats in the parliament.

Geography

Faroe Islands Faroe Islands :Main article: Geography of Denmark Denmark consists of the peninsula of Jutland (Jylland) and 405 named islands. Of these, 323 are habited, with the largest being Zealand (Sjælland) and Funen (Fyn). The island of Bornholm is located somewhat east of the rest of the country, in the Baltic Sea. Many of the larger islands are connected by bridges; the Øresund Bridge connects Zealand with Sweden, the Great Belt Bridge connects Funen with Zealand, and the Small Belt Bridge connects Jutland with Funen. Ferries connect one to the smaller islands. The country is mostly flat with little elevation; the highest natural point is Møllehøj, at 170.86 metres. The climate is temperate, with mild winters and cool summers. Main cities are the capital Copenhagen (on Zealand), Aarhus, Aalborg (on Jutland) and Odense (on Fyn)..

Economy

:Main article: Economy of Denmark This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, a stable currency, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and has a comfortable balance of payments surplus. The Danish economy is highly unionized; 75% of its labour force [http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/01/10/business/unions2.html] are members of a union in the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions. Relationships between unions and employers are cooperative: unions have a day-to-day role in managing the workplace, and their representatives sit on most companies' board of directors. Rules on work schedules and pay are negotiated between unions and employers, with minimal government involvement. The government has been very successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (a common European currency) of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark, in a September 2000 referendum, reconfirmed its decision not to join the 12 other EU members in the euro. Even so, the Danish currency remains pegged to the euro. Denmark has also placed first on the Economist Intelligence Unit's "e-readiness" rankings for the past two years. "A country's "e-readiness" is a measure of its e-business environment, a collection of factors that indicate how amenable a market is to Internet-based opportunities."

Demographics

:Main article: Demographics of Denmark The majority of the population is of Scandinavian descent, with small groups of Inuit (from Greenland), Faroese, and immigrants. According to official statistics in 2003 immigrants made up 6.2% of the total population. Danish is spoken in the entire country, although a small group near the German border also speaks German. Many Danes are fluent in English as well, particularly those in larger cities and the youth, who are taught English in school. Of the religions in Denmark, according to official statistics from January 2002 84.3% of Danes are members of the Lutheran state church, the Danish People's Church (Den Danske Folkekirke), also known as the Church of Denmark. The rest are primarily of other Christian denominations and also about 2% are Muslims. For the last decade Danish People's Church has seen a decline in the number of memberships. In the later years, the old norse religion Asatru has begun to reemerge. Asatru was approved as a religious movement by the Danish government on November 8th 2003.

Culture

:Main article: Culture of Denmark Perhaps the most famous Dane is actually a mythical figure: Hamlet, the title character of William Shakespeare's greatest play, which was set in a real castle (Kronborg) in Helsingør, north of Copenhagen. The Dane most well-known in foreign countries is probably Hans Christian Andersen, a writer mostly famous for such fairy tales as The Emperor's New Clothes, The Little Mermaid, and The Ugly Duckling. Other Danes that is probably known outside of Denmark in various degrees, includes: :See also: List of Danes
- Morten Andersen, NFL kicker (Only in the United States)
- Bille August, film director
- Vitus Bering, explorer and navigator
- Karen Blixen, also known as Isak Dinesen, author
- Niels Bohr, physicist and Nobel Prize laureate
- Victor Borge, entertainer, pianist
- Tycho Brahe, astronomer
- Ole Kirk Christiansen, inventor of LEGO
- René Dif, member of the pop band Aqua
- N.F.S. Grundtvig, poet, hymnalist, educationalist
- Piet Hein, polymath
- Anders Hejlsberg, computer scientist, inventor of the C# programming language
- Georg Jensen, designer
- Søren Kierkegaard, existentialist philosopher
- Michael Laudrup, soccer player. Winner of Confederations Cup 1995
- Viggo Mortensen, actor in USA
- Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, transport and business mogul
- Connie Nielsen, actor in USA
- Brigitte Nielsen, actress
- Carl Nielsen, composer
- Mickey Beyer-Clausen, Philanthropist, Entrepreneur
- Bjarne Riis, professional road bicycle racer, winner of the 1996 Tour de France
- Peter Schmeichel soccer player (goalkeeper). Winner of European Football Championship 1992, Confederations Cup 1995 and UEFA Champions League 1999.
- Bjarne Stroustrup, computer scientist, inventor of the C++ programming language
- Lars von Trier, film director
- Lars Ulrich, musician, member of band Metallica
- Jørn Utzon, architect
- Whigfield, singer
- Hans Christian Ørsted, physicist, discoverer of electromagnetism

Miscellaneous topics

- Courts of Denmark
- Communications in Denmark
- Danish colonization of the Americas
- Education in Denmark
- Foreign relations of Denmark
- Holidays in Denmark
- List of Danish monarchs - Danish monarchs family tree
- Danish Orders of Chivalry
- List of towns in Denmark
- Military of Denmark
- Rescue of the Danish Jews
- Stamps and postal history of Denmark
- Tourism in Denmark
- Transportation in Denmark
- Trees of Denmark
- Reporters without borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2004: Ranked 1 out of 166 countries (in an 8-way tie)

References

- [http://www.um.dk/Publikationer/UM/English/Denmark/index.asp In-depth description of Denmark published by the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

External links

- [http://www.milhist.dk/index_uk.htm Danish military history]
- [http://www.mediatico.com/en/newspapers/europe/denmark Danish Newspapers]
- [http://denmark.dk/portal/page?_pageid=374,477789&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL Official Portal of Denmark]
- [http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/denmark/index.do Human rights reports] from Amnesty International
- [http://www.world-gazetteer.com/s/p_dk.htm List of Danish cities] from world-gazetteer.com
- [http://www.bo-k.dk/dk/ Old Denmark in Cyberspace - Information about Denmark and the Danes]
- [http://www.kms.dk/C1256C62002F8C6B/ Online charts and maps by the Danish survey authority]
- [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=14785 Satellite image of Denmark] at NASA's Earth Observatory Category:European Union member states Category:Monarchies Category:NUTS 2 Statistical Regions of Europe fiu-vro:Taani zh-min-nan:Dan-kok als:Dänemark ko:덴마크 ms:Denmark ja:デンマーク simple:Denmark th:ประเทศเดนมาร์ก

New Zealand Legislative Council

The Legislative Council of New Zealand was the upper house of the New Zealand Parliament from 1853 until 1951. Unlike the lower house, the House of Representatives, the Legislative Council was appointed rather than elected.

Role

The Legislative Council was intended to act as a revising chamber, scrutinizing and amending bills which had been passed by the House of Representatives. It could not initiate bills, and was prohibited from amending money bills (pieces of legislation relating to finance and expenditure). The model for the Legislative Council's role was the House of Lords in the United Kingdom.

Membership

Appointment and tenure

The Constitution Act 1852 provided for councillors to be appointed for life terms by the Governor. As the power of the Governor over New Zealand politics gradually decreased, it became the convention that appointments were made on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, essentially meaning that councillors were selected by the government of the day. However, the life term of councillors meant that the Legislative Council always lagged behind the House of Representatives — Prime Ministers were frequently hampered in their activities by a Legislative Council appointed by their predecessors. In 1891, life membership was replaced by a seven-year term by the new Liberal Party government of John Ballance. Part of the Liberal Party's motivation was probably ideological, but part was undoubtedly political — Ballance's conservative predecessor, Harry Atkinson, had stacked the council with conservatives shortly before leaving office. Ballance had considerable difficulty in achieving his reform of the Council, with major clashes occurring between him and the Governor — Ballance's victory is seen as establishing an important precedent in the relationship between Governor and Prime Minister. The structure of the Legislative Council was therefore similar to that of the Canadian Senate, which continues as an appointed upper house, although senators are appointed to life terms, and must retire at the age of 75.

Number of members

It was specified in the Constitution Act 1852 that the Council would consist of at least ten members. Although not actually a part of the Act, instructions were issued that the number of members should not exceed fifteen. One member was to be selected as Speaker of the Legislative Council, corresponding roughly to the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives. A quorum of five members was established. The first appointments to the Legislative Council were made in 1853, when thirteen members took their seats. Gradually, the maximum number of members was raised, and the limit was eventually abolished. The Council would eventually reach a peak of fifty-four members.

Extent of representation

The Legislative Council was generally less representative of the New Zealand public than was the House of Representatives. Women were not eligible to serve as councillors until 1941, and only five women were ever appointed. The first took their seats in 1946. Maori were slightly better represented — the first Maori councillors were appointed in 1872, not long after the creation of the Maori seats in the House, and a convention was established that there should always be Maori representation on the Council.

Proposals for election

A number of proposals were made that the Legislative Council should be elected, not appointed. When responsible government had been granted at the beginning of the 2nd Parliament, the Governor, Thomas Gore Browne, was given sufficient authority to make the Legislative Council elective, but no action was taken. In 1914, a proposal implement proportional representation for the Council was made, but lapsed due to World War I.

Abolition

By the middle of the 20th century, the Legislative Council was increasingly being looked on as ineffectual and making little difference to the legislative process. The Legislative Council rarely criticised bills sent to it by the House, and many believed that it was now obsolete. Some favoured its reform, while others favoured its abolition, like the leader of the National Party, Sidney Holland who introduced a Private Member's Bill to abolish it. In 1950, the National Party, now in government, passed the Legislative Council Abolition Act. To assist its passage into law, Holland appointed twenty members known as the 'suicide squad', to vote for their own abolition, just as the Australian state of Queensland had done to abolish its upper house in 1922. To encourage co-operation from other members, Holland also promised to use the money saved through abolition to set up a fund for retired members. A Statutes Revision Committee (now defunct) was established to carry out some of the scrutiny that the Legislative Council had been intended for. Although abolition was intended as an interim measure, no serious attempts were made to introduce a new second chamber, and Parliament has been unicameral since. Unicameralists in New Zealand, like former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer, argued that the country is a small and relatively homogeneous unitary state, and hence does not need the same arrangements as federal countries like Australia, although many smaller countries have retained bicameral systems. In addition, other political reforms in New Zealand such as the strengthening of the Select Committee system and the introduction of proportional representation are seen to provide adequate checks and balances. Support for bicameralism is not completely absent, however, and there have been occasional proposals for a new upper house. The most recent was Jim Bolger's 1990 proposal for an elected Senate, an idea advanced partly as an alternative to New Zealand's electoral reform process. Today, the Legislative Council Chamber is still used for the Speech from the Throne, as following the British tradition, the Sovereign may not enter the elected House. The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod summons the House of Representatives to attend the State Opening of Parliament in the Legislative Council Chamber, where the Speech is read usually by the Governor-General. It is also used for some Select Committee meetings, as well as meetings of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and other official functions.

External link

- [http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/Gallery/parlt-hist/image-pages/parl-legcl-1950.html The final gathering of the Legislative Council, 1 December 1950] Legislative Council Category:Historical upper houses

1951

1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar.

Events

January-February

- January 9 - United Nations headquarters officially opens (New York City).
- January 15 - Ilse Koch, The "Witch of Buchenwald," wife of the Commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment in a court in West Germany.
- January 17 - Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul.
- January 20 - Avalanches in the Alps - 240 die and 45.000 are buried for a time in Switzerland, Austria and Italy
- January 27 - Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with a one-kiloton bomb dropped on Frenchman Flats, northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.
- February 1 - United Nations General Assembly declares that China is the aggressor in the Korean War
- February 4-8 - Surgeons remove an ovarian cyst from Gertrude Levandowski in 96-hour long operation in Chicago, Illinois. She loses almost half of her weight and emerges weighing 140 kg / 308 lbs
- February 6 - A Pennsylvania Railroad passenger train derails near Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. The accident kills 85 people and injures over 500 more; one of the worst rail disasters in American history.
- February 12 - Marriage of Muhammad Reza Shah to Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiari
- February 19- Jean Lee becomes the last woman hanged in Australia, when Lee and her two pimps are hanged for the murder and tourture of a 73 year old bookmaker.
- February 27 - The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified.

March-April

- March 1 - Japanese cities Uji, Kyoto and Muroto, Kochi are founded.
- March 6 - The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg begins.
- March 7 - Korean War: Operation Ripper - In Korea, United Nations troops led by General Matthew Ridgeway begin an assault against the Chinese "volunteers".
- March 12 - The Dennis the Menace comic strip appears in newspapers across the U.S. for the first time.
- March 14 - Korean War: For the second time, United Nations troops recapture Seoul.
- March 14 - West Germany joins UNESCO
- March 29 - Red Scare: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. On April 5 they are sentenced to receive the death penalty.
- March 30 - Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.
- April 1 - Australia, New Zealand, United States security treaty signed in San Francisco.
- April 1 - Female suffrage in Greece
- April 11 - Stone of Scone found in Scottish church
- April 18 - Treaty of Paris (1951) adopted, establishing European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC); see EU.
- April 21 - The National Olympic Committee of the USSR is formed
- April 28 - Robert Menzies' Liberal Party government in Australia is re-elected for a second term.

May-July

- May 1 - Opera house of Geneva, Switzerland almost destroyed in a fire
- May 3 - London's Royal Festival Hall opens.
- May 3 - The U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services and U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations begin their closed door hearings into the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur by U.S. President Harry S. Truman.
- May 14 - First volunteer-run passenger trains on Talyllyn Railway, Wales.
- May 15 - Military coup in Bolivia
- June 14 - UNIVAC I is dedicated by U.S. Census Bureau.[http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/industry/06/14/computing.anniversary/]
- June 15 - July 1- In New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, thousands of acres (several km²) of forests were destroyed in fires.
- July 5 - William Shockley invents the junction transistor.
- July 10 - Korean War: At Kaesong, armistice negotiations begin.
- July 13 - The Great Flood of 1951 reaches it's highest point in Northeast Kansas, culminating in the greatest flood damage to date in the Midwestern United States.
- July 14 - In Joplin, Missouri, George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument in honor of an African American.
- July 16 - King Léopold III of Belgium signs the act of abdication in favour of his son Baudouin.
- July 17 - Baudouin takes the oath as king of Belgium, after his father abdicated the day before.
- July 20 - King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem.

September-October

- September 1 - The United States, Australia and New Zealand all sign a mutual defense pact, called the ANZUS Treaty (for "Australia, New Zealand, United States").
- September 8 - Treaty of San Francisco: In San Francisco, California, 48 nations sign a peace treaty with Japan in formal recognition of the end of the Pacific War.
- September 10 - The United Kingdom begins an economic boycott of Iran.
- September 20 - NATO accepts Greece and Turkey as members
- September 26-28 - Blue sun seen over Europe; effect is due to ash coming from the Canadian forest fires four months previously
- October 3 - "Shot Heard 'Round the World" One of the greatest moments in Major League Baseball history occurs when the New York Giants Bobby Thomson hits a game winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca, to win the National League pennant after being down 14 games.
- October 7 - Malayan Emergency - communist insurgents kill British commander Sir Henry Gurney
- October 16 - Assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, president of Pakistan
- October 21 - Storm in southern Italy - over 100 dead
- October 26 - Winston Churchill re-elected British Prime Minister; his foreign minister is Anthony Eden
- October 27 - Farouk of Egypt declares himself also as a king of Sudan - no support

November-December

- November 1 - First military exercises for nuclear war, with infantry troops included, in the Nevada desert
- November 11 - Juan Peron re-elected president of Argentina
- November 20 - Po river floods in northern Italy
- November 10 - Direct dial coast-to-coast telephone service begins in the United States.
- November 24 - The Broadway play Gigi opens starring little known actress Audrey Hepburn playing the lead character.
- December 6 - State of emergency in Egypt due to increasing riots
- December 13 - Water storage tank collapses in Tucumcari, New Mexico - 4 dead, 200 buildings destroyed
- December 16 - Salar Jung Museum is opened to the public by the Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru.
- December 24 - Libya becomes independent from Italy

Undated

- A fourth, and final, forest fire starts in the Tillamook Burn; but unlike earlier fires this one only burns 32,700 acres (132 km²), and within area already affected by the earlier fires.
- IBM United Kingdom formed
- 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute lasts for 151 days

Births

January-March

- January 6 - Kim Wilson, American singer and harmonica player
- January 8 - Kenny Anthony, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia
- January 12 - Kirstie Alley, American actress
- January 12 - Rush Limbaugh, American radio personality
- January 30 - Phil Collins, English musician
- February 14 - Kevin Keegan, English footballer and football manager
- February 15 - Melissa Manchester, American singer
- February 15 - Jane Seymour, English actress
- February 18 - Dale Earnhardt, American racing car driver (d. 2001)
- February 19 - Tahir-ul-Qadri, Islamic scholar and leader
- February 20 - Gordon Brown, Scottish politician
- February 25 - Don Quarrie, Jamaican sprinter
- March 4 - Kenny Dalglish Scottish footballer and football manager
- March 4 - Chris Rea, British singer and musician
- March 6 - Gerrie Knetemann, Dutch cyclist (d. 2004)
- March 8 - Karen Kain, Canadian ballerina
- March 12 - Susan Musgrave Canadian poet and children's writer
- March 13 - Fred Berry, American actor (d. 2003)
- March 17 - Kurt Russell, American actor
- March 24 - Tommy Hilfiger, American fashion designer
- March 26 - Carl Wieman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

April-May

- April 5 - Guy Vanderhaeghe, Canadian author
- April 6 - Bert Blyleven, Dutch Major League Baseball player
- April 7 - Janis Ian, American singer and songwriter
- April 10 - David Helvarg, American journalist and activist
- April 10 - Steven Seagal, American actor
- April 11 - Doris McGowen Beck Angleton, American socialite and murder victim (d. 1997)
- April 13 - Peabo Bryson, American singer
- April 13 - Peter Davison, British actor
- April 13 - Max Weinberg, American drummer
- April 14 - Julian Lloyd Webber, English cellist and composer
- April 16 - Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian writer
- April 20 - Louise Jameson, British actress
- April 29 - Dale Earnhardt, American race car driver (d. 2001)
- May 9 - Christopher Dewdney, Canadian poet
- May 13 - Sharon Sayles Belton, Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota
- May 15 - Jonathan Richman, American musician
- May 15 - Frank Wilczek, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- May 19 - Joey Ramone, American musician (The Ramones) (d. 2001)
- May 23 - Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player
- May 26 - Sally Ride, astronaut
- May 30 - Stephen Tobolowsky, American actor

June-August

- June 2 - Larry Robinson, Canadian hockey player
- June 14 - Paul Boateng, British politician
- June 17 - Mary McAleese, eighth President of Ireland
- June 20 - Tress MacNeille, American voice actress
- June 28 - Lalla Ward, British actress
- July 3 - Richard Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer
- July 5 - Rich "Goose" Gossage, baseball player
- July 8 - Anjelica Huston, American actress
- July 10 - Cheryl Wheeler, American singer and songwriter
- July 14 - Erich Hallhuber, German actor (d. 2003)
- July 18 - Elio Di Rupo, Belgian politician
- June 28 - Lloyd Maines, American musician and record producer
- July 24 - Chris Smith, British politician
- August 3 - Marcel Dionne, Canadian hockey player
- August 6 - Daryl Somers, Australian television personality
- August 20 - Greg Bear, American author
- August 21 - Eric Goles, Chilean mathematician and computer scientist
- August 23 - Akhmad Kadyrov, President of Chechnya
- August 23 - Queen Noor of Jordan
- August 24 - Orson Scott Card, American author

September-October

- September 7 - Julie Kavner, American voice actress
- September 12 - Joe Pantoliano, American actor
- September 21 - Aslan Maskhadov, President of Chechnya
- September 22 - David Coverdale, English singer
- September 25 - Mark Hamill, American actor
- September 26 - Stuart Tosh, Scottish musician
- September 29 - Andrés Caicedo, Colombian writer (d. 1977)
- September 29 - Maureen Caird, Australian hurdler
- September 30 - Barry Marshall, Australian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine
- October 3 - Dave Winfield, baseball player
- October 3 - Keb Mo', American musician
- October 5 - Bob Geldof, Irish musician (The Boomtown Rats)
- October 6 - Manfred Winkelhock, German race car driver
- October 7 - John Mellencamp, American musician and songwriter
- October 10 - Ratu Epeli Ganilau, Fiji soldier and statesman
- October 11 - Jean-Jacques Goldman, French singer and songwriter
- October 26 - Bootsy Collins, American musician, singer, and songwriter
- October 30 - Harry Hamlin, American actor

November-December

- November 11 - Marc Summers, American television host
- November 15 - Alamgir Hashmi, English poet
- November 19 - Lord Falconer, British politician
- November 24 - Chet Edwards, American politician
- November 26 - Cicciolina, Italian actress and politician
- November 30 - Christian Bernard, French-born mystic
- December 6 - Tomson Highway, Canadian writer
- December 8 - Jan Eggum, Norwegian singer-songwriter
- December 12 - Wau Holland, German hacker (d. 2001)
- December 14 - Jan Timman, Dutch chess player
- December 17 - Ken Hitchcock, Canadian hockey coach
- December 30 - Meredith Viera, American television host

Deaths

- January 7 - René Guénon, French-born author (b. 1886)
- January 10 - Sinclair Lewis, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
- January 29 - Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer (b. 1880)
- February 9 - Eddy Duchin, American pianist and bandleader (b. 1909)
- February 13 - Lloyd C. Douglas, American author (b. 1877)
- February 18 - Lyman Gilmore, American aviation pioneer (b. 1874)
- February 19 - André Gide, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
- February 21 - Choudhary Rahmat Ali, founding father of Pakistan (b. 1895)
- March 6 - Ivor Novello, Welsh actor, musician, and composer (b. 1893)
- March 10 - Shidehara Kijuro, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1872)
- March 21 - Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor (b. 1871)
- March 25 - Eddie Collins, baseball player (b. 1887)
- March 25 - Oscar Micheaux, American filmmaker (b. 1884)
- April 4 - Al Christie, Canadian-born film director and producer (b. 1881)
- April 4 - George Albert Smith, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1870)
- April 6 - Robert Broom, Scottish paleontologist (b. 1866)
- April 22 - Horace Donisthorpe, English myrmecologist (b. 1870)
- April 23 - Charles G. Dawes, Vice President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)
- May 7 - Warner Baxter, American actor (b. 1889)
- May 30 - Hermann Broch, Austrian author (b. 1886)
- June 4 - Serge Koussevitzky, Russian conductor (b. 1874)
- June 13 - Ben Chifley, Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1885)
- June 21 - Charles Dillon Perrine, American-born astronomer (b. 1867)
- July 9 - Harry Heilmann, baseball player (b. 1894)
- July 13 - Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian composer (b. 1874)
- July 20 - King Abdullah I of Jordan (b. 1882)
- July 23 - Robert J. Flaherty, American filmmaker (b. 1884)
- July 23 - Philippe Pétain, leader of Vichy France (b. 1856)
- July 29 - Hozumi Shigeto, Japanese author (b. 1883)
- August 14 - William Randolph Hearst, American newspaper publisher (b. 1863)
- August 15 - Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist (b. 1882)
- August 21 - Constant Lambert, British composer (b. 1905)
- October 6 - Otto Fritz Meyerhof, Germn-born physician and biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1884)
- October 16 - Liaquat Ali Khan, first Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1896)
- November 5 - Reggie Walker, South African athlete (b. 1889)
- November 9 - Sigmund Romberg, Hungarian-born composer (b. 1887)
- November 13 - Nikolai Medtner, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1880)

Nobel Prizes

- Physics - John Cockcroft, Ernest Walton
- Chemistry - Edwin McMillan, Glenn T. Seaborg
- Medicine - Max Theiler
- Literature - Pär Lagerkvist
- Peace - Léon Jouhaux
- ko:1951년 ms:1951 ja:1951年