Iceland

Official name of country: Republic of Iceland
Capital: Reykjavik
Official language: Icelandic
Population: 318,452 (2011)
Size: 103 001 square kilometers
Currency: ISK (Icelandic krona)
Form of government: Republic
Head of government: Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurđardóttir
Head of state: President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Public holidays in 2011: January 1st (New Year’s Day), April 21st (Maundy Thursday), April 22nd (Good Friday), April 25th (Easter Monday), April 21st (First Day of Summer), May 1st (Labour Day), June 2nd(Ascension), June 13th (Whit Monday), June 17th (National Day), August 1st (Commerce Day), December 24th – 26th (Christmas), December 31st (New Year’s Eve).

Government

Iceland is a constitutional republic with a parliamentary government, also called semi-presidential system or dual executive. The two executives are not equal, neither in power nor in responsibility. The Icelandic constitution states that the president, or those who exercise presidential authority in absence of the president, cannot be held accountable for executive acts. In contrast, the ministers of cabinet are held individually responsible for all executive acts and may be subject to impeachment by the Althing. This also reflects the balance of power between the two executives.

The president of Iceland is elected by direct, secret ballot, and must be at least 35 years of age. The president appoints the ministers to cabinet, and has the power to dismiss them. Also, the president’s signature validates the legislative acts passed in parliament when co-signed by the prime minister. The election term is four years, and there is no term-limit for the presidential position. The Icelandic Althing is the world’s oldest parliament; dating back to year 930 AC. It was originally an assembly of free men who voiced their opinions here and passed laws and judgements in ongoing feuds. Today it is a parliamentary multiparty congress with a tradition for coalition government and consensual working style. Since 1991, the Althing is a unicameral parliament with 12 standing committees. These committees have members distributed proportionally to parliamentary representation. The committees prepare cases for the general assembly, as in all the other Nordic countries.