Politics of Iceland
Encyclopedia
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
. It is arguably the world's oldest parliamentary democracy. Executive power
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government
and parliament, the Althing
. The Judiciary
is independent of the executive and the legislature.
, the IP
and SDP
(so called Viðey government) mustered a simple majority in the 63-seat Althing. However, Prime Minister and IP leader Davíð Oddsson
chose the resurgent Progressive Party
(PP) as a more conservative partner to form a stronger and more stable majority with 40 seats. 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.
to form the Social Democratic Alliance. Some members chose to join another new left party instead, the Left-Green Movement
. After the PP's loss in the 2007 elections
its longstanding alliance with the IP ended despite still being able to form a majority. Instead the IP's leader Geir Haarde chose a stronger but somewhat unstable coalition with the Social Democrats (the Þingvellir
government).
Haarde's administration fell apart in January 2009 and he called for an early election before standing down as party leader. The Social Democrats subsequently formed an interim government with the LGM. In the resulting election
, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
's administration prevailed, the first time Icelanders voted for a majority left-wing government (the Nordic
government).
|Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
|none
|1 August 1996
|-
|Prime Minister
|Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
|(S)
|1 February 2009
|}
The president, elected to a 4-year term, has limited powers. 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 head of government
is the prime minister
, who, together with the cabinet, takes care of the executive
part of 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. 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, because 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).
" or "Alþingi", was founded in 1845 as an advisory body to the Danish
king
. It was widely seen as a reestablishment of the assembly founded in 930
in the Commonwealth
period and suspended in 1799. 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. 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.
chose not to run for re-election in 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. 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
. Grímsson successfully has used his largely ceremonial office to promote Icelandic trade abroad and family values at home.
The next presidential elections are scheduled in May or June 2012.
The last parliamentary elections took place on April 25, 2009 after the government of Geir Haarde was forced to resign following street protests over its handling of the Icelandic economy. The ruling coalition parties, the Independence Party and the Progressive Party lost four seats in Alþingi but nevertheless still hold a slim majority of 32 seats, a 1 seat majority in the 63 seat Alþingi. But Independence Party and Progressive Party have split up after 12 years together; Independence Party formed a new coalition with Social Democratic Alliance under Haarde, a coalition holding 43 seats with 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. Geir Haarde's government was forced to resign in January 2009 and called elections two years early, in which the outgoing left-wing interim government of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir won an overall majority.
The results of the 2009 election were as follows:
*, 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
, 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
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
takes place in a framework of a parliamentary
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
representative democratic
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
, whereby the Prime Minister of Iceland
Prime Minister of Iceland
The Prime Minister of Iceland is Iceland's head of government. The prime minister is appointed formally by the President and exercises executive authority along with the cabinet subject to parliamentary support....
is the head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
, and of a multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
. It is arguably the world's oldest parliamentary democracy. Executive power
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
and parliament, the Althing
Althing
The Alþingi, anglicised variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national parliament of Iceland. The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant...
. The Judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
is independent of the executive and the legislature.
1990s
In losing four seats in the April 1995 parliamentary electionsIcelandic parliamentary election, 1995
The 1995 Icelandic parliamentary election took place on 8 April 1995 in Iceland to elect members of the Althing....
, the IP
Independence Party (Iceland)
The Independence Party is a centre-right political party in Iceland. Liberal conservative and Eurosceptic, it is the second-largest party in the Althing, with sixteen seats. The chairman of the party is Bjarni Benediktsson and vice chairman is Ólöf Nordal....
and SDP
Social Democratic Party (Iceland)
The Social Democratic Party was an Icelandic Political Party based on social-democratic ideas. It was founded in 1916 as the political representation of the trade unions of Iceland....
(so called Viðey government) mustered a simple majority in the 63-seat Althing. However, Prime Minister and IP leader Davíð Oddsson
Davíð Oddsson
Davíð Oddsson is an Icelandic politician and the longest-serving Prime Minister of Iceland, holding office from 1991 to 2004. He also served as Foreign Minister from 2004 to 2005. Previously, he was Mayor of Reykjavík from 1982 to 1991, and he chaired the board of governors of the Central Bank of...
chose the resurgent Progressive Party
Progressive Party (Iceland)
The Progressive Party is an agrarian, liberal and centrist party in Iceland. The party is a member of the Liberal International. Current chairman of the party is Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. He was elected on January 18, 2009. His predecessor was Valgerður Sverrisdóttir, who only served as...
(PP) as a more conservative partner to form a stronger and more stable majority with 40 seats. Splintered by factionalism over the economy and Iceland's role in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(EU), the SDP also suffered from being the only party to support Iceland's EU membership application.
2000s
The beginning of the millennium saw a merger of all the left partiesLeft-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
to form the Social Democratic Alliance. Some members chose to join another new left party instead, the Left-Green Movement
Left-Green Movement
The Left-Green Movement is a left-wing political party in Iceland.It was founded in 1999 by a few members of Alþingi who did not approve of the planned merger of the left parties in Iceland that resulted in the founding of the Social Democratic Alliance...
. After the PP's loss in the 2007 elections
Icelandic parliamentary election, 2007
The 2007 Icelandic general elections were held on 12 May 2007. In this election, the public elected 63 members of parliament using proportional representation from six constituencies to the Alþingi...
its longstanding alliance with the IP ended despite still being able to form a majority. Instead the IP's leader Geir Haarde chose a stronger but somewhat unstable coalition with the Social Democrats (the Þingvellir
Þingvellir
|Thing]] Fields) is a place in Bláskógabyggð in southwestern Iceland, near the peninsula of Reykjanes and the Hengill volcanic area. Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological importance and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. It is the site of a rift...
government).
Haarde's administration fell apart in January 2009 and he called for an early election before standing down as party leader. The Social Democrats subsequently formed an interim government with the LGM. In the resulting election
Icelandic parliamentary election, 2009
A parliamentary election was held in Iceland on 25 April 2009 following strong pressure from the public as a result of the Icelandic financial crisis...
, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir , , is the Prime Minister of Iceland. Many years a politician, she was previously Iceland's Minister of Social Affairs and Social Security from 1987–1994 and 2007–2009. She has been a member of the Althing for Reykjavík constituencies since 1978, winning re-election on eight...
's administration prevailed, the first time Icelanders voted for a majority left-wing government (the Nordic
Nordic House (Iceland)
The Nordic House is a building in Vatnsmýri, Reykjavík, Iceland, used by the Nordic Council to promote Nordic culture. The house was designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto and was completed in 1968; it opened to the public in August the same year...
government).
Executive branch
|President|Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson is the fifth and current President of Iceland. He has served as President since 1996; he was unopposed in 2000, re-elected for a third term in 2004, and re-elected unopposed for a fourth term in 2008. He is the longest-serving left-wing president in the history of...
|none
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
|1 August 1996
|-
|Prime Minister
|Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir , , is the Prime Minister of Iceland. Many years a politician, she was previously Iceland's Minister of Social Affairs and Social Security from 1987–1994 and 2007–2009. She has been a member of the Althing for Reykjavík constituencies since 1978, winning re-election on eight...
|(S)
|1 February 2009
|}
The president, elected to a 4-year term, has limited powers. The prime minister and cabinet exercise most executive functions.
The president of Iceland
President of Iceland
The President of Iceland is Iceland's elected head of state. The president is elected to a four-year term by universal adult suffrage and has limited powers. The president is not the head of government; the Prime Minister of Iceland is the head of government. There have been five presidents since...
is a largely ceremonial office that serves as a diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, figurehead and head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
. The head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
is the prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
, who, together with the cabinet, takes care of the executive
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
part of government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
. 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
Sveinn Björnsson
Sveinn Björnsson , son of Björn Jónsson and Elísabet Sveinsdóttir, was the first President of the Republic of Iceland.He became a member of Reykjavík town council in 1912 and was its president during 1918–1920....
, who had been installed in that position by the Althing in 1941) did appoint a non-parliamentary government. 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, because 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 "AlthingAlthing
The Alþingi, anglicised variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national parliament of Iceland. The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant...
" or "Alþingi", was founded in 1845 as an advisory body to the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
king
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
. It was widely seen as a reestablishment of the assembly founded in 930
930
Year 930 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* With the establishment of the Althing, now one of the world's oldest parliaments, the Icelandic Commonwealth is founded....
in the Commonwealth
Icelandic Commonwealth
The Icelandic Commonwealth, Icelandic Free State, or Republic of Iceland was the state existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king in 1262...
period and suspended in 1799. The Althing is composed of 63 members, elected every 4 years unless it is dissolved sooner. Suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
for presidential and parliamentary elections is 18 years of age and is universal. 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.
Political parties and elections
After four 4-year terms as the world's first elected woman president, the widely popular Vigdís FinnbogadóttirVigdís Finnbogadóttir
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is an Icelandic politician who served as the fourth President of Iceland from 1980 to 1996. In addition to being both Iceland's and Europe's first female president, she was the world's first democratically elected female head of state...
chose not to run for re-election in 1996. More than 86% of voters turned out in the June 29, 1996 presidential elections to give former leftist party chairman Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson is the fifth and current President of Iceland. He has served as President since 1996; he was unopposed in 2000, re-elected for a third term in 2004, and re-elected unopposed for a fourth term in 2008. He is the longest-serving left-wing president in the history of...
a 41% plurality and relatively comfortable 12% victory margin over the closest of three other candidates. 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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military presence at the NATO base in Keflavík
Keflavík
Keflavík is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. In 2009 its population was of 8,169.In 1995 it merged with Njarðvík and Hafnir to form a municipality called Reykjanesbær with a population of 13,971 .- History :...
. Grímsson successfully has used his largely ceremonial office to promote Icelandic trade abroad and family values at home.
The next presidential elections are scheduled in May or June 2012.
The last parliamentary elections took place on April 25, 2009 after the government of Geir Haarde was forced to resign following street protests over its handling of the Icelandic economy. The ruling coalition parties, the Independence Party and the Progressive Party lost four seats in Alþingi but nevertheless still hold a slim majority of 32 seats, a 1 seat majority in the 63 seat Alþingi. But Independence Party and Progressive Party have split up after 12 years together; Independence Party formed a new coalition with Social Democratic Alliance under Haarde, a coalition holding 43 seats with 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. Geir Haarde's government was forced to resign in January 2009 and called elections two years early, in which the outgoing left-wing interim government of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir won an overall majority.
The results of the 2009 election were as follows:
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); AkranesAkranes
Akranes is a port town and municipality located on the west coast of Iceland.It is the ninth most populous town in Iceland after Mosfellsbær and Árborg with a population of 6,623 people...
*, Akureyri
Akureyri
Akureyri is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's second largest urban area and fourth largest municipality ....
*, Árnessýsla
Árnessýsla
Árnessýsla is a large county of south-western Iceland. It has an area of 8287 km². In 2004, its population was 6,778....
, Austur-Barðastrandarsýsla, Austur-Húnavatnssýsla
Austur-Húnavatnssýsla
Austur-Húnavatnssýsla is a county of Iceland. It is located in the Norðurland vestra region of the country....
, Austur-Skaftafellssýsla
Austur-Skaftafellssýsla
Austur-Skaftafellssýsla is a county of Iceland. It is located in the Austurland region of the country....
, Borgarfjarðarsýsla
Borgarfjarðarsýsla
Borgarfjarðarsýsla is a county of Iceland. It is located in the Vesturland region of the country. Its only city is Akranes. Along the southern border of the county with Kjósarsýsla, is the waterfall Glymur located, witch is notable for being Iceland's tallest waterfall....
, Dalasýsla
Dalasýsla
Dalasýsla is a county of Iceland. It is located in the Vesturland region of the country. Its only city is Búðardalur....
, Eyjafjarðarsýsla, Gullbringusýsla
Gullbringusýsla
Gullbringusýsla is a county of Iceland. It is located in the Suðurnes region. Its cities are Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær, Garður, Sandgerði, Vogar and Grindavík. Internationally known places within the region include Keflavik international airport and the Blue Lagoon....
, Hafnarfjörður
Hafnarfjörður
Hafnarfjörður is a port town and municipality located on the south-west coast of Iceland, about 10 km south of Reykjavík....
*, Húsavík
Húsavík
Húsavík is a town in Norðurþing municipality on the north coast of Iceland on the shores of Skjálfandi bay with 2,237 inhabitants.-Overview:The income of the inhabitants is derived from tourism and fishing, as well as retail and small industry...
*, Ísafjörður
Ísafjörður
Ísafjörður is a town in the north west of Iceland, seat of Ísafjarðarbær municipality.The town draws its name from the fjord and the fjord was given its name simultaneously to the island...
*, Keflavík
Keflavík
Keflavík is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. In 2009 its population was of 8,169.In 1995 it merged with Njarðvík and Hafnir to form a municipality called Reykjanesbær with a population of 13,971 .- History :...
*, Kjósarsýsla, Kópavogur
Kópavogur
Kópavogur is a city and Iceland's second largest municipality, with a population of 30,779.It lies immediately south of Reykjavík and is part of the Greater Reykjavík Area. The name literally means seal pup bay...
*, Mýrasýsla
Mýrasýsla
Mýrasýsla is a county of Iceland. It is located in the Vesturland region of the country. Its only city is Borgarnes....
, Neskaupstaður
Neskaupstaður
Neskaupstaður is a town located on the fjord Norðfjörður on the eastern side of Iceland. It is part of the municipality of Fjarðabyggð and, as of 2011, it has a population of 1,437.-History:...
*, Norður-Ísafjarðarsýsla
Norður-Ísafjarðarsýsla
Norður-Ísafjarðarsýsla is a county of Iceland. It is located in the Westfjords region of the country. Its cities are Bolungarvik and the municipality Ísafjörður. The county includes a non-human habitat zone, called Hornstrandir, which is also the most northern point of the westfjords region. The...
, Norður-Múlasýsla
Norður-Múlasýsla
Norður-Múlasýsla is a county of Iceland. It is located in the Austurland region of the country....
, Norður-Þingeyjarsýsla
Norður-Þingeyjarsýsla
Norður-Þingeyjarsýsla is a county in northeastern Iceland. It includes Hraunhafnartangi, the northernmost point in mainland Iceland....
, Ólafsfjörður
Ólafsfjörður
Ólafsfjörður is a town in the northeast of Iceland located at the mouth of the fjord Eyjafjörður.The town is connected to Eyjafjordur via a 3.5 km one-lane tunnel...
*, Rangárvallasýsla
Rangárvallasýsla
Rangárvallasýsla is a county of Iceland. It is located in the Suðurland region of the country....
, Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
*, Sauðárkrókur
Sauðárkrókur
Sauðárkrókur is a town in Skagafjörður in northern Iceland and a part of the municipality of Skagafjörður.Sauðárkrókur is the largest town in Northwest Iceland and the second-largest town on the north coast of Iceland, with a population of 2,635. It is the centre for commerce and services in the...
*, Seyðisfjörður
Seyðisfjörður
Seyðisfjörður is a town and municipality in the Eastfjords of Iceland at the innermost point of the fjord of the same name.As of January 2011, the town has 668 inhabitants....
*, Siglufjörður
Siglufjörður
Siglufjörður is a small fishing town in a narrow fjord with the same name on the northern coast of Iceland.Population in January 2011 was 1,206 but the town has been shrinking in size since the 1950s when the town reached its peak with 3,000 inhabitants....
*, Skagafjarðarsýsla
Skagafjarðarsýsla
Skagafjarðarsýsla is a county of Iceland. It is located in the Norðurland vestra region of the country....
, Snæfellsnes- og Hnappadalssýsla
Snæfellsnes- og Hnappadalssýsla
Snæfellsnes- og Hnappadalssýsla is a county of Iceland. It is located in the Vesturland region of the country. Its cities are Snæfellsbær, Grundarfjörður and Stykkishólmur. The glacier Snæfellsjökull is located within the area....
, Strandasýsla
Strandasýsla
Strandasýsla is a county of Iceland. It is located in the Westfjords region of the country....
, Suður-Múlasýsla
Suður-Múlasýsla
Suður-Múlasýsla is a county in eastern Iceland. It includes Gerpir, the easternmost point in Iceland....
, Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla
Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla
Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla is a county of Iceland. It is located in the Norðurland eystra region of the country....
, Vestmannaeyjar*, Vestur-Barðastrandarsýsla, Vestur-Húnavatnssýsla
Vestur-Húnavatnssýsla
Vestur-Húnavatnssýsla is a county of Iceland. It is located in the Norðurland vestra region of the country....
, Vestur-Ísafjarðarsýsla
Vestur-Ísafjarðarsýsla
Vestur-Ísafjarðarsýsla is a county of Iceland. It is located in the Westfjords region of the country. Its cities are all in one municipality called Ísafjörður....
, Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla
Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla
Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla is a county in southern Iceland. It includes Kötlutangi, the southernmost point in mainland Iceland....
International organization participation
Arctic CouncilArctic Council
The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum which addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic.- History of the Arctic Council :...
, Australia Group
Australia Group
The Australia Group is an informal group of countries established in 1985 to help member countries to identify those of their exports which need to be controlled so as not to contribute to the spread of chemical and biological weapons .The group, initially consisting of 15 members, held its first...
, BIS
Bank for International Settlements
The Bank for International Settlements is an intergovernmental organization of central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks." It is not accountable to any national government...
, CBSS
Council of the Baltic Sea States
The Council of the Baltic Sea States is an overall political forum for regional intergovernmental cooperation which addresses the five priority areas of the environment, economic development, energy, education and culture, civil security and human dimension, including trafficking in human...
, CE
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
, EAPC
Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council , a NATO institution, is a multilateral forum created to improve relations between NATO and non-NATO countries in Europe and those parts of Asia on the European periphery. The member states meet to cooperate and consult on a range of political and security issues...
, EBRD
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Founded in 1991, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development uses the tools of investment to help build market economies and democracies in 30 countries from central Europe to central Asia. Its mission was to support the formerly communist countries in the process of establishing their...
, ECE
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe was established in 1947 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states. It is one of five regional commissions under the administrative direction of United Nations headquarters. It has 56 member states, and reports to the UN Economic and...
, EFTA
European Free Trade Association
The European Free Trade Association or EFTA is a free trade organisation between four European countries that operates parallel to, and is linked to, the European Union . EFTA was established on 3 May 1960 as a trade bloc-alternative for European states who were either unable to, or chose not to,...
, FAO
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...
, IAEA
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
, IBRD
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of five institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight...
, ICAO
International Civil Aviation Organization
The International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...
, ICCt
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
, ICC
International Chamber of Commerce
The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 130 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise....
, ICRM
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...
, IDA
International Development Association
The International Development Association , is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries. It complements the World Bank's other lending arm — the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — which serves middle-income countries with capital investment and...
, IEA
International Energy Agency
The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis...
(observer), IFC
International Finance Corporation
The International Finance Corporation promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries.IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States....
, IFRCS
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...
, IHO
International Hydrographic Organization
The International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing the hydrographic community. It enjoys observer status at the UN and is the recognised competent authority on hydrographic surveying and nautical charting...
, ILO
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
, IMF
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
, IMO
International Maritime Organization
The International Maritime Organization , formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization , was established in Geneva in 1948, and came into force ten years later, meeting for the first time in 1959...
, Inmarsat
International Mobile Satellite Organization
The International Mobile Satellite Organization is the intergovernmental organization that oversees certain public satellite safety and security communication services provided via the Inmarsat satellites...
, Intelsat
Intelsat
Intelsat, Ltd. is a communications satellite services provider.Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization , it was—from 1964 to 2001—an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast...
, Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
, IOC, ISO
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
, ITU
International Telecommunication Union
The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...
, ITUC
International Trade Union Confederation
The International Trade Union Confederation is the world's largest trade union federation. It was formed on November 1, 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the World Confederation of Labour...
, NATO, NC
Nordic Council
The Nordic Council is a geo-political, inter-parliamentary forum for co-operation between the Nordic countries. It was established following World War II and its first concrete result was the introduction in 1952 of a common labour market and free movement across borders without passports for the...
, NEA
Nuclear Energy Agency
The Nuclear Energy Agency is an intergovernmental multinational agency that is organized under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development...
, NIB
Nordic Investment Bank
The Nordic Investment Bank is an international financial institution founded in the mid-1970s by the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. In 2005, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania became members of the Bank. NIB’s headquarters are located in Helsinki, Finland...
, OECD
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
, OPCW
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is an intergovernmental organization, located in The Hague, Netherlands. The organization promotes and verifies the adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention which prohibits of the use of chemical weapons and requires their destruction...
, OSCE
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
, PCA
Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Permanent Court of Arbitration , is an international organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands.-History:The court was established in 1899 as one of the acts of the first Hague Peace Conference, which makes it the oldest institution for international dispute resolution.The creation of...
, UN
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, UNCTAD
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....
, UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, UNMIK
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo or UNMIK is the interim civilian administration in Kosovo, under the authority of the United Nations. The mission was established on 10 June 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1244...
, UNU
United Nations University
The United Nations University is an academic arm of the United Nations established in 1973, which serves purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The UNU undertakes research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of...
, UPU
Universal Postal Union
The Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration , the Postal Operations Council and the...
, WCO
World Customs Organization
The World Customs Organization is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. With its worldwide membership, the WCO is recognized as the voice of the global customs community...
, WEU
Western European Union
The Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the original 1948 Treaty of Brussels...
(associate), WHO
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
, WIPO
World Intellectual Property Organization
The World Intellectual Property Organization is one of the 17 specialized agencies of the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world"....
, WMO
World Meteorological Organization
The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
, WTrO
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...