Sønderborg Municipality

Sønderborg Municipality (Sønderborg Kommune, Kommune Sonderburg), is a kommune in the Region of Southern Denmark partially on the Jutland peninsula and partially on the island of Als in south Denmark, at the border with Germany. The municipality covers an area of 495.86 km2, and has a population of 74,233. Its mayor as of 1 January 2014 is Erik Lauritzen, a member of the Social Democratic party.

Geography
The municipality is split into two sections separated by Alssund, the waterway which separates the island of Als from the Jutland mainland.

The city of Sønderborg
The site of its municipal council is the town of Sønderborg.

Politics
Sønderborg's municipal council consists of 31 members, elected every four years. The municipal council has 11 political committees.

Municipal council
Below are the municipal councils elected since the Municipal Reform of 2007.

2007 administrative reform
On January 1, 2007, due to Kommunalreformen ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007), the former Sønderborg municipality, located on Als and the mainland, was combined with Augustenborg (on Als), Broager, Gråsten, Nordborg (on Als), Sydals (on Als), and Sundeved municipalities to form a new Sønderborg municipality. The municipality shares the number one position with Lolland Municipality of being formed through the merger of most former municipalities in the reform of 2007:seven (7). The former Sønderborg municipality covered an area of 54 km2, and had a population of 30,555 (2005). Its last mayor was Arne Peder Hansen, a member of the Venstre (Liberal Party) political party.

Economy
The municipality is home to two of the major industrial companies in Denmark: Danfoss and Linak.

North Schleswig Germans
Sønderborg Municipality is home to the only officially recognised ethno-linguistic minority of Denmark proper, the North Schleswig Germans. This minority makes up about 6% of the total population of the municipalities of Aabenraa/Apenrade, Haderslev/Hadersleben, Sønderborg/Sonderburg and Tønder/Tondern. In these four municipalities, the German minority enjoys certain linguistic rights in accordance with the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

Twin towns — Sister cities
Sønderborg is twinned with:
 * 🇵🇱 Zabrze Poland
 * Baoding China