Birgir Ármannsson, Independence Party since 25 September 2021
Structure
Seats
63
Political groups
Government (38)
Independence Party (17)
Progressive Party (13)
Left-Green Movement (8)
Opposition (25)
Social Democratic Alliance (6)
People's Party (6)
Pirate Party (6)
Viðreisn (5)
Centre Party (2)
Elections
Voting system
Open list proportional representation
Last election
25 September 2021
Next election
September 2025
Meeting place
Alþingishúsið, Reykjavík
Website
www.althingi.is
Politics of Iceland
Government
Constitution of Iceland
Law
Taxation
Constitutional reform
Legislature
Althing
Speaker Birgir Ármannsson (D)
Members of Parliament
Constituencies
Executive
President of Iceland
Guðni Th. Jóhannesson (I)
Prime Minister of Iceland
Bjarni Benediktsson (D)
Cabinet
Judiciary
Supreme Court of Iceland
President Benedikt Bogason
Justices of the Court
Elections
Presidential
Parliamentary
2012 referendum
Political parties
List of political parties
Administrative divisions
Regions (Landshlutar)
Municipalities (Sveitarfélög)
Localities (Kaupstaðir)
Foreign relations
Diplomatic missions
of Iceland
in Iceland
Iceland and the European Union
Cod Wars (1950s / 1970s)
Iceland portal
Other countries
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64°08′48″N21°56′25″W / 64.14667°N 21.94028°W / 64.14667; -21.94028
The Alþingi (pronounced[ˈalˌθiɲcɪ]; Icelandic for 'general meeting'), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world.[1][2][a] The Althing was founded in 930 at Þingvellir ('thing fields' or 'assembly fields'), situated approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) east of what later became the country's capital, Reykjavík. After Iceland's union with Norway in 1262, the Althing lost its legislative power,[4] which was not restored until 1903 when Iceland gained Home Rule from Denmark. For 641 years, the Althing did not serve as the parliament of Iceland, ultimately power rested with the Norwegian, and subsequently the Danish throne.[4] Even after Iceland's union with Norway in 1262, the Althing still held its sessions at Þingvellir until 1800, when it was discontinued. It was restored in 1844 by royal decree and moved to Reykjavík.[5] 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.[6] The present parliament building, the Alþingishús, was built in 1881, made of hewn Icelandic stone.[7] The unicameral parliament has 63 members, and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional representation.[8] The current speaker of the Althing is Birgir Ármannsson.
The constitution of Iceland provides for six electoral constituencies with the possibility of an increase to seven. The constituency boundaries and the number of seats allocated to each constituency are fixed by legislation. No constituency can be represented by fewer than six seats. Furthermore, each party with more than 5% of the national vote is allocated seats based on its proportion of the 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. If the number of voters represented by each member of the Althing in one constituency would be less than half of the comparable ratio in another constituency, the Icelandic National Electoral Commission is tasked with altering the allocation of seats to reduce that difference.[9]
^"A short history of Alþingi – the oldest parliament in the world". europa.eu. The European Union. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
^Meredith, Sam (28 October 2016). "World's oldest parliament poised for radical Pirates to takeover". CNBC. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
^The High Court of Tynwald, The High Court of Tynwald (www.tynwald.org.im), retrieved 14 November 2011
^ abCite error: The named reference ath was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Sigurðardóttir, Heiða María; Emilsson, Páll Emil. "Hvenær var Alþingi stofnað?". visindavefur.is. Vísindavefurinn. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
^"Aldarfjórðungur frá því að deildaskipting var aflögð".
^"ALÞINGISHÚSIÐ – ÁGRIP AF BYGGINGARSÖGU ÞESS". Morgunblaðið. 24 April 1949. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
^Álvarez-Rivera, Manuel. "Election Resources on the Internet: Elections to the Icelandic Althing (Parliament)". electionresources.org. Election Resources. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
^"Stjórnarskipunarlög um breytingu á stjórnarskrá lýðveldisins Íslands, nr. 33/1944, með síðari breytingum". althingi.is. Alþingi Íslands. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
Althingi or Althing, is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded...
governed as an independent commonwealth under the native parliament, the Althing, one of the world's oldest functioning legislative assemblies. Following...
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments...
in Iceland by Saturday 27 September 2025 to elect the 63 members of the Althing. The 2021 parliamentary election took place on 25 September, a month before...
Members of the Althing are elected on the basis of proportional representation from six constituencies. Until 1991, membership of the Althing was divided...
Jóhannesson Prime Minister: Katrín Jakobsdóttir Althing: 2021-present Althing Speaker of the Althing: Birgir Ármannsson President of the Supreme Court:...
speakers of the Althing, the Icelandic parliament. The Speaker of the Althing (Icelandic: Forseti Alþingis, literally the President of the Althing) is the presiding...
politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the Prose...
total of 24 women were elected to the Althing, compared to 30 in the 2016 election. Of those elected to the Althing, 19 are new, but this is considerably...
and represented them at the Althing. Úlfljót was chosen as the first lawspeaker (lögsögumaðr), who presided the Althing which met annually at Thingvellir...
Commonwealth consisted of a number of clans run by chieftains, and the Althing was a combination of parliament and supreme court where disputes appealed...
often named the Estates. The oldest surviving legislature is the Icelandic Althing, founded in 930 CE. Democratic legislatures have six major functions: representation...
nobody is allowed to approve a bill before three readings in the Althing, and Althing meetings shall take place in public unless otherwise approved by...
many independent goðorð were established, until they united under the Althing around 930. In 964, the system was fixed under a constitution that recognized...
local government. From the start, Gaukur Jörundsson was elected by the Althing as the umboðsmaður. He was reelected twice, the last time with a mandate...
was decided by the Alþingi (Althing). It has changed over the years, but the legislative body is still called the Althing. Following the settlement of...
the political unit existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing (Icelandic: Alþingi) in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king...
communications between Iceland and Denmark. As a result, on 10 April, the Althing passed two resolutions investing the Icelandic cabinet with the power of...
longest functioning parliaments in the world, alongside the Icelandic Althing and the Manx Tynwald. The parliament currently has 33 members. Elections...
Constitution of Iceland Law Taxation Constitutional reform Legislature Althing Speaker Birgir Ármannsson (D) Members of Parliament Constituencies Executive...
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