The politics of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous country of the Kingdom of Denmark, function within the framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic dependency, whereby the Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. The Faroe Islands are politically associated with the Kingdom of Denmark but have been self-governing since 1948. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Løgting. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and the responsibility of Denmark.
The Løgting is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm.
The Union Party is a conservative-liberal, agrarian political party on the Faroe Islands. The party wants to maintain the Faroe Islands' union with Denmark. On 24 October 2015 Bárður á Steig Nielsen succeeded Kaj Leo Johannesen as party leader.
Republic, formerly known as the Republican Party is a pro-independence left-wing political party in the Faroe Islands.
The coat of arms of the Faroe Islands first appears on one of the medieval chairs in Kirkjubøur from around the 15th century. It depicts a silver ram passant with golden hooves and horns on an azure shield. Later uses show a ram in a seal used by the Løgrættumenn, members of the Old Faroese law Court, the Løgting.
The Social Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party on the Faroe Islands, led by Aksel V. Johannesen.
The Faroese People's Party – Radical Self-Government is a pro-Faroese independence conservative and conservative-liberal political party on the Faroe Islands led by Beinir Johannesen. One of the four major parties, it has had eight seats in the Løgting since the 2019 election, making it the joint-largest party, but it has neither of the Faroes' seats in the Folketing.
Kári Páll Højgaard is a Faroese politician. He was chairman of the Self-Government Party (Sjálvstýrisflokkurin) until April 2015 and is a former president of the West Nordic Council (2008–09) (2011–2012) (2017–2018).
The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, is the area over which the monarch of Denmark is head of state. It consists of metropolitan Denmark—the kingdom's territory in continental Europe and sometimes called "Denmark proper" —and the realm's two autonomous regions: the Faroe Islands in North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. The relationship between the three parts of the Kingdom is also known as The unity of the Realm.
The Faroe or Faeroe Islands, or simply the Faroes, are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. The official language of the country is Faroese, which is closely related to and partially mutually intelligible with Icelandic.
Jógvan Sundstein is a Faroese politician and member of the Faroese People's Party.
Peter Mohr Dam was a Faroe Islands politician who was one of the founders of the Social Democratic Javnaðarflokkurin party in 1926.
Johan Michael Lund was a Norwegian lawyer from Bergen. From 1786 to 1805 he was Lawman of the Faroe Islands.
Early general elections were held in the Faroe Islands on 29 October 2011. Faroese law states that new elections must be held at least once every four years; however, either the Prime Minister (Løgmaður) or a majority of the members of the Faroese Parliament may call an election before the end of this period. The previous elections having been held on 20 January 2008, the latest date on which the next elections could have been held was 19 January 2012. However, the Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands, Kaj Leo Johannesen, announced on 27 September 2011 that elections would be held on 29 October 2011. He gave no particular reason for his decision.
Progress is a liberal, pro-Faroese independence political party on the Faroe Islands.
The Cabinet of the Faroe Islands has been the chief executive body and the government of the Faroe Islands since the islands became self-governing in 1948. The cabinet is led by the prime minister (løgmaður). There are around seven members of the Cabinet, known as "ministers", all of whom are also heads of specific government ministries. The ministers are appointed by the prime minister. The Faroese government currently consists of seven ministers including the prime minister.
The Faroese independence movement, or the Faroese national movement, is a political movement which seeks the establishment of the Faroe Islands as a sovereign state outside of Denmark. Reasons for independence include the linguistic and cultural divide between Denmark and the Faroe Islands as well as their lack of proximity to one another; the Faroe Islands are about 990 km (620 mi) from Danish shores.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory of Denmark, in March 2020. The confirmed infection rate was 1 case per 280 inhabitants, one of the highest rates in the world, but the archipelago also tested at a very high frequency, with the number of tests equaling c. 34 per cent of the population. As of 28 February 2022, there have been 34648 confirmed cases. Among these, 31 persons have died with COVID-19.
