A constitutional referendum was held 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 ...

between 20 and 23 May 1944. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p961 The 1 December 1918

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 w ...

had granted Iceland independence from

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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, but maintained the two countries 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 King of Denmark also being the King of Iceland. In the two-part referendum, voters were asked whether the Union with Denmark should be abolished, and whether to adopt a new republican constitution. Both measures were approved, each with more than 98% in favour. Voter turnout was 98.4% overall, and 100% in two constituencies, Seyðisfirði and Vestur-Skaftafjellssýsla.

Results

Aftermath

The union with Denmark was dissolved on 17 June 1944. Since Denmark was still occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, many Danes felt offended that the step was taken at that time. Nevertheless, King

Christian X of Denmark Christian X ( da, Christian Carl Frederik Albert Alexander Vilhelm; 26 September 1870 – 20 April 1947) was King of Denmark from 1912 to his death in 1947, and the only King of Iceland as Kristján X, in the form of a personal union rathe ...

sent a message of congratulations to Icelanders. The Republican celebration was held in

Þingvellir Þingvellir (, anglicised as ThingvellirThe spelling ''Pingvellir'' is sometimes seen, although the letter "p" is unrelated to the letter "þ" (thorn), which is pronounced as "th".) was the site of the Alþing, the annual parliament of Iceland ...

on 17 June 1944. At 13:30, Prime Minister

Björn Þórðarson Björn Þórðarson (; 6 February 1879 – 25 October 1963) was prime minister of Iceland from 16 December 1942 to 21 October 1944, in the only government that did not rely on parliamentary support. He was prime minister when Iceland became a r ...

set the celebrations going, after which a religious ceremony was held. The Icelandic flag was raised and the members of the parliament rose from their seats as church bells rang. All declared unilaterally that

would henceforth be a republic. The members of parliament then chose

Sveinn Björnsson Sveinn Björnsson (; 27 February 1881 – 25 January 1952) was the first president of Iceland (1944–1952). Background, education and legal career Sveinn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark as the son of Björn Jónsson (editor and later minister) ...

as the first president. Sveinn had been regent of Iceland and the King's placeholder during the war years. He was the only president not elected directly by the people of Iceland.

References

Referendums in Iceland

Constitutional referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

Denmark–Iceland relations Constitution of Iceland

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

{{Iceland-election-stub

Results

Aftermath

See also

References