2001 Danish general election

General elections were held in Denmark on 20 November 2001.[1] For the first time since the 1924 elections, the Social Democrats did not win the most seats. Anders Fogh Rasmussen of the centre-right Venstre became Prime Minister in coalition with the Conservative People's Party, as the head of the first Rasmussen government, with the support from Danish People's Party.

2001 Danish general election

20 November 2001
All 179 seats in the Folketing 90 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	87.15%
Party Leader % Seats +/– Venstre Anders Fogh Rasmussen 31.25 56 +14 Social Democrats Poul Nyrup Rasmussen 29.08 52 -11 DPP Pia Kjærsgaard 12.00 22 +9 Conservatives Bendt Bendtsen 9.07 16 0 SF Holger K. Nielsen 6.37 12 -1 Social Liberals Marianne Jelved 5.19 9 +2 Red–Green Collective leadership 2.40 4 -1 KrF Jann Sjursen 2.28 4 0 Elected in the Faroe Islands Union Kaj Leo Johannesen 27.31 1 +1 Republican Høgni Hoydal 24.92 1 +1 Elected in Greenland Inuit Ataqatigiit Josef Motzfeldt 30.83 1 +1 Siumut Hans Enoksen 25.94 1 0  Largest party within each nomination district and constituency  Largest bloc within each nomination district and constituency  Distribution of constituency and levelling seats Prime Minister before PM-elect Poul Nyrup Rasmussen Social Democrats Anders Fogh Rasmussen Venstre

The coalition relied on the votes of other right-wing parties such as the Danish People's Party, which polled better than ever before. Voter turnout was 87.1% in Denmark proper, 80.0% in the Faroe Islands and 61.5% in Greenland.[2] The Venstre led coalition government would last until the 2011 election, lasting through two intermediate elections.

The election marked a major shift in Danish politics: It was the first time that the right leaning parties held an outright majority in the parliament since the beginning of the modern democratic system in Denmark in 1901;[3] although right leaning parties had held power several times, they had always had to share power with more centrist or left-wing parties in coalition governments, such as the Danish Social Liberal Party. Historian Bo Lidegaard said that the vote showed a move away from broad national consensus which had existed since the 1930s regarding the style of governance in Denmark. One of the most important changes that forced the change was the rise of immigration as a political issue and the ensuing rise of the Danish People's Party.[3] Immigration played a central role in the 2001 campaign and was thrust into focus by the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, although it had been gaining attention for years.[3]