Government

The City of Copenhagen has an intermediate government system with a divided administrative management. In an intermediate government system, the Lord Mayor as well as the chairmen of the standing committees (mayors) are born members of the Finance Committee – with the Lord Mayor as chairman of the Committee.

In a system of divided administrative management, the Lord Mayor and the chairmen of the standing committees (the mayors) share responsibility for the senior management of the City: Each of them is head of the administration in charge of the tasks falling under their various committees. Also, under this type of government, the committees can make final decisions within their areas, which reduces the number of cases that must be submitted to the City Council.

Furthermore, the committees are elected by proportional representation, which implies that a simple majority cannot take all the seats in a committee. Since the committees are not merely advisory bodies, this ensures that minorities are heard in the administration of the City’s tasks.

The City Council (Borgerrepræsentationen)

The City Council is Copenhagen’s supreme political authority. It has 55 members who are elected for a term of four years. The City Council sets up the frameworks of the committees’ tasks. The Lord Mayor is chairman of the City Council and sets the agenda for the meetings of the City Council, convenes the meetings and chairs the discussions. Members of the public and the press may attend the meetings, unless confidential matters are on the agenda. The agendas for the meetings are available on the City’s website at www.kk.dk. After the meetings, a record of resolutions is prepared which is also available on the City’s website.

The Committees

The committees are in charge of the day-today management of tasks falling within each their special area. Overall decisions are made by the City Council. Each of the six standing committees has 11 members, including the mayor of the relevant administration, who is chairman of the committee. The Finance Committee has 13 members. In addition to the Lord Mayor, who is chairman of the Committee, the six mayors of the standing committees and six members of the City Council are also members of the Finance Committee.

The seven committees set up by the City Council are:

• The Finance Committee
• The Culture and Leisure Committee
• The Children and Youth Committee
• The Health and Care Committee
• The Social Services Committee
• The Technical and Environmental Committee
• The Employment and Integration Committee

Contact the City Council Secretariat

You can contact the City Council Secretariat on email.