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 The Rigsdag ( ) was the name of the national legislature of Denmark from 1849 to 1953. The Rigsdag was Denmark's first parliament, and it was incorporated in the Constitution of 1849. It was a bicameral legislature, consisting of two houses, t ...

, 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 The Folketing ( , ), 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. E ...

, which made the two houses of parliament hard to distinguish. Originally, membership and the electorate was restricted, and the members were largely

conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

. 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 A thing, also known as a folkmoot, assembly, tribal council, and by other names, was a governing assembly in early Germanic society, made up of the free people of the community presided over by a lawspeaker. Things took place regularly, usu ...

) 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 The Inatsisartut (, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) of Greenland, an autonomous territoryMultiple sources: * * * in the Danish Realm. Established in 1979, the parl ...

History

Under the Constitution of 1849, the requirements for the

right to vote Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in ...

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 Løgting (pronounced ; ) is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm. The name literally means "''Law Thing''"—that is, a law assembly—and derives from Old Norse ''lǫgþing ...

. 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 Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

, 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 Nina Henriette Wendeline Bang née Ellinger (6 October 1866 – 25 March 1928) was a Danish social democratic politician and historian. In 1924 she was appointed Minister for Education, becoming one of the world's first female ministers. S ...

, 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 In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...

, 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