Althing
Encyclopedia
The Alþingi, anglicised variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national parliament (literally, "(the) all-thing
", or general assembly) of Iceland
. The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant. It was founded in 930 at Þingvellir
, (the "assembly fields" or "Parliament Plains"), situated approximately 45 km east of what later became the country's capital, Reykjavík
, and this event marked the beginning of the Icelandic Commonwealth
. Even after Iceland's union with Norway
, the Althing still held its sessions at Þingvellir until 1799, when it was discontinued for 45 years. It was restored in 1844 and moved to Reykjavík, where it has resided ever since. The present parliament building, the Alþingishús, was built in 1881, of hewn Icelandic stone.
The constitution of Iceland
provides for six electoral constituencies
with the possibility of an increase to seven. The constituency boundaries are fixed by legislation. Each constituency elects nine members. In addition, each party is allocated seats based on its proportion
of the overall national vote in order that the number of members in parliament for each political party should be more or less proportional to its overall electoral support. A party must have won at least five percent of the national vote in order to be eligible for these proportionally distributed seats. Political participation in Iceland is very high: usually over 85 per cent of the electorate casts a ballot (87.7% in 2003). The current president of the Althing is Ásta Ragnheiður Jóhannesdóttir
.
held on the plains of Þingvellir
from about the year 930 AD, laid the foundation for an independent national existence in Iceland. To begin with, the Althing was a general assembly of the Icelandic Commonwealth
, where the country’s most powerful Leaders (goðar) met to decide on legislation and dispense justice
. Then, all free men could attend the assemblies, which were usually the main social event of the year and drew large crowds of farmers and their families, parties involved in legal disputes, traders, craftsmen, storytellers and travellers. Those attending the assembly dwelt in temporary camps (búðir) during the session. The center of the gathering was the Lögberg
, or Law Rock, a rocky outcrop on which the Lawspeaker
(lögsögumaður) took his seat as the presiding official of the assembly. His responsibilities included reciting aloud the laws in effect at the time. It was his duty to proclaim the procedural law of Althing to those attending the assembly each year.
. The Lögrétta, the legislative section of the assembly, was its most powerful institution. It comprised the 39 district goðar plus nine additional members and the Lawspeaker. As the legislative section of Althing, the Lögrétta took a stand on legal conflicts, adopted new laws and granted exemptions to existing laws. Althing of old also performed a judicial function and heard legal disputes in addition to the spring assemblies held in each district. After the country had been divided into four quarters around 965 AD, a court of 36 judges (fjórðungsdómur) was established for each of them at Althing. Another court (fimmtardómur) was established early in the 11th century. It served as a supreme court
of sorts, and assumed the function of hearing cases left unsettled by the other courts. It comprised 48 judges appointed by the goðar of Lögrétta.
came to an end and the rule of the country by goðar disappeared. Executive power now rested with the king and his officials, the Royal Commissioners (hirðstjórar) and District Commissioners (sýslumenn). As before, the Lögrétta, now comprising 36 members, continued to be its principal institution and shared formal legislative power with the king. Laws adopted by the Lögrétta were subject to royal assent
and, conversely, if the king initiated legislation, Althing had to give its consent. The Lawspeaker was replaced by two legal administrators, called lögmenn.
Towards the end of the 14th century, royal succession brought both Norway
and Iceland under the control of the Danish monarchy. With the introduction of absolute monarchy
in Denmark, the Icelanders relinquished their autonomy to the crown, including the right to initiate and consent to legislation. After that, the Althing served almost exclusively as a court of law until the year 1800.
in 1800. A new High Court, established by this same decree and located in Reykjavík, took over the functions of Lögrétta. The three appointed judges first convened in Hólavallarskóli on 10 August 1801. The High Court was to hold regular sessions and function as the court of highest instance in the country. It operated until 1920, when the Supreme Court of Iceland
was established.
was, following the Danish model, limited to males of substantial means and at least 25 years of age, which to begin with meant only about 5% of the population. A regular session lasted four weeks and could be extended if necessary. During this period, Althing acted merely as a consultative body for the crown. It examined proposed legislation and individual members could raise questions for discussion. Draft legislation submitted by the government was given two readings, an introductory one and a final one. Proposals which were adopted were called petitions. The new Althing managed to effect a number of improvements to legislation and the administration of the country.
The Constitution of 1874 granted to the Althing joint legislative power with the crown in matters of exclusive Icelandic concern. At the same time the National Treasury
acquired powers of taxation and financial allocation
. The king retained the right to veto legislation and often, on the advice of his ministers, refused to consent to legislation adopted by Althing. The number of members of Althing was increased to 36, 30 of them elected in general elections in eight single-member constituencies and 11 double-member constituencies, the other six appointed by the crown as before. The Althing was now divided into an upper and a lower chamber. Six elected members and the six appointed ones sat in the upper chamber, which meant that the latter could prevent legislation from being passed by acting as a bloc. Twenty-four elected representatives sat in the lower chamber. From 1874 until 1915 ad hoc committees were appointed. After 1915 seven standing committees were elected by each of the chambers. Regular sessions of Althing convened every other year. A supplementary session was first held in 1886, and these became more frequent after the turn of the 20th century. The Althing met from 1881 in the newly built Parliament House. The Governor-General
(landshöfðingi) was the highest representative of the government in Iceland and was responsible to the Advisor for Iceland (Íslandsráðgjafi) in Copenhagen
.
, confirmed on 3 October 1903, granted the Icelanders home rule
and parliamentary government. Hannes Hafstein was appointed as the Icelandic minister on 1 February 1904 who was answerable to parliament. The minister had to have the support of the majority of members of Althing; in the case of a vote of no confidence, he would have to step down. Under the constitutional amendment of 1903, the number of members was increased by four, to a total of forty. Elections to the Althing had traditionally been public
– voters declared aloud which of the candidates they supported. In 1908 the secret ballot
was adopted, with ballot papers on which the names of the candidates were printed. A single election day for the entire country was at the same time made mandatory. When the Constitution was amended in 1915, the royally nominated members of Althing were replaced by six national representatives elected by proportional representation for the entire country.
in personal union
with the king of Denmark. It was set to expire in 25 years, after which either state could choose to leave the union. The Althing was granted unrestricted legislative power. In 1920 the number of members of the Althing was increased to 42. Since 1945, the Althing has customarily assembled in the autumn. With the Constitutional Act of 1934 the number of members was increased by seven and the system of national representatives abolished in favor of one providing for eleven seats used to equalize discrepancies between the parties' popular vote and the number of seats they received in the Althing, raising the number of members of the Althing to 49. In 1934, the voting age was also lowered to 21. Further changes in 1942 provided for additional three members and introduced proportional representation in the double-member constituencies. The constituencies were then 28 in number, 21 single-member constituencies, six double-Member constituencies and Reykjavík, which elected eight members. With the additional eleven equalization seats, the number of members was thus 52.
, investing the Icelandic cabinet with the power of Head of State
and declaring that Iceland would accept full responsibility for both foreign affairs
and coastal surveillance. A year later the Althing adopted a law creating the position of Regent to represent the crown. This position continued until the Act of Union was repealed, and the Republic of Iceland established, at a session of the Althing held at Þingvellir
on 17 June 1944.
In 1959 the system of electoral districts was changed completely. The country was divided into eight constituencies with proportional representation in each, in addition to the previous eleven equalization seats. The total number of members elected was 60. In 1968, the Althing approved the lowering of voting age
to 20 years. A further amendment to the Constitution in 1984 increased the number of members to 63 and reduced voting age to 18 years. By a constitutional amendment of June 1999, implemented in May 2003, the constituency system was changed. The number of constituencies was cut from eight to six; constituency boundaries are to be fixed by law. Major changes were introduced in the Althing itself in May 1991 and the assembly now sits as a unicameral legislature. There are currently twelve standing committees.
The parliament as of September 2010:
– In September 2010 the representative Þráinn Bertelsson left the Citizen Movement party and joined the Left-Green Movement party. This was following a split in the Citizen Movement party which also resulted in the party changing it name to The Movement. The resulting division of parliament seats was the following.
– In May 2011 two representatives of the Left-Green Movement left the party and became independent and in April one additional representative of the same movement left the party and became independent as well.
Thing (assembly)
A thing was the governing assembly in Germanic and introduced into some Celtic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers, meeting in a place called a thingstead...
", or general assembly) of Iceland
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...
. The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant. It was founded in 930 at 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...
, (the "assembly fields" or "Parliament Plains"), situated approximately 45 km east of what later became the country's capital, 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...
, and this event marked the beginning of the Icelandic 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...
. Even after Iceland's union with Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, the Althing still held its sessions at Þingvellir until 1799, when it was discontinued for 45 years. It was restored in 1844 and moved to Reykjavík, where it has resided ever since. The present parliament building, the Alþingishús, was built in 1881, of hewn Icelandic stone.
The constitution of Iceland
Constitution of Iceland
The Constitution of Iceland is the supreme law of Iceland. It is composed of 80 articles in seven sections, and within it the leadership arrangement of the country is determined and the human rights of its citizens are preserved. The current constitution was first instituted on June 17, 1944; since...
provides for six electoral constituencies
Constituencies of Iceland
Iceland is divided into 6 constituencies for the purpose of selecting representatives to the Alþingi .-History:The current division was established by a 1999 constitution amendment and was an attempt to balance the weight of different districts of the country whereby voters in the rural districts...
with the possibility of an increase to seven. The constituency boundaries are fixed by legislation. Each constituency elects nine members. In addition, each party is allocated seats based on its proportion
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
of the overall national vote in order that the number of members in parliament for each political party should be more or less proportional to its overall electoral support. A party must have won at least five percent of the national vote in order to be eligible for these proportionally distributed seats. Political participation in Iceland is very high: usually over 85 per cent of the electorate casts a ballot (87.7% in 2003). The current president of the Althing is Ásta Ragnheiður Jóhannesdóttir
Ásta Ragnheiður Jóhannesdóttir
Asta Ragnheiour Johannesdottir is an Icelandic politician and Speaker of Alþingi, Iceland's parliament. She was Iceland's Minister of Social Affairs and Social Security from 1 February 2009 – 14 May 2009. She has been a member of the Alþing since 1995.- References :...
.
Foundation
The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant. Its establishment, as an outdoor assemblyThing (assembly)
A thing was the governing assembly in Germanic and introduced into some Celtic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers, meeting in a place called a thingstead...
held on the plains of 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...
from about the year 930 AD, laid the foundation for an independent national existence in Iceland. To begin with, the Althing was a general assembly of the Icelandic 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...
, where the country’s most powerful Leaders (goðar) met to decide on legislation and dispense justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
. Then, all free men could attend the assemblies, which were usually the main social event of the year and drew large crowds of farmers and their families, parties involved in legal disputes, traders, craftsmen, storytellers and travellers. Those attending the assembly dwelt in temporary camps (búðir) during the session. The center of the gathering was the Lögberg
Lögberg
The Icelandic Althing is the oldest parliament in Europe. The original Althing was gathered at Þingvellir. The center of the gathering was the Lögberg, or Law Rock, a rocky outcrop on which the Lawspeaker took his seat as the presiding official of the assembly....
, or Law Rock, a rocky outcrop on which the Lawspeaker
Lawspeaker
A lawspeaker is a unique Scandinavian legal office. It has its basis in a common Germanic oral tradition, where wise men were asked to recite the law, but it was only in Scandinavia that the function evolved into an office...
(lögsögumaður) took his seat as the presiding official of the assembly. His responsibilities included reciting aloud the laws in effect at the time. It was his duty to proclaim the procedural law of Althing to those attending the assembly each year.
Lögrétta
Public addresses on matters of importance were delivered at the Law Rock and there the assembly was called to order and dissolvedDissolution of parliament
In parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...
. The Lögrétta, the legislative section of the assembly, was its most powerful institution. It comprised the 39 district goðar plus nine additional members and the Lawspeaker. As the legislative section of Althing, the Lögrétta took a stand on legal conflicts, adopted new laws and granted exemptions to existing laws. Althing of old also performed a judicial function and heard legal disputes in addition to the spring assemblies held in each district. After the country had been divided into four quarters around 965 AD, a court of 36 judges (fjórðungsdómur) was established for each of them at Althing. Another court (fimmtardómur) was established early in the 11th century. It served as a supreme court
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
of sorts, and assumed the function of hearing cases left unsettled by the other courts. It comprised 48 judges appointed by the goðar of Lögrétta.
Monarchy until 1800
When the Icelanders submitted to the authority of the Norwegian king by the terms of the "Old Covenant" (Gamli sáttmáli) in 1262, the function of Althing changed. The organization of the commonwealthIcelandic 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...
came to an end and the rule of the country by goðar disappeared. Executive power now rested with the king and his officials, the Royal Commissioners (hirðstjórar) and District Commissioners (sýslumenn). As before, the Lögrétta, now comprising 36 members, continued to be its principal institution and shared formal legislative power with the king. Laws adopted by the Lögrétta were subject to royal assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
and, conversely, if the king initiated legislation, Althing had to give its consent. The Lawspeaker was replaced by two legal administrators, called lögmenn.
Towards the end of the 14th century, royal succession brought both Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Iceland under the control of the Danish monarchy. With the introduction of absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...
in Denmark, the Icelanders relinquished their autonomy to the crown, including the right to initiate and consent to legislation. After that, the Althing served almost exclusively as a court of law until the year 1800.
High Court: 1800–1845
The Althing was disbanded by royal decreeDecree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...
in 1800. A new High Court, established by this same decree and located in Reykjavík, took over the functions of Lögrétta. The three appointed judges first convened in Hólavallarskóli on 10 August 1801. The High Court was to hold regular sessions and function as the court of highest instance in the country. It operated until 1920, when the Supreme Court of Iceland
Supreme Court of Iceland
The Supreme Court of Iceland holds the highest judicial power in Iceland. It is the oldest court of law in Iceland and the higher of the two court branches, while the District Courts of Iceland are the lower. Nine judges sit in the court and hold command over the President of Iceland in accordance...
was established.
Consultative assembly: 1845–1874
A royal decree providing for the establishment of a new Althing was issued on 8 March 1843. Elections were held the following year and the assembly finally met on 1 July 1845. It comprised 26 members sitting in a single chamber. One member was elected in each of 20 electoral districts and six "royally nominated Members" were appointed by the king. SuffrageSuffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
was, following the Danish model, limited to males of substantial means and at least 25 years of age, which to begin with meant only about 5% of the population. A regular session lasted four weeks and could be extended if necessary. During this period, Althing acted merely as a consultative body for the crown. It examined proposed legislation and individual members could raise questions for discussion. Draft legislation submitted by the government was given two readings, an introductory one and a final one. Proposals which were adopted were called petitions. The new Althing managed to effect a number of improvements to legislation and the administration of the country.
Legislative assembly from 1874
Treasury
A treasury is either*A government department related to finance and taxation.*A place where currency or precious items is/are kept....
acquired powers of taxation and financial allocation
Allocation
Allocation may refer to:* Computers** Delayed allocation** Block allocation map** FAT** IP address allocation** Memory allocation** C++ allocators** No-write allocation ** Register allocation* Economics** Economic system** Asset allocation...
. The king retained the right to veto legislation and often, on the advice of his ministers, refused to consent to legislation adopted by Althing. The number of members of Althing was increased to 36, 30 of them elected in general elections in eight single-member constituencies and 11 double-member constituencies, the other six appointed by the crown as before. The Althing was now divided into an upper and a lower chamber. Six elected members and the six appointed ones sat in the upper chamber, which meant that the latter could prevent legislation from being passed by acting as a bloc. Twenty-four elected representatives sat in the lower chamber. From 1874 until 1915 ad hoc committees were appointed. After 1915 seven standing committees were elected by each of the chambers. Regular sessions of Althing convened every other year. A supplementary session was first held in 1886, and these became more frequent after the turn of the 20th century. The Althing met from 1881 in the newly built Parliament House. The Governor-General
Governor-General
A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
(landshöfðingi) was the highest representative of the government in Iceland and was responsible to the Advisor for Iceland (Íslandsráðgjafi) in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
.
Home rule
A constitutional amendmentConstitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
, confirmed on 3 October 1903, granted the Icelanders home rule
Home rule
Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....
and parliamentary government. Hannes Hafstein was appointed as the Icelandic minister on 1 February 1904 who was answerable to parliament. The minister had to have the support of the majority of members of Althing; in the case of a vote of no confidence, he would have to step down. Under the constitutional amendment of 1903, the number of members was increased by four, to a total of forty. Elections to the Althing had traditionally been public
Public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individuals, and the public is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the Öffentlichkeit or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science,...
– voters declared aloud which of the candidates they supported. In 1908 the secret ballot
Ballot
A ballot is a device used to record choices made by voters. Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot may be a simple scrap of paper on which each voter writes in the name of a candidate, but governmental elections use pre-printed to protect the...
was adopted, with ballot papers on which the names of the candidates were printed. A single election day for the entire country was at the same time made mandatory. When the Constitution was amended in 1915, the royally nominated members of Althing were replaced by six national representatives elected by proportional representation for the entire country.
Personal union
The Act of Union which took effect on 1 December 1918 made Iceland a stateSovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
in personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
with the king of Denmark. It was set to expire in 25 years, after which either state could choose to leave the union. The Althing was granted unrestricted legislative power. In 1920 the number of members of the Althing was increased to 42. Since 1945, the Althing has customarily assembled in the autumn. With the Constitutional Act of 1934 the number of members was increased by seven and the system of national representatives abolished in favor of one providing for eleven seats used to equalize discrepancies between the parties' popular vote and the number of seats they received in the Althing, raising the number of members of the Althing to 49. In 1934, the voting age was also lowered to 21. Further changes in 1942 provided for additional three members and introduced proportional representation in the double-member constituencies. The constituencies were then 28 in number, 21 single-member constituencies, six double-Member constituencies and Reykjavík, which elected eight members. With the additional eleven equalization seats, the number of members was thus 52.
Republic
When Denmark was occupied by Germany on 9 April 1940 the union with Iceland was effectively severed. On the following day, the Althing passed two resolutionsResolution (law)
A resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion. For long or important motions, though, it is often better to have them written out so that discussion is easier or so that it can be...
, investing the Icelandic cabinet with the power of 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...
and declaring that Iceland would accept full responsibility for both foreign affairs
Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
and coastal surveillance. A year later the Althing adopted a law creating the position of Regent to represent the crown. This position continued until the Act of Union was repealed, and the Republic of Iceland established, at a session of the Althing held at 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...
on 17 June 1944.
In 1959 the system of electoral districts was changed completely. The country was divided into eight constituencies with proportional representation in each, in addition to the previous eleven equalization seats. The total number of members elected was 60. In 1968, the Althing approved the lowering of voting age
Voting age
A voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain to be eligible to vote in a public election.The vast majority of countries in the world have established a voting age. Most governments consider that those of any age lower than the chosen threshold lack the necessary...
to 20 years. A further amendment to the Constitution in 1984 increased the number of members to 63 and reduced voting age to 18 years. By a constitutional amendment of June 1999, implemented in May 2003, the constituency system was changed. The number of constituencies was cut from eight to six; constituency boundaries are to be fixed by law. Major changes were introduced in the Althing itself in May 1991 and the assembly now sits as a unicameral legislature. There are currently twelve standing committees.
Latest elections
The next parliamentary elections were originally scheduled for May 2011. Due to public pressure arising from the economic crises the election was re-scheduled for April 2009.The parliament as of September 2010:
– In September 2010 the representative Þráinn Bertelsson left the Citizen Movement party and joined the Left-Green Movement party. This was following a split in the Citizen Movement party which also resulted in the party changing it name to The Movement. The resulting division of parliament seats was the following.
– In May 2011 two representatives of the Left-Green Movement left the party and became independent and in April one additional representative of the same movement left the party and became independent as well.
- Social Democratic Alliance – 20
- Independence PartyIndependence PartyIndependence Party can refer to various political parties past and present throughout the world, such as:*Independence Party *Independence Party *Independence Party *Independence Party...
– 16 - Left-Green MovementLeft-Green MovementThe 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...
– 12 - Progressive PartyProgressive 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...
– 9 - The MovementThe Movement (Iceland)The Movement is a political movement in Iceland. It has 3 members of parliament in the Alþingi . All of them are former Citizens' Movement MPs.*Þór Saari, economist*Margrét Tryggvadottir, editor...
– 3 - Independent – 3
See also
- List of Speakers of the Althing
- List of Speakers of the Lower House of the Althing
- List of Speakers of the Upper House of the Althing
- Constituencies of IcelandConstituencies of IcelandIceland is divided into 6 constituencies for the purpose of selecting representatives to the Alþingi .-History:The current division was established by a 1999 constitution amendment and was an attempt to balance the weight of different districts of the country whereby voters in the rural districts...