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Government & Authorities
  • Iceland is an independent parliamentary democracy with a President as head of state. The President is elected by direct popular vote for a term of four years, with no term limit. He or she personifies the integrity of the nation but is to remain apolitical, except in cases when the political parties have difficulties in forming a government, or fail to solve a governmental crisis. The Althing is a legislative body of 63 members elected by popular vote for a term of four years. Anyone eligible to vote can run for a parliamentary seat, with the exception of the President and the judges of the Supreme Court. After new elections the President calls in the leaders of the political parties for discussions and then gives the floor to one or more in succession to form a cabinet. A cabinet of ministers remains in power until the next general elections. The ministers are also members of the Althing, with few exceptions. If they are not, they nevertheless have a seat on the ministerial bench and have the same rights as an MP, save for the right to vote.
  • Cabinet officers, headed by the prime minister, administer the following areas: foreign affairs, justice, agriculture, education, fisheries and communications, trade and commerce, health and social security, finance, and energy and industry. The Althing, or parliament, consists of 63 members and is made up of an Upper House and Lower House. The political parties are the Independence, Progressive, Social Democrat, People's Alliance, Citizen's, Women's Alliance, and the Association for Equality and Social Justice. The voting age is 18 years. The earliest permanent settlers came to Iceland in AD 874, most of them from Norway. A representative form of government was established in 930 at Thingvellir with the Althing as the deliberating body. Norwegian missionaries introduced Christianity, which was adopted as the state religion in about 1000. The country existed as an independent republic until 1262, when the Althing voted that Iceland should come under the rule of Norway. In 1380 Iceland and Norway were taken over by Denmark, and when Norway was separated from Denmark in 1814, Iceland remained a Danish possession. Home rule was obtained in 1904. Iceland became self-governing in 1918 but still was a protectorate of Denmark. In 1944 Iceland proclaimed itself an independent republic. The island was occupied by British and then American troops during World War II in order to prevent German entry after the Germans had occupied Denmark. The American forces were withdrawn in 1946. Iceland became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense plan in 1949 and American troops returned in 1951.
  • Membership in NATO is especially important because Iceland has neither an army nor a navy. An American air base operates at Keflavik in southwestern Iceland. The country has endured many difficult periods. In the 1400s a plague reportedly killed a large percentage of the population. Volcanoes caused much destruction in Iceland in the 1600s and 1700s. In 1973 a volcanic eruption on the island of Heimaey necessitated the evacuation of 5,000 people. Despite many problems, Iceland maintained a high level of economic development through the 1970s. In the 1980s the country was set back somewhat by a recession due mainly to a decrease in the fish catch.
  • Vigdis Finnbogadottir was elected president on June 30, 1980. She became the world's first elected woman president. She was reelected in 1984 and again in 1988. Worldwide attention was focused on Iceland in October 1986 when the country hosted arms-reduction talks between United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik. opera John Paul II visited Iceland in June 1989; it was the first visit ever by a opera to this largely Lutheran country.
  • Alþingi [Parliament]
  • Stjórnarráð Íslands [Government of Iceland]
  • Forsætisráðuneyti [Office of the Prime Minister]
  • Landbúnaðarráðuneyti [Ministry of Agriculture]
  • Samgönguráðuneyti [Ministry of Communications]
  • Menntamálaráðuneyti [Ministry of Culture and Education]
  • Umhverfisráðuneyti <additional site> [Ministry for the Environment]
  • Fjármálaráðuneyti [Ministry of Finance]
  • Sjávarútvegsráðuneyti [Ministry of Fisheries]
  • Utanríkisráðuneyti [Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
  • Heilbrigðis- og tryggingamálaráðuneyti [Ministry of Health and Social Security]
  • Iðnaðar- og viðskiptaráðuneyti [Ministry of Industry and Commerce]
  • Dóms- og kirkjumálaráðuneyti [Ministry of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs]
  • Félagsmálaráðuneyti [Ministry of Social Affairs]
  • Hagstofa Íslands [Statistics Iceland]
  • Einkaleyfastofan (ELS)
  • Veðurstofa Íslands [Icelandic Meteorological Office]
  • Vegagerðin [Public Roads Administration]
  • Civil Aviation Administration
  • Brunamálastofnun ríkisins [Icelandic Fire Authority]
  • Ferðamálaráð Íslands [Icelandic Tourist Board]
  • Skógrækt Ríkisins [Forest Service]
  • Ríkisútvarpið (RUV) [National Broadcasting Service]
  • Seðlabanki Íslands [Central Bank of Iceland]
  • Hæstaréttur Íslands [Supreme Court of Iceland]

    • Municipal Institutions:

    Representtions in Foreign Countries:

    Political Parties:

    Other Institutions:

  • The Icelandic Government
  • The Icelandic Parliament - Alþingi
  • The President of Iceland
  • The Icelandic Embassy in Washington - a number of interesting links
  • The Icelandic National Energy Authority
  • The Institute of Regional Development
  • The National Power Company - Landsvirkjun
  • Political Parties in Iceland
  • General Public Page - a lots of links
  • The Supreme Court of Iceland
  • Constitution of Iceland
  • Guide to Law Online - Iceland
  • Social Security Act in english
  • Icelandic Maritime Administration

    • Reykjavík

    Located in Faxaflói at the southwest corner of Iceland, Reykjavík, the country's capital, is also the largest city, primary fishing port, and main commercial, manufacturing, and cultural centre of this island nation. The majority of the nation's goods are produced in Reykjavík, including clothing, paint, printed materials, and processed food. Shipbuilding and the manufacture of metal products are two of the principal industries.

    Founded in AD 874 by Ingoffur Arnarson, Reykjavík, which means "Smoky Bay", was named after the steam that he saw rising from the hot springs nearby. Now almost all of the city's buildings are heated by water piped in from geothermal springs. The city became the seat of parliament in 1843 when Iceland was still under Danish rule, and it was made the capital of Iceland in 1918, when the nation became self-governing. Iceland gained independence in 1944.

    A modern city, Reykjavík is the site of the University of Iceland, the Reykjavík Conservatory of Music, the National Library, the National Archives, and the National Theatre. Other places of interest include a number of museums and a statue of the Icelandic navigator Leif Ericson. The sculpture was presented to Iceland in 1930 by the United States to commemorate the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of the Althing, the nation's parliament.


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