ng raiders and later a major north
European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation
that is participating in the general political and economic
integration of Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the
EU) in 1973. However, the country has opted out of certain elements
of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the European
Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), European defense cooperation, and
issues concerning certain justice and home affairs.

Dhekelia
By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created
the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty
and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers -
Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The larger of these is the Dhekelia Sovereign
Base Area, which is also referred to as the Eastern Sovereign Base
Area.

Djibouti
The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas became
Djibouti in 1977. Hassan Gouled APTIDON installed an authoritarian
one-party state and proceeded to serve as president until 1999.
Unrest among the Afars minority during the 1990s led to a civil war
that ended in 2001 following the conclusion of a peace accord
between Afar rebels and the Issa-dominated government. In 1999,
Djibouti's first multi-party presidential elections resulted in the
election of Ismail Omar GUELLEH; he was re-elected to a second and
final term in 2005. Djibouti occupies a strategic geographic
location at the mouth of the Red Sea and serves as an important
transshipment location for goods entering and leaving the east
African highlands. The present leadership favors close ties to
France, which maintains a significant military presence in the
country, but is also developing stronger ties with the US. Djibouti
hosts the only US military base in sub-Saharan Africa and is a
front-line state in the global war on terrorism.

Dominica
Dominica was the last of the Caribbean islands to be
colonized by Europeans due chiefly to the fierce resistance of the
native Caribs. France ceded possession to Great Britain in 1763,
which made the island a colony in 1805. In 1980, two years after
independence, Dominica's fortunes improved when a corrupt and
tyrannical administration was replaced by that of Mary Eugenia
CHARLES, the first female prime minister in the Caribbean, who
remained in office for 15 years. Some 3,000 Carib Indians still
living on Dominica