The White Falcon - 22.04.1983, Síða 3

Keflavik, Iceland SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT 3
Democracy: A thousand year tradition
The nation of Iceland took shape as a republic
in 930 A.D. with the establishment ofthe Althing,
or parliament. Chieftains, known as godar, held
all the power throughout the country. Thirteen
areas around the coast had local assemblies led
by three godar who met regularly in their own
districts to pass judgment on local matters.
Every summer all 39 godar would meet for a
two-week period at Thingvellir (parliament
plains), about 32 miles east of Reykjavik, together
-with nine titular godar, an elected president and
96 advisors. This body, later with the addition of
the country’s two bishops, had legislative and
judicial power over the whole country.
When Iceland lost its independence (see arti-
cle below) the power of the Althing was lost until
Home Rule in 1904, when exterior affairs were
still run by Denmark. Full Icelandic sovereignty
over its affairs was regained on June 17, 1944,
when the modern Republic of Iceland was
founded.
President is Head of State
Underthe written constitution the President is
the head of state—outside of politics—and per-
sonifying the integrity of the nation. All power is
in the hands of the President’s ministers, who
are appointed by the government of the period
in question. The President of Iceland is elected
by popular, direct vote for a period of four years.
All of Iceland’s presidents have been elected in
hotly-contested campaigns—but none seeking
re-election has ever been opposed. This dem-
onstrates the non-partisan role of the presid-
ency in politics. The President has the power of
veto over legislation, but this is supposed to be
used only on ministerial advice and would lead
to an automatic referendum on the legislation in
question.
National Government
The Althing is the Icelandic national assembly
and has 60 members elected for a term of four
years. The voting age is 20 and any person eligi-
ble to vote can stand as a candidate with the
exception of the President and members of the
Supreme Court.
The country is divided into eight constituen-
President Vigdis Finnbogadottir
cies with each one voting on lists of candidates
(in practice representing the political parties).
Seats are then allocated to the lists in proportion
to the votes cast in their favor. Forty-nine mem-
bers are elected this way. The remaining 11 are
selected from those not elected directly, in
accordance with the national proportion of votes
cast in favor of the party lists.
Although the Althing sometimes sits as one
chamber—to debate and approve items as the
budget, to draft resolutions and to put questions
to government ministers—there is an upper
chamber and a lower chamber. A bill may be
introduced in either chamber but to become law
has to pass at least three readings in both
chambers.
The Cabinet is comprised of ministers selected
by the political parties who form the govern-
ment. Rarely has a minister been selected who
has not also been elected to the Althing. In such
cases, the minister would have all rights of a
member except the right to vote in the Althing.
Town Elects Councils
Towns and rural districts elect their own
councils in the same manner as a national elec-
tion. The same elective system is used, again
demanding proportional representation, as a
reflection of true democracy.
The responsibilities of local councils are gen-
erally in the area that affects their citizens' wel-
fare. The councils are in charge of primary edu-
cation, public health, hospitals and sanitation,
streets, utilities, planning, police, etc. In many
cases they receive grants or loans from the
national government, especially in the areas of
health and education.
poverty shaped nation’s history
Famine, plague,
Although it is possible visitors may have
reached Iceland’s shores earlier, the first people
known to have made landfall are Irish monks
about 800 A.D. They established their cells and
lived as hermits until the first settlers arrived.
Then, as they shunned contact, the monks left.
The first known settler was Ingolfur Arnarson
who arrived in 874 A.D. together with his family
and dependents. The remains of his farmstead
home have been found where the Book of Settle-
ments said they would—in Reykjavik. Other
settlers were soon to follow him and claim tracts
of land for themselves. According to the only
source available, the Book of Settlements which
probably was written in the 12th century, the
majority were high-born Norwegians, although
other Scandinavians were to join the new colony.
In 930 A.D. they established their parliament,
the Althing, and the federation of counties
within the republic grew and prospered. Claims
were settled at the yearly meetings ofthe Althing,
and a local culture grew with an expanding pop-
ulation who enjoyed work and poetry, justice
and exploration. It was from this background
that Erik the Red left to settle Greenland and
later his son, Leifur Eriksson, to journey to the
New World.
A change was to come in the 13th century. As
chieftainships, and hence power, could be
bought and sold, the leadership of the country
became accumulated in the hands of a few peo-
ple. Jealous chieftains turned to the Norwegian
NEW INDUSTRIES, from 2
fabrics and wood for the making of furniture
have to be imported, there would be no basis for
such a craft unless there were protective taxes to
shelter the furniture makers. Although this is
mainly true, one Icelandic firm has shown it can
export its products. By combining superior
design with modern methods, its products are
sought after by a number of European nations.
Although energy-intensive industry will prob-
ably help Iceland inthefuture, it looks as though
the nation’s own unique contributions still have
a part to play.
king to request support for their ambitions—in
return for granting the king more power. In 1262
a covenant of union was made by the Althing
and the king of Norway. Slowly, sovereignty left
Iceland and ended up in Norway.
When Norway and Denmark united, their
monarchies were united, too. This happened in
1380 and the change in status dictated changes
in Iceland. The Danish crown became the sole
arbiter of affairs regarding Iceland and as taxes
were increased the country entered serfdom to
outside decisions.
Volcanic eruptions, famine, plague and the
dictates of foreign traders led once independent
Iceland down the path to poverty. The popula-
tion declined through starvation and disease.
Denmark imposed an absolute trade monopoly,
appointed the people it wanted to all positions
of power and generally exploited the country.
At the end of the 17th century the people of
Iceland sent a representative to the Danish king
to explain the country’s difficulties. He listened
with sympathy and instituted positive changes
which lead to improvements in agriculture, the
woolen industry and fishing.
The 1918 granting of Home Rule under the
Danish crown left few hard feelings on either
side. The Icelandic economy expanded slowly
and Denmark refrained from any intervention.
Throughout the 1920s conditions improved stead-
ily and by the time of the millennium of the
Althing, celebrated in 1930, the nation was
optimistic about the future. But external condi-
tions were to impact heavily on this island
nation. As the Great Depression affected the
world outside it was to hit Iceland hard. Instead
of repairing the damage of centuries of exploita-
tion and neglect, the nation’s leaders had to face
closed markets, bankruptcy among merchants
and farmers, unemployment and poverty among
the laborers—most of whom had recently left
the farms for the towns.
The government stepped in with grants and
loans to farmers and it started public work
The absolute trade monopoly enjoyed by
Danish merchants ended in 1787, when it was
agreed all Danish subjects could trade at will. As
Icelanders were Danish subjects that opened
the door to economic change.
With a slight economic edge, a great wealth of
knowledge, and bolstered by a high degree of
literacy and love of cultural heritage, a move-
ment was started to gain full independence from
Denmark. With such leaders as Jon Sigurdsson
(1811-1879)—his birthday on June 17 is cele-
brated today as the country’s national day-
gradual improvements were made. The Althing
was allowed to reopen in Reykjavik, a new con-
stitution was granted, control of national finan-
ces was returned to Iceland and in 1918 the Act
of Union gave full recognition to the nation’s
independence although foreign affairs was left
in the hands of Denmark. The final break with
Denmark came at the end of 1943. Denmark had
been occupied by Nazi Germany and hence
could no longer exert any direct pressures on
Iceland. There was massive support in the coun-
try for absolute independence. And on June 17,
1944 Iceland was declared a republic.
schemes in both the national and local sectors.
Better catches during the herring season were
to help as well, and loans were successfully
raised for the construction of hydro-electric
plants. This was all to help—but recovery was
not to start until after World War II.
Iceland was occupied by Britain in May 1940.
The Axis had already invaded Denmark, so this
hardly came as a surprise. But it was also no
surprise that neutral Iceland protested against
the British move. In the summer of 1941 an
agreement was reached between Iceland, Bri-
tain and the United States for America to take
over the protective role, even though the U.S.
was not to enter the war officially until five
months later.
The occupying forces needed labor and this
ended the nation’s unemployment. Competition
(See REVOLUTION, page 9)
Social, industrial revolution marks progress