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Politics of Iceland takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Iceland is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( The Constitution of Iceland is the supreme law of Iceland. The current constitution was first instituted on June 17 1944; since then it has been amended The President of Iceland (forseti Íslands is Iceland 's elected Head of state. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson ( (born 14 May 1943) is the fifth and current President of Iceland. The Alþingi, Anglicized variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national Parliament —literally “(the all- thing ”—of The Prime Minister of Iceland (Forsætisráðherra Íslands is Iceland 's Head of government. The Independence Party ( Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) is a Right-wing Political party in Iceland. The Cabinet of Iceland ( Icelandic: Stjórnarráð Íslands) is the chief executive body of the Republic of Iceland. The Supreme Court of Iceland ( Hæstiréttur Íslands) holds the highest judicial power in Iceland Umboðsmaður Alþingis is appointed by the Alþingi to oversee investigation of complaints against government departments and local governments Political parties in Iceland lists political parties in Iceland. Elections in Iceland gives information on Election and election results in Iceland. A presidential election was held in Iceland on Saturday 26 June 2004. The 2007 Icelandic general elections were held on 12 May, 2007. |||} Iceland is traditionally divided into 23 counties, sýslur, and 25 independent towns kaupstaðir. |||} The municipalities of Iceland are local administrative areas that provide a number of services to their inhabitants such as Kindergartens Iceland maintains diplomatic and commercial relations with practically all nations but its ties with Norway and other Nordic states, Germany, with the The relationship between Iceland and the European Union is currently defined through Iceland 's membership of the European Economic Area, which allows the country access The Cod Wars, also called the Iceland Cod Wars ( Icelandic: Þorskastríðin, "the cod wars" or Landhelgisstríðin, "the The Agreed Minute was a statute governing the nature of the U Iceland has a very small network of diplomatic missions However it has a Consulate General in Winnipeg, serving the large number of Manitobans with Icelandic heritage This page lists embassies posted in Iceland. There are currently 13 embassies in Reykjavík. Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism (and parliamentarism in American English) is a System of government in which Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of the people's representatives A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its The Prime Minister of Iceland (Forsætisráðherra Íslands is Iceland 's Head of government. This article focuses on the cases where the Head of Government is a separate office from the Head of State A multi-party system is a system in which three or more political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition Executive power is exercised by the government. In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament, the Althing. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. The Alþingi, Anglicized variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national Parliament —literally “(the all- thing ”—of The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State
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Political developments
In losing four seats in the April 1995 parliamentary elections, the IP and SDP mustered a simple majority in the 63-seat Althing. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 However, Prime Minister and IP leader Davíð Oddsson chose the resurgent Progressive Party as a more conservative partner to form a stronger and more stable majority with 40 seats. Davíð Oddsson (IPA ˈɔtsɔn (born 17 January 1948 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic politician and the longest-serving Prime Minister Splintered by factionalism over the economy and Iceland's role in the European Union (EU), the SDP also suffered from being the only party to support Iceland's EU membership application. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in
Executive branch
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson | n/a | 1 August 1996 |
| Prime Minister | Geir Haarde | (D) | 5 June 2006 |
The president, elected to a 4-year term, has limited powers. The President of Iceland (forseti Íslands is Iceland 's elected Head of state. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson ( (born 14 May 1943) is the fifth and current President of Iceland. Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) The Prime Minister of Iceland (Forsætisráðherra Íslands is Iceland 's Head of government. The Independence Party ( Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) is a Right-wing Political party in Iceland. Events 70 - Titus and his Roman Legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The prime minister and cabinet exercise most executive functions. The president of Iceland is a largely ceremonial office that serves as a diplomat, figurehead and head of state. The President of Iceland (forseti Íslands is Iceland 's elected Head of state. Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting Negotiations between representatives of groups or states Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a Monarchic or Republican Nation-state The head of government is the prime minister, who, together with the cabinet, takes care of the executive part of government. This article focuses on the cases where the Head of Government is a separate office from the Head of State This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. The cabinet is appointed by the president after general elections to Althing; however, this process is usually conducted by the leaders of the political parties, who decide among themselves after discussions which parties can form the cabinet and how its seats are to be distributed (under the condition that it has a majority support in Althing). Only when the party leaders are unable to reach a conclusion by themselves in reasonable time does the president exercise this power and appoint the cabinet himself. This has never happened since the republic was founded in 1944, but in 1942 the regent of the country (Sveinn Björnsson, who had been installed in that position by the Althing in 1941) did appoint a non-parliamentary government. Sveinn Björnsson (ˈsveitn̪ ˈpjœsːɔn ( 27 February 1881 &ndash 25 January 1952) son of Björn Jónsson (editor and later minister and The regent had, for all practical purposes, the position of a president, and Björnsson in fact became the country's first president in 1944. The governments of Iceland have almost always been coalitions with two or more parties involved, due to the fact that no single political party has received a majority of seats in Althing in the republic period. The extent of the political powers possessed by the office of the president are disputed by legal scholars in Iceland; several provisions of the constitution appear to give the president some important powers but other provisions and traditions suggest differently. The president is elected every four years (last 2004), the cabinet is elected every four years (last 2007) and town council elections are held every four years (last 2006).
Legislative branch
The modern parliament, called "Althing" or "Alþingi", was founded in 1845 as an advisory body to the Danish king. The Alþingi, Anglicized variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national Parliament —literally “(the all- thing ”—of Year 1845 ( MDCCCXLV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe It was widely seen as a reestablishment of the assembly founded in 930 in the Commonwealth period and suspended in 1799. Events By Place Europe With the establishment of the Althing, now the world's oldest Parliament, the Icelandic Commonwealth The Icelandic Commonwealth or the Icelandic Free State (Þjóðveldið was the state existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing in Year 1799 ( MDCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Althing is composed of 63 members, elected every 4 years unless it is dissolved sooner. Suffrage for presidential and parliamentary elections is 18 years of age and is universal. Suffrage (from the Latin suffragium, meaning "voting tablet" and figuratively "right to vote" probably from suffrago "hough" and originally Members of the Althing are elected on the basis of proportional representation from six constituencies. Until 1991, membership of the Althing was divided between a lower and upper house but this was changed to a fully unicameral system. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or Parliamentary chamber
Political parties and elections
After four 4-year terms as the world's first elected woman president, the widely popular Vigdís Finnbogadóttir chose not to run for re-election in 1996. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir ( (born 15 April 1930) was the fourth president of Iceland, serving from 1980 to 1996 More than 86% of voters turned out in the June 29, 1996 presidential elections to give former leftist party chairman Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson a 41% plurality and relatively comfortable 12% victory margin over the closest of three other candidates. Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson ( (born 14 May 1943) is the fifth and current President of Iceland. Traditionally limited to 6-12 weeks, Iceland's campaign season was marked by several intensely personal attacks on Grímsson, a former finance minister who tried to erase memories of his controversial support of inflationary policies and opposition to the U.S. military presence at the NATO base in Keflavík. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The North Atlantic Treaty Keflavík (pronounced /ˈkɛplɑˌviːk/) is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. Grímsson successfully has used his largely ceremonial office to promote Icelandic trade abroad and family values at home.
| Candidates | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson | 90,662 | 85. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( A presidential election was held in Iceland on Saturday 26 June 2004. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson ( (born 14 May 1943) is the fifth and current President of Iceland. 6 |
| Baldur Ágústsson | 13,250 | 12. 3 |
| Ástþór Magnússon | 2,001 | 1. 9 |
| Total valid votes (turnout 63. 0%) | 105,913 | 100. 0 |
| Empty ballots | 27,627 | 23. 3% |
| Void votes | 834 | |
| Source: ruv. is | ||
The next presidential elections are scheduled in May or June 2008.
The last parliamentary elections took place on May 12, 2007. Events 1191 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The ruling coalition parties, the Independence Party and the Progressive Party lost four seats in Alþingi but nevertheless still hold a slim majority hold 32 seats, a 1 seat majority in the 63 seat Alþingi. The Alþingi, Anglicized variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national Parliament —literally “(the all- thing ”—of The Alþingi, Anglicized variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national Parliament —literally “(the all- thing ”—of But Independence Party and Progressive Party have split up after 12 years together. Independance Party formed a new coalition with Social Democratic Alliance under Haarde, a coalition holding 43 seats, a 20 seat majority in the 63 Seat Alþingi. A total of 185. 392 votes were cast constituting 83. 6% of 221. 368 the electorate. The results of the 2007 election were as follows (changes in seat distribution indicated in brackets):
| Parties | Votes | % | +/–% | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) | 66,749 | 36. Events 1191 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( The Alþingi, Anglicized variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national Parliament —literally “(the all- thing ”—of Elections in Iceland gives information on Election and election results in Iceland. The Independence Party ( Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) is a Right-wing Political party in Iceland. 6 | +2. 9 | 25 | +3 | |
| Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin) | 48,742 | 26. The Social Democratic Alliance ( Samfylkingin) is a Political party in Iceland. 8 | –2. 4 | 18 | –2 | |
| Left-Green Movement (Vinstrihreyfingin - grænt framboð) | 26,136 | 14. The Left-Green Movement ( Vinstrihreyfingin - grænt framboð) is a Left-wing, socialist, environmentalist, feminist and Eco-socialist 3 | +5. 5 | 9 | +4 | |
| Progressive Party (Framsóknarflokkurinn) | 21,349 | 11. The Progressive Party ( Framsóknarflokkurinn) is an agrarian, liberal and centrist party in Iceland. 7 | –6. 0 | 7 | –5 | |
| Liberal Party (Frjálslyndi flokkurinn) | 13,233 | 7. The Liberal Party is an Icelandic Centre-right political party 3 | –0. 1 | 4 | ±0 | |
| Iceland's Movement – Living Land (Íslandshreyfingin - lifandi land) | 5,953 | 3. Iceland's Movement – Living Land (Íslandshreyfingin – lifandi land is a green political party in Iceland founded by the reporter and environmentalist 3 | +3. 3 | — | — | |
| Total (turnout 83. 6%) | 182,679 | 100 | 63 | |||
| Source: http://www.mbl.is/mm/frettir/kosningar/ | ||||||
The next parliamentary elections are scheduled in May 2011.
Judicial branch
The judiciary consists of the Supreme Court or Hæstiréttur, justices are appointed for life by the president, and district courts. The constitution protects the judiciary from infringement by the other two branches.
Administrative divisions
Iceland is divided in 23 counties (sýslur, singular sýsla) and 14 independent towns* (kaupstaðir, singular kaupstaður); Akranes*, Akureyri*, Árnessýsla, Austur-Barðastrandarsýsla, Austur-Húnavatnssýsla, Austur-Skaftafellssýsla, Borgarfjarðarsýsla, Dalasýsla, Eyjafjarðarsýsla, Gullbringusýsla, Hafnarfjörður*, Húsavík*, Ísafjörður*, Keflavík*, Kjósarsýsla, Kópavogur*, Mýrasýsla, Neskaupstaður*, Norður-Ísafjarðarsýsla, Norður-Múlasýsla, Norður-Þingeyjarsýsla, Ólafsfjörður*, Rangárvallasýsla, Reykjavík*, Sauðárkrókur*, Seyðisfjörður*, Siglufjörður*, Skagafjarðarsýsla, Snæfellsnes- og Hnappadalssýsla, Strandasýsla, Suður-Múlasýsla, Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla, Vestmannaeyjar*, Vestur-Barðastrandarsýsla, Vestur-Húnavatnssýsla, Vestur-Ísafjarðarsýsla, Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla
International organization participation
Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, ITUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNMIK, UNU, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
History The town started to form in the 19th century as a fishing village and in 1942 it was formally chartered and in the following years experienced the biggest surge in population Akureyri ( is a town in the northern part of Iceland; it is the second largest urban area after Greater Reykjavík area but is the fourth Árnessýsla is a large county of south-western Iceland. It has an area of 8287 km² Barðastrandarsýsla is a county in northwestern Iceland in the Vestfirðir region Eyjafjörður is the longest Fjord in central northern Iceland. For water inlet see Fjord. Hafnarfjörður or Hafnarfjordur is a port town located on the south-west Húsavík Iceland Keflavík (pronounced /ˈkɛplɑˌviːk/) is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. Kópavogur is Iceland 's second largest town with a population of 30000 Neskaupstaður is a town located the fjord Norðfjörður on the eastern shore of Iceland. Norður-Þingeyjarsýsla is a county in northeastern Iceland. Ólafsfjörður For the Greater Reykjavík Area see the Greater Reykjavík Area. Sauðárkrókur is a town in Skagafjörður in northern Iceland, with a population of about 3000 people Siglufjörður Suður-Múlasýsla is a county in eastern Iceland. It includes Gerpir, the easternmost point in Iceland Barðastrandarsýsla is a county in northwestern Iceland in the Vestfirðir region Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla is a county in southern Iceland. 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