Iceland's current government consists of a majority coalition between the center-left Social Democratic Alliance (SDA) and the leftist, environmentally focused Left-Green Movement (LG). The SDA-LG coalition, which holds 34 out of the 63 seats in parliament, was elected on April 25, 2009 in early parliamentary elections that were prompted by the country's economic crisis in the fall of 2008. The Chair of the SDA party, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, is Iceland's first female Prime Minister and LG Chair Steingrímur J. Sigfússon serves as the country's Finance Minister. The government, during its short tenure, has initiated significant economic reforms and has submitted Iceland's application to join the European Union (EU).

The previous government, a coalition comprised of the Independence Party (IP) and the SDA, came into power following regular parliamentary elections in 2007. The IP and SDA formed a strong majority with then-IP Chair Geir Haarde as Prime Minister and then-SDA Chair Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir as Foreign Minister. However, when the Icelandic banking sector collapsed in fall 2008, precipitating Iceland’s economic crisis, opinion polls showed less than 50% of the public had confidence in the government's ability to manage the crisis. The public expressed its disapproval in protests that were Iceland's most serious since the riots over NATO membership in 1949. Tensions between the IP and SDA resulted in the breakup of the coalition on January 26, 2009 and the appointment of a temporary SDA-LG government that was later returned to power in the April elections.

Social Democratic Alliance: Formed in 2000 from three leftist parties--the Social Democratic Party, the People's Alliance, and the Women's List--the SDA was created to challenge the long-dominant Independence Party. Though this effort failed initially, under Gísladóttir's leadership, the SDA eventually formed a coalition government with the IP in 2007. It is now the senior member in a government coalition with the LG. The party has worked to reconcile the widely varying foreign policy views of its members, which range from strong support for NATO membership to pacifism and neutrality. The SDA is also the most openly pro-EU of Iceland's political parties.

Left Green Movement: The LG was founded in 1999 by a group of politicians who did not agree with the planned merger of the leftist parties in Iceland that resulted in the SDA. The Left Greens won a respectable 9% of the vote (5 seats) in 2003, but in the 2007 election they improved significantly, with 14% of the total vote (9 seats). The LG captured 22% of the vote and 14 seats in the 2009 election and joined the SDA as the junior partner in the coalition government. As its name implies, the party is focused on a Nordic socialist model of governance with a strong emphasis on environmental issues. It formally opposes EU membership for Iceland but is open to change should the Icelandic public demand it.

Independence Party: The IP was formed in 1929 and is the center-right political party in Iceland. Iceland's recent political upheaval follows nearly two decades of relative stability under the IP, much of it marked by an Independence-Progressive coalition that was in power from 1995-2007. Longtime IP leader Davíð Oddsson was Prime Minister from 1991-2004, making him the longest-serving prime minister in Europe. The IP elected parliamentarian Bjarni Benediktsson to follow former Prime Minister Geir Haarde as Party Chairman in late March 2009, after Haarde announced in January his intent to leave politics while undergoing treatment for esophageal cancer. Following the economic collapse of 2008, the IP undertook a thorough review of its policy on joining the EU, concluding that the question should be decided by national referendums at the conclusion of accession negotiations with Brussels. Party support plummeted to 24% (16 seats) in the elections in April 2009, from 37% (25 seats) in the 2007 elections.

Progressive Party: The centrist agrarian Progressive Party has been a party to government for over 30 of the past 40 years. Its support dropped from 23% (15 seats) in the 1995 parliamentary election to 12% (7 seats) in 2007. The party, however, rebounded slightly in 2009 receiving 15% of the vote and nine seats in parliament. The Progressive Party has faced internal instability in the past few years, and power struggles have led to frequent change in the party's leadership. Current Chairman Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson was elected at the party's national congress in January 2009, following the sudden resignation of Guðni Ágústsson in November 2008. Ágústsson himself had replaced Jón Sigurðsson after the party's disastrous showing in the 2007 elections.

Liberal Party and Citizens' Movement: Iceland's Liberal Party, devoted to changing the current fisheries management system, stumbled badly in the April 2009 elections and did not make it over the five percent threshold for representation in the Alþingi. Taking the Liberals' place as the fifth party in parliament was the new Citizens' Movement, which surprised many observers by earning four seats in the legislature. The Citizens' Movement was the only new party to successfully use the protests of 2008-2009 to launch itself into prominence. Subsequently, however, internal strife has torn the party apart. All four members resigned from the party; one is now an independent member of Parliament and the other three formed a parliamentary group called The Movement, which has no constituency.

Iceland's current President is Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, a former political science professor who led the far-left People's Alliance in 1987-1995 and served as Finance Minister in 1988-91. Although Grímsson won office with only a 41% plurality in 1996, he was not challenged for re-election in 2000 and was re-elected again on June 26, 2004. In 2008, Grímsson was again re-elected by default. This follows a well-established tradition of giving deference to sitting presidents. Once in office, a president can generally count on serving as many terms as he or she likes, assuming good behavior. Reflecting the belief that the president is "above politics," presidential candidates run for election as individuals--since 1952, political parties have played no role in nominating or endorsing candidates.

Principal Government Officials
President--Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Prime Minister--Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
Foreign Minister and Minister of Industry--Össur Skarphéðinsson
Minister of Finance and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries--Steingrímur J. Sigfússon
Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs--Ragna Árnadóttir
Minister of Communications--Kristján L. Möller
Minister for the Environment and Nordic Cooperation--Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir
Minister of Business Affairs--Gylfi Magnússon
Minister of Health--Ögmundur Jónasson
Minister of Social Affairs--Ásta Ragnheiður Jóhannesdóttir
Minister of Education, Science and Culture--Katrín Jakobsdóttir
Speaker of Althingi--Guðbjartur Hannesson
Ambassador to the U.S.--Hjálmar W. Hannesson
Ambassador to the UN--Gunnar Pálsson
Ambassador to NATO--Þorsteinn Ingólfsson
Ambassador to the EU--Stefán Haukur Jóhannesson

transliteration key:
Þ is "th"
ð is "d"

Iceland maintains an embassy in the United States at 1156 - 15th Street, NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20005 [tel. (202) 265-6653], and a consulate general at 800 Third Ave, 36th floor, New York, NY 10022 [tel. (212) 593-2700]. Iceland also has 25 honorary consulates in major U.S. cities.

Government
Type: Semi-presidential, parliamentary.
Independence: 1918 (became "sovereign state" under Danish Crown); 1944 (establishment of republic).
Constitution: 1874.
Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet (12 ministers). Legislative--63-member unicameral parliament (Althingi). Judicial--Supreme Court, district courts, special courts.
Subdivisions: 26 administrative districts and 79 municipalities.
Major political parties: Independence (IP), Progressive (PP), Social Democratic Alliance (SDA), Left-Green Party (LGP), Liberal Party (LP).
Suffrage: Universal 18 years and above.
National holiday: June 17, anniversary of the establishment of the republic.