The Landsting () was the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

of the Rigsdag, from 1849 until 1953, when the

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

system was abolished in favour of

unicameralism Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

. The Landsting had powers equal to the Folketing, which made the two houses of parliament hard to distinguish. Originally, membership and the electorate was restricted, and the members were largely conservatives. Membership of the house was then restricted to certain sectors of society: only men with a certain net worth could hold a seat. In 1915, these restrictions were removed, and a few new members were appointed by the existing members.

Etymology and earlier use

(old Norse: þing) means assembly. It first came into being during

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

times and was formed by the freemen of the community, and it generally numbered about a hundred men. Tings were necessary in the clan-based society of Northern Germany and

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

, because they allowed for inter-clan wars to be resolved or prevented through the

mediation Mediation is a structured, voluntary process for resolving disputes, facilitated by a neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where an independent third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties ...

of the ting. It also served as the place for religious rites and trade negotiations. The Landsting is also the Danish name for the modern Parliament of Greenland.

History

Under the Constitution of 1849, the requirements for the right to vote was the same for the two houses, however the requirements for electability were stricter for the Landsting; candidates were limited to those of age 40 and above and they were required to have a substantial income. The house originally had 51 members, all elected indirectly. The voters elected a group of electors for each

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

, and the electors elected the members of the house. The members were elected for a term of eight years; however, terms were staggered so that half of the seats were up for election every four years. With the Constitution of 1866, the electoral system was reformed. The number of members was increased to 66, of whom 12 were appointed by the king for a period of twelve years, and one by the Faroese Løgting. The remaining 53 were elected indirectly. In

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, half the electors were elected by the voters paying the largest amount of tax, and the other half by all the voters. In the rest of the country, one elector was elected by the voters in each

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in the countryside and half as many electors were elected in the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

s by the same system as in Copenhagen. Then for each elector elected in the parishes and the market towns, one elector was found among those that paid the greatest amount of tax in the parishes. As the main

direct tax Although the actual definitions vary between jurisdictions, in general, a direct tax is a tax imposed upon a person or property as distinct from a tax imposed upon a transaction, which is described as an indirect tax. There is a distinction betwee ...

of the time was based on real estate and its value as farmland, this system greatly favoured manor owners. The result was a conservative majority lasting 35 years, until the 1902 election. The next reform of the electoral system came with the Constitution of 1915, and the first election under this system was the 1918 election. Women were given the right to vote, the number of seats was increased to 72, the number of constituencies was reduced to seven, and the system of royally appointed members was replaced by 18 members elected by the resigning Landsting for a period of eight years. The same year, Inger Gautier Schmit, along with Nina Bang, Marie Christensen, Marie Hjelmer and Olga Knudsen, were the first women elected to the Landsting. Although a 1939 referendum that would have replaced the Landsting with another chamber—the Rigsting—and simplified the legislative process, this failed due to a low voter turnout, and the bicameral system survived.''The People and the Party System: The Referendum and Electoral Reform in British Politics''
Vernon Bogdanor CUP Archive, 1981, page 61 It would not be until 1953, following the approval of the current constitution in a referendum held that year, that the Landsting was finally abolished.

List of speakers

Notes

{{Danish elections Government of Denmark Thing (assembly) 1849 establishments in Denmark 1953 disestablishments in Denmark Historical legislatures Political history of Denmark

Etymology and earlier use

History

List of speakers

See also

Notes