Government
Type: Semi-presidential, parliamentary.
Independence: 1918 (became "sovereign state" under Danish Crown); 1944 (establishment of republic).
Constitution: 1874.
Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet (12 ministers). Legislative--63-member unicameral parliament (Althingi). Judicial--Supreme Court, district courts, special courts.
Subdivisions: 26 administrative districts and 79 municipalities.
Major political parties: Independence (IP), Progressive (PP), Social Democratic Alliance (SDA), Left-Green Party (LGP), Liberal Party (LP).
Suffrage: Universal 18 years and above.
National holiday: June 17, anniversary of the establishment of the republic.

ICELAND GOVERNMENT
The president, elected to a 4-year term, has limited powers. When Iceland became a republic in 1944, the post of president was created to fill the void left by the Danish king. Although the president is popularly elected and has limited veto powers (he can force a public referendum on a proposed law by refusing to sign it--a power that has only once been exercised), the expectation is that the president should play the same limited role as a monarch in a traditional parliamentary system.

The prime minister and cabinet exercise most executive functions. The parliament is composed of 63 members, elected every 4 years unless it is dissolved sooner. Suffrage for presidential and parliamentary elections is universal for those 18 and older, and members of the parliament are elected on the basis of parties' proportional representation in six constituencies. The judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, district courts, and various special courts. The constitution protects the judiciary from infringement by the other two branches.

Principal Government Officials
President--Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Prime Minister--Geir H. Haarde
Foreign Minister--Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir
Minister of Finance--Árni M. Mathiesen
Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs--Björn Bjarnason
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries--Einar Kristinn Guðfinnson
Minister of Communications--Kristján L. Möller
Minister of Industry and Nordic Cooperation--Össur Skarphéðinsson
Minister for the Environment--Þórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir
Minister of Commerce--Björgvin G. Sigurðsson
Minister of Health--Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson
Minister of Social Affairs--Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
Minister of Education, Science and Culture--Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir
Speaker of Althingi--Sturla Böðvarsson
Ambassador to the U.S.--Albert Jónsson
Ambassador to the UN--Hjálmar W. Hannesson
Ambassador to NATO--Gunnar Gunnarsson
Ambassador to the EU-- Stefán Haukur Jóhannesson

transliteration key:
Þ is "th" ð is "d"

Iceland maintains an embassy in the United States at 1156 - 15th Street, NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20005 [tel. (202) 265-6653], and a consulate general at 800 Third Ave, 36th floor, New York, New York 10022 [tel. (212) 593-2700]. Iceland also has 25 honorary consulates in major U.S. cities.

ICELAND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Iceland's current government coalition was formed after the May 2007 parliamentary elections by the conservative Independence Party (IP) and the center-left Social Democratic Alliance. The two parties hold a large majority in parliament, with 43 out of 63 seats.

The current government replaced a coalition of the Independence Party and the Progressive Party (PP) that had been in power since 1995. Longtime IP leader Davíð Oddsson was Prime Minister 1991-2004, making him the longest-serving prime minister in Europe (from 1991 to 1995, the IP was in coalition with the Social Democratic Party). PP chairman and former Foreign Minister Halldór Ásgrímsson took over as Prime Minister on September 15, 2004, as part of a post-election deal with the Independence Party, and Oddsson became Foreign Minister. Oddsson retired from his ministerial position September 27, 2005, with former Finance Minister Geir Haarde becoming Foreign Minister. Oddsson also announced his intention shortly to step down as IP chairman, with Haarde elected to the post at a party national conference in October. In early June 2006 Ásgrímsson announced his withdrawal from politics as Prime Minister, parliamentarian, and chairman of the Progressive Party. Haarde became the third Prime Minister during the current electoral term on June 15, 2006, and Valgerður Sverrisdóttir (Progressive Party) took over as Foreign Minister. In May 2007 the Independence Party and the Social Democratic Alliance formed a new government after an abysmal showing by the Progressive Party. Geir Haarde continued as Prime Minister, and the chairman of the Social Democratic Alliance, Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, took over the reins at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The centrist agrarian Progressive Party has been a party to government for over 30 years in the past 4 decades. Its support dropped from 23% in the 1995 parliamentary election to 12% in 2007. The party has dealt with internal instability in the past few years, and power struggles have lead to frequent change in the party's leadership. Chairman Jón Sigurðsson stepped down after the 2007 elections and was replaced by the deputy chairman, Guðni Águstsson.

Three left-wing parties--the Social Democratic Party, the People's Alliance, and the Women's List--formed an electoral coalition prior to the 1999 parliamentary election in the hope of mounting a credible challenge to the long-dominant Independence Party. But the dream of creating a united left coalition failed when disaffected leftists formed a new splinter party called the Left Green Movement, led by former deputy People's Alliance leader Steingrímur Sigfusson. With this defection, the left coalition won a disappointing 27% of the vote (17 seats) in the 1999 election, four percentage points below what the three parties had won running separately in 1995. Their 31% (20 seats) showing in 2003 recaptured this ground but did not suffice to topple the government. The Left Greens won a respectable 9% of the vote (5 seats) in 2003, but in the 2007 election they improved significantly, with 14% of the total vote (9 seats). Another new faction, the Liberal Party, won just over 7% (4 seats) in 2003 based on its strong opposition to the current fishing management system, and clung to roughly 6% in 2007.

Despite the poor electoral showing in 1999, the three left-wing parties decided to merge formally in 2000, creating a new party, the Social Democratic Alliance, led by Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir. The party has found it difficult to reconcile the widely varying foreign policy views of its members, which range from strong support for NATO membership to pacifism and a desire for neutrality.

Iceland's current President is Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, a former political science professor who led the far-left People's Alliance in 1987-95 and served as Finance Minister in 1988-91. Although Grímsson won office with only a 41% plurality in 1996, he was not challenged for re-election in 2000. This follows a well-established tradition of giving deference to sitting presidents. He was re-elected again on June 26, 2004. Once in office, a president can generally count on serving as many terms as he or she likes, assuming good behavior. Reflecting the belief that the president is "above politics," presidential candidates run for election as individuals--since 1952, political parties have played no role in nominating or endorsing candidates. President Grímsson has occasionally drawn criticism that he breaches the bounds of presidential etiquette by being too outspoken on sensitive political issues.