I have asked this question to many people, and no one has yet given a correct answer. Most people say 18 years old, while a few say 21 years old. But the answer is completely different.
Section 3 of the Constitution divides state power into three parts. The Folketing is the legislative power. The government – and thus the ministers – is the executive power, and the courts are the judicial power. The idea is that the three parts can keep each other in check, so that no part of the state power gains the upper hand.
Danish law states that to be elected to the Folketing, one must be 18 years old on election day. However, although many ministers are also members of the Folketing, this is not a requirement. So the minimum age for members of the Folketing cannot be used as a basis for how old one must be to become a minister.
There is actually no minimum age for ministers in Denmark. And yet. Because legal theory agrees that to become a minister you must be above the age of criminal responsibility, and you must be because as a minister you are covered by the Ministerial Responsibility Act, and if you violate it, you can be punished. So it is not enough to have a minister who cannot be punished, and since the age of criminal responsibility is 15, a minister must be at least 15 years old to be able to take the job.
The Folketing appoints the Prime Minister, while the Minister appoints the ministerial ministers that the Prime Minister needs to lead his government. If the Folketing loses confidence in the Prime Minister, the entire government resigns. If the Folketing loses confidence in a ministerial minister, the Prime Minister can choose to dismiss the individual minister or not. If the Prime Minister does not want to dismiss the minister in question, the Folketing must decide whether they will accept that the minister continues, or whether to dismiss the entire government.
In March 2020, lawyer (H) Søren Vasegaard Andreasen published his first fiction book – Teenage Prime Minister Takes Over – which deals with this very topic. In the book, the 15-year-old Mads is appointed prime minister to solve a major economic crisis in Denmark. Although the book is fiction, the overall premise that a 15-year-old can legally become prime minister in Denmark is correct.
If you have any questions about the subject or the book, you can contact attorney (H) Søren Vasegaard Andreasen at phone 82 82 82 42 or e-mail sva@paragrafadvokaterne.dk.
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