The Cabinet of Iceland ( is, Stjórnarráð Íslands) is the collective decision-making body of the

government of Iceland The politics of Iceland take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the president is the head of state, while the prime minister of Iceland serves as the head of government in a multi-party system ...

, composed of the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

and the

cabinet ministers A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countries ...

History

The Cabinet of Iceland is considered to have been formed 1 February 1904 when

home rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

was expanded in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and

Hannes Hafstein Hannes Þórður Pétursson Hafstein (4 December 1861 – 13 December 1922) was an Icelandic politician and poet. In 1904 he became the first Icelander to be appointed to the Danish Cabinet as the minister for Iceland in the Cabinet of Deuntzer a ...

became the first

Icelander Icelander can refer to: *A person from the country of Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's ...

to hold the position of

Minister for Iceland Minister for Iceland ( da, Minister for Island, ; is, Ráðherra Íslands) was a post in the Danish cabinet for Icelandic affairs. History The post was established on 5 January 1874 as, according to the Constitution of Iceland, the executive po ...

in the

Cabinet of Denmark The Cabinet of Denmark ( da, regering) has been the chief executive body and the government of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1848. The Cabinet is led by the Prime Minister. There are around 25 members of the Cabinet, known as "ministers", all of wh ...

(

Cabinet of Deuntzer After the 1901 Danish Folketing election, the Council President Johan Henrik Deuntzer of the Venstre Reform Party became the leader of Denmark's first liberal government. The resulting cabinet, which replaced the Cabinet of Sehested consisting ...

). A

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...

, confirmed on 3 October 1903, stated that the Minister for Iceland had to be a resident of

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

and be able to read and write Icelandic. The Minister for Iceland therefore belonged to both the Danish Cabinet and the newly created Icelandic Cabinet but was only answerable to the

Icelandic Parliament The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembl ...

Executive power The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ba ...

was thus transferred to Iceland with the creation of the Icelandic Cabinet (the executive branch of the government). In the beginning, there were no cabinet

ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

nor

ministries Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

(aside from the Minister for Iceland) that formed the Cabinet but instead the Cabinet was divided into three offices. The offices were called first, second and third office. The first office was responsible for court, school and church affairs, the second for employment, transport and postal affairs and the third for finance. The Minister for Iceland was the most supreme officeholder in the Cabinet, but each office was headed by an Office Manager and a National Secretary supervised the three managers. The position of Minister for Iceland in the Danish and Icelandic cabinet was discontinued 30 November 1918 as the

Danish–Icelandic Act of Union The Danish–Icelandic Act of Union, an agreement signed by Iceland and Denmark on 1 December 1918, recognized Iceland as a fully independent and sovereign state – the Kingdom of Iceland – freely associated to Denmark in a personal union wi ...

was signed 1 December 1918 by

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and

. The agreement made Iceland a

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a polity, political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defin ...

– the

Kingdom of Iceland The Kingdom of Iceland ( is, Konungsríkið Ísland; da, Kongeriget Island) was a sovereign and independent country under a constitutional monarchy, constitutional and hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchy that was established by the Danish ...

– joined with Denmark in a

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...

with the

Danish king This is a list of Monarchy of Denmark, Danish monarchs, that is, the kings and queens regnant of Denmark. This includes: * The Kingdom of Denmark (up to 1397) ** Personal union of Denmark and Norway (1380–1397) * The Kalmar Union (1397–1536) ...

as the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

of both kingdoms. The Minister for Iceland at the time of the signing of the agreement, Jón Magnússon, became the first

Prime Minister of Iceland The prime minister of Iceland ( is, Forsætisráðherra Íslands) 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 suppor ...

Current cabinet

The current cabinet (in office since 28 November 2021), consists of the following ministers:

References

External links

Official website

Official website
{{coord, 64, 08, 50, N, 21, 56, 07, W, type:landmark_region:IS, display=title Government of Iceland

History

Current cabinet

See also

References

External links