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Alþing
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 "assembly fields"), situated approximately east of what later became the country's capital, Reykjavík. Even after Iceland's union with Norway in 1262, the Althing still held its sessions at until 1800, when it was discontinued. It was restored in 1844 by royal decree and moved to Reykjavík. The restored unicameral legislature first came together in 1845 and after 1874 operated in two chambers with an additional third chamber taking on a greater role as the decades passed until 1991 when Althing became once again unicameral. The present parliament building, the , was built in 1881, made of hewn Icelandic stone. The unicameral parliament has 63 members, and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional representation. The current ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alþingishúsið
Alþingishúsið (, ''The Parliament House'') is a classical 19th century structure which stands by Austurvöllur in central Reykjavík, Iceland. It houses '' Alþingi'', the Icelandic parliament. The building was designed by Danish architect Ferdinand Meldahl and built using hewn dolerite from 1880 to 1881. The reliefs on the tympanums of the four outermost windows on the first floor represent the four Landvættir of Iceland: a dragon, a vulture, a giant and a bull, momentarily appeased by Ingólfur Arnarson when he first landed in Iceland. Alþingishúsið has also housed the Icelandic National Library and Antiquaries Collection, and later the Icelandic National Gallery. The University of Iceland used the first floor of the house from 1911 to 1940, and the President of Iceland The president of Iceland ( is, Forseti Íslands) is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, who is now in his second term as president, elected in 2016 and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 from the year 930 until the last session held at in 1798. Since 1881, the parliament has been located within Alþingishúsið in Reykjavík. is now a national park in the municipality of in southwestern Iceland, about 40 km (25 miles) northeast of Iceland's capital, . is a site of historical, cultural, and geological significance, and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. The park lies in a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. To its south lies , the largest natural lake in Iceland. National Park ( ) was founded in 1930, marking the 1000th anniversary of the Althing. The park was later expanded to protect the dive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2021 Icelandic Parliamentary Election
Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 25 September 2021 to elect the members of the Althing. Following the elections, the three parties in the ruling coalition government – the Independence Party, Progressive Party and Left-Green Movement – agreed to continue in office, with Katrín Jakobsdóttir of the Left-Green Movement remaining Prime Minister despite her party being the smallest of the three. Background 2017 parliamentary election The 2017 parliamentary election was called after the collapse of the coalition government between the Independence Party, Reform Party, and Bright Future after the withdrawal of the latter over a breach of trust involving a request to grant a convicted child sex offender "restored honor" from the father of Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson. In the 2017 election, the Independence Party lost 5 seats and was reduced to 16, while the Reform Party lost 3 to win 4, and Bright Future was eliminated from the Althing entirely. The Left-Gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Social Democratic Alliance
The Social Democratic Alliance ( is, Samfylkingin - jafnaðarflokkur Íslands), officially The Alliance – Iceland's Social Democratic Party, is a social democratic, and pro-European political party in Iceland. The Social Democratic Alliance was founded in 2000 after a merger of four centre-left political parties (the National Awakening, the People's Alliance, the Social Democratic Party and the Women's List) following a joint run by all parties in the 1999 Icelandic parliamentary election. The vision of the party was to unite the left-wing of Icelandic politics, which had been fractured since the 1930 split of the Social Democratic Party, and present a united bloc to oppose the ruling Independence Party. In the snap 2009 Icelandic parliamentary election called in the aftermath of the Icelandic financial crisis, the Social Democratic Alliance under the leadership of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir emerged as the largest party and formed a coalition government with the Left-Green Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 surrounding areas) is home to over 65% of the population. Iceland is the biggest part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that rises above sea level, and its central volcanic plateau is erupting almost constantly. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate. According to the ancient manuscript , the settlement of Iceland began in 874 AD when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 population of around 131,136 (and 233,034 in the Capital Region), it is the centre of Iceland's cultural, economic, and governmental activity, and is a popular tourist destination. Reykjavík is believed to be the location of the first permanent settlement in Iceland, which, according to Landnámabók, was established by Ingólfr Arnarson in 874 CE. Until the 18th century, there was no urban development in the city location. The city was officially founded in 1786 as a trading town and grew steadily over the following decades, as it transformed into a regional and later national centre of commerce, population, and governmental activities. It is among the cleanest, greenest, and safest cities in the world. History According to lege ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thing (assembly)
A thing, german: ding, ang, þing, enm, thing. (that is, "assembly" or folkmoot) was a governing assembly in early Germanic society, made up of the free people of the community presided over by a lawspeaker. Things took place at regular intervals, usually at prominent places that were accessible by travel. They provided legislative functions, as well as being social events and opportunities for trade. In modern usage, the meaning of this word in English and other languages has shifted to mean not just an assemblage of some sort but simply an object of any sort. Earliest reference and etymology The first detailed description of a thing was made by Tacitus in AD 98. Tacitus suggested that the things were annual delegate-based meetings that served legal and military functions. The oldest written reference of the thing is on a stone pillar found along Hadrian's Wall at Housestead in the UK. It is dated AD 43-410 and reads: "DEO MARTI THINCSO ET DUABUS ALAISIAGIS BEDE ET FI ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. The term is similar to the idea of a senate, synod or congress and is commonly used in countries that are current or former monarchies. Some contexts restrict the use of the word ''parliament'' to parliamentary systems, although it is also used to describe the legislature in some presidential systems (e.g., the Parliament of Ghana), even where it is not in the Legal name, official name. Historically, parliaments included various kinds of deliberative, consultative, and judicial assemblies, an example being the French medieval and early modern parlements. Etymology The English term is derived from Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and dates to the 14th century, coming from the 11th century Old ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Next Icelandic Parliamentary Election
The next Icelandic parliamentary election will be held on or before the Saturday 27 September 2025 to elect 63 members of parliament to the Althing. Background Previous election The 2021 parliamentary election took place on 25 September, a month before the latest date allowed by law. The government coalition of the Left-Green Movement, the Progressive Party and the Independence Party, led by prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, had been in place since the 2017 elections. This unusual coalition of parties from the left wing, the center and the right wing of Icelandic mainstream politics maintained its majority in parliament in the elections as the Independence Party had the same number of seats as before while the Progressive Party added 5 seats and the Left-Green movement lost 3. As for the opposition parties, the People's Party gained two seats and the Reform Party gained 1 seat. The Pirate Party held steady but the Social Democratic Alliance lost 1 seat and the Centre Pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pirate Party (Iceland)
The Pirate Party ( is, Píratar) is a political party in Iceland. The party's platform is based on pirate politics and direct democracy. History The Icelandic Pirate Party was founded on 24 November 2012 by Birgitta Jónsdóttir (previously a member of the Movement) and several Internet activists, including Smári McCarthy. The party successfully applied for the ballot list letter Þ (resembling the party's logo) in order to run in the 2013 election. In July 2016, the party requested and was issued the letter P for future elections. In their first electoral participation, at the 2013 parliamentary election, the Pirate Party won 5.1% of the votes, just above the 5% threshold required to win representation in the Althing. The three members elected, Birgitta Jónsdóttir, Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson, and Jón Þór Ólafsson, were the first pirates elected to any national legislature in the world. Following the ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting on 7 January 2015, the Pirate Party began a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Progressive Party (Iceland)
The Progressive Party ( is, Framsóknarflokkurinn, FSF) is an agrarian political party in Iceland. For most of its history, the Progressive Party has governed with the Independence Party. Since 30 November 2017, the party has been a coalition partner in the Katrín Jakobsdóttir government. The current chairman of the party is Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson who was elected on 2 October 2016. His predecessor was Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, who was elected on 18 January 2009 and was Prime Minister of Iceland from 23 May 2013 to 5 April 2016. History The Progressive Party was founded to represent Iceland's farmer class, which went from being dominant from settlement to the late 19th century to rapidly dwindling in the early 20th century as a result of industrialization and urbanization. Its primary support still comes from the rural areas of Iceland and its policy roots still stem from its origin as an agrarian party, although it has since come to self-identify as a liberal par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tricameralism
Tricameralism is the practice of having three legislative or parliamentary chambers. It is contrasted with unicameralism and bicameralism, each of which is far more common. Varieties of tricameralism A disputed type of tricameralism is one where there are two legislative bodies, elected or appointed separately, and a third consisting of all members of the two, meeting together. In cases where this is considered tricameralism, such as the Manx Tynwald and the Icelandic Althing (from 1874 to 1991), there is generally an explicit, routine role for the unified house, which distinguishes it from bicameral systems where a joint sitting of the two bodies is used to resolve deadlocks or for special sessions, which is true in several parliaments including Australia, Switzerland and India. Arguments over whether tricameralism should be construed to include this or not are primarily semantic. Less ambiguous examples in which three bodies each are chosen separately and meet and debate sep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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