Kingdom of Iceland Konungsríkið Ísland Timeline: Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum
OTL equivalent: Iceland | ||||||
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Anthem: Lofsöngur |
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Location of Iceland
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Capital | Reykjavík | |||||
Official languages | Icelandic | |||||
Other languages | Danish; Norwegian; Swedish; Polish | |||||
Ethnic groups | Icelandic; Danish; Polish; Lithuanians | |||||
Religion | Christianity; Irreligion; Traditional religions | |||||
Demonym | Icelandic | |||||
Government | Unitary state; Parliamentary democracy; Constitutional monarchy | |||||
- | King | Ríkharður I | ||||
- | Prime Minister | Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir | ||||
Legislature | Althing of Iceland | |||||
Establishment | ||||||
- | Icelandic Declaration of Independence | December 1, 1918 | ||||
Population | ||||||
- | estimate | 364,134 | ||||
Currency | Icelandic króna (ISK ) |
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Time zone | WET (UTC) | |||||
Internet TLD | .is | |||||
Calling code | +354 | |||||
Membership international or regional organizations | United Nations; North Atlantic Treaty Organization |
Iceland (Icelandic: Ísland), officially the Kingdom of Iceland (Icelandic: Konungsríkið Ísland), is an island country in the North Atlantic, between Greenland and Scandinavia. Iceland has gained its independence from Scandinavia since 1918. It has a population of 364,134 and an area of 103,000 km2 (40,000 sq mi), making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Reykjavík. Reykjavík and the surrounding areas in the southwest of the country are home to over two-thirds of the population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active.
The island was governed as an independent commonwealth under the Althing, one of the world's oldest functioning legislative assemblies before ruled by the Scandinavians in aftermath of the 13th century. In the wake of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Iceland's struggle for independence took form and culminated in independence in 1918. Although its parliament, Althing, was suspended from 1799 to 1845, Iceland has been credited with sustaining the oldest and longest-running parliamentary institution in the world.
Iceland has no standing army and only has a lightly armed coast guard. It is the most peaceful country in the world, due to its lack of armed forces, low crime rate and high level of socio-political stability. Iceland also runs almost completely on renewable energy. Iceland is a member of the United Nations, NATO, EFTA, Council of Europe, and OECD, maintains relations with practically all countries, but is especially close with the Nordic countries, West Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the other NATO nations. Iceland is also a member of the European Economic Area (EEA), which allows the country access to the single market of the European Community, but is never being a member of the Community itself and rather involved in cooperation through the Helsinki Initiative.
Politics and government[]
Iceland is a constitutional monarchy with a representative parliamentary system. The monarch of Iceland is the country's head of state, which its dynasty since 1918 belongs to the British-descended Windsor family. Although the monarch of Iceland is constitutionally vested with executive powers and presides over the Council of State, these powers must be exercised with the binding "advice" of the government. The duties of the monarch are purely and strictly representative and ceremonial, such appointing and dismissing the Prime Minister and other government ministers.
The Icelandic parliament, Althing (Alþingi), is unicameral. It has 63 members, and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional representation. The modern form of Althing was established in 1845 as a consultative body to the monarchy of Iceland which then was in personal union with Denmark (and later Scandinavia). It was largely regarded as a re-establishment of the Commonwealth-era assembly, which had been suspended from 1799 until 1845. The original Althing was traditionally met at Þingvellir, a field situated around 45 kilometers (28 mi) east of Reykjavík. As a result, it is considered to be the world's oldest parliamentary democracy.
The monarch appoints the cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister of Iceland (Forsætisráðherra), following a general election to the Althing. However, because no single political party has ever gained a majority of seats in the Althing, Icelandic governments have always been coalition governments involving two or more parties. Therefore, cabinet appointments are typically negotiated by political party leaders, who decide among themselves following negotiations which parties can form the cabinet and how to allocate its seats, provided that it has majority support in the Althing.
The judiciary consists of the Supreme Court (Hæstiréttur) and district courts. The Supreme Court is composed of seven justices who are appointed for life by the monarch after being selected by the Qualifications Committee and nominated by the Prime Minister. The Supreme Court serves as final court of appeal within the judicial system of Iceland. There are also district courts on the level below, each on judicial districts of Iceland, including Eastern Region, Northeastern Region, Northwestern Region, Reykjanes, Reykjavík, Southern Region, Western Region and Westfjords.
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