Copenhagen City Council

The Copenhagen City Council (Danish: Københavns Borgerrepræsentation) is the municipal government of Copenhagen, Denmark, and has its seat at Copenhagen City Hall.

The city council is Copenhagen's highest political authority and sets the framework for the committees' tasks. The City of Copenhagen's government consists of an economic committee and six standing committees, each working in its own field.

The city council has 55 members (abbreviated MBs), and is chaired by the lord mayor (overborgmester),^[1] who chairs the Economic Affairs Committee. The chairpersons of the six standing committees have the title of mayor (borgermester). The lord mayor, together with the six mayors and six members of the city council, make up the Economic Affairs Committee.^[2] Unlike other Danish municipalities, the City of Copenhagen does not have deputy mayors, but a first and second vice-chair of the city council.

History

The forerunner of the Copenhagen City Council, the Council of 32 Men (Danish: Stadens 32 mænd), was established in 1660. The assembly primarily consisted of high-ranking citizens. In 1840, the city council was established by royal decree, consisting of 36 democratically elected members. This number was increased to 42 members in 1903. Later, in 1913, the city council was expanded to 55 members.^[3]

Committees

The seven committees are:^[4]

Economic Affairs committee (Lord Mayor Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, Social Democrats)
Culture and Leisure Committee (Mayor Mia Nyegaard [da], Social Liberal Party)
Technical and Environmental Committee (Mayor Line Barfod, Red–Green Alliance)
Children and Youth Committee (Mayor Jakob Næsager [da], The Conservative People's Party)
Social Affairs Committee (Mayor Karina Vestergård Madsen [da], Red–Green Alliance)
Health and Care Committee (Mayor Sisse Marie Welling [da], Green Left)
Employment and Integration Committee (Mayor Jens-Kristian Lütken [da], Venstre)

Composition of the city council

Below are the municipal councils elected since 1909.

City council chairs

1840–1840 Hans Peter Hansen
1841–1853 Lauritz Nicolai Hvidt (National Liberal Party)
1853–1858 Hans Peter Hansen (again)
1858–1860 Herman Andreas Mollerup [da]
1860–1863 Lars Christian Larsen [da] (National Liberal Party)
1863–1873 Harald Kayser [da] (Højre [1848 party])
1873–1883 Christian Severin Henrichsen [da] (Højre [1881 party])
1883–1885 Harald Kayser [da] (again) (Højre)
1885–1895 Peter Frederik Koch (Højre)
1895–1898 Rasmus Strøm [da] (Højre)
1898–1907 Herman Trier (from 1905: Danish Social Liberal Party)
1907–1909 John Vilhelm Duurloo [da] (independent)
1909–1910 A. F. Lamm [da] (Social Democrats)
1910–1912 Carl Becker [da] (Antisocialistisk Borgerliste)
1912–1913 A. F. Lamm [da] (again)
1913–1917 Christian S. Christiansen [da] (Social Democrats)
1917–1919 Anthon Andersen (Social Democrats)
1919–1924 Thorvald Stauning (Social Democrats)
1924–1925 P.J. Pedersen [da] (Social Democrats)
1925–1926 J. A. Hansen [da] (Social Democrats)
1926–1937 Emanuel Svendsen [da] (Social Democrats)
1937–1938 Julius C. Hansen (Social Democrats)
1938–1942 Karmark Rønsted [da] (Social Democrats)
1942–1946 Alexander Fløtkjær [da] (Social Democrats)
1946–1962 Sigvald Hellberg [da] (Social Democrats)
1962–1970 Henry Stjernqvist [da] (Social Democrats)
1970–1976 Egon Weidekamp (Social Democrats)
1976–1981 Gerda Louw Larsen [da] (Social Democrats)
1982–1986 Knud-Erik Ziirsen [da] (Social Democrats)
1986–1989 Bent Nebelong [da] (The Conservative People's Party)
1990–1993 Martin Günter [da] (Socialist People's Party)
1994–1997 Bodil Jensen [da] (Social Democrats)
Since 1998, the incumbent mayor has been the permanent chair of the city council.^[5]

References

^ Social- og Indenrigsministeriet (2019-01-15), Bekendtgørelse af lov om kommunernes styrelse (in Danish), retrieved 2021-12-01
^ "Borgerrepræsentationen". www.starbas.net (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
^ "Stadens 32 mænd". www.starbas.net (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
^ "Borgmestre i Københavns kommune". Københavns Kommune (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
^ "Formanden". raadhus.kk.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-12-01.

External links

Københavns Borgerrepræsentation – the official website (in Danish)
City Hall Library: City Council – overview of all mayors and members of the Copenhagen City Council (in Danish)