The politics of Finland take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy. Finland is a republic whose head of state is President Alexander Stubb, who leads the nation's foreign policy and is the supreme commander of the Finnish Defence Forces. Finland's head of government is Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, who leads the nation's executive branch, called the Finnish Government. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Finland, and the Government has limited rights to amend or extend legislation. The Constitution of Finland vests power to both the President and Government: the President has veto power over parliamentary decisions, although this power can be overruled by a majority vote in the Parliament.
The politics of Iceland take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the president is the head of state, while the prime minister of Iceland serves as the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament, the Althingi. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The Alþingi, anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at Þingvellir, about 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, which was not restored until 1904 when Iceland gained home rule from Denmark. For 641 years, the Althing did not serve as the parliament of Iceland; ultimate power rested with the Norwegian, and subsequently the Danish throne. 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. 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. The present parliament building, the Alþingishús, was built in 1881, made of hewn Icelandic stone. The unicameral parliament has 63 members, and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional representation. The current speaker of the Althing is Birgir Ármannsson.
The minister for foreign affairs is a member of the cabinet of Japan and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The minister is responsible for implementing Japan's foreign policy and is also a statutory member of the National Security Council. The minister is nominated by the prime minister and is appointed by the emperor of Japan.
Stefán Jóhann Stefánsson was the first actual minister of Foreign Affairs in Iceland from 18 November 1941 to 17 January 1942. He was prime minister of Iceland from 4 February 1947 to 6 December 1949. He was first elected to the Althing in 1934 but did not get reelected in 1937. From 1942 to 1953, he regained his seat in the Althing. He was chairman of the now defunct Social Democratic Party (Alþýðuflokkurinn) from 1938 to 1952. He was ambassador of Iceland in Denmark from 1957 to 1965. He was minister for social affairs from 1939 to 1941 and Minister of Foreign and Social Affairs from 1941 to 1942. He was Prime-Minister when Iceland joined NATO in 1949; leading a coalition consisting of his own Social Democratic Party together with the Independence Party and Progressive Party.
Benedikt Sigurðsson Gröndal was a Islandic politician who served as prime minister of Iceland from 1979 to 1980. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he was minister of Foreign Affairs from 1978 to 1980 and the only prime minister who has served in two cabinet roles simultaneously.
Geir Hilmar Haarde is an Icelandic politician who served as prime minister of Iceland from 15 June 2006 to 1 February 2009, and as president of the Nordic Council in 1995. Geir was chairman of the Icelandic Independence Party from 2005 to 2009. From 2015 to 2019 he has served as the ambassador of Iceland to the United States and several Latin American countries. Since 2019 he has been a chief representative at the World Bank Group.
The ministry of Defence, of the Republic of Croatia is the ministry in the Government of Croatia which is in charge of the nation's military. It is Croatia's ministry of defence. The ministry was established in 1990.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a cabinet-level ministry of Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), and is responsible for the ROC's diplomacy and foreign relations. It is headquartered in the capital Taipei. The incumbent minister is Lin Chia-lung, who took office in 2024 and is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party.
The Cabinet of Iceland is the collective decision-making body of the government of Iceland, composed of the Prime Minister and the cabinet ministers.
The ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia is the ministry in the Government of Croatia which is responsible for the country's foreign relations, its diplomatic missions and relations to international organisations, especially the European Union.
The Ministry of Education and Children is an Icelandic cabinet-level ministry founded 16 December 1942. The ministry is divided into three departments and four offices.
The Icelandic Ministry of Finance is responsible for overseeing the finances of the Icelandic government. The Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs is Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson.
The Government of Lithuania, officially the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (GRL), is the cabinet of and exercising executive power in Lithuania. Among other responsibilities, it executes laws and resolutions of the parliament, the Seimas, and the decrees of the President, manages state property and, together with the president, executes the foreign policy of the country. The Government also has the right of legislative initiative, puts together the state budget and presents it to the Seimas for approval.
The Icelandic Ministry of Business Affairs, also translated as the Ministry of Commerce or Ministry of Trade, is a government ministry established on 24 May 2007, when it was split off from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. The ministry is responsible for company law, competition law, financial services, insurance and trade.
The Icelandic Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism is one of the cabinet-level government ministries responsible for Iceland's economy. It shares that responsibility with the Ministry of Business Affairs and the Ministry of Fisheries. Since 2009, the responsible minister is Katrín Júlíusdóttir of the Social Democratic Alliance.
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is an Icelandic politician, who served as prime minister of Iceland from 2009 to 2013.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a cabinet ministry of Liberia responsible for directing Liberia's external relations and the management of its international diplomatic missions. The ministry is located in Monrovia, Liberia's capital.
The Ministry of Welfare is an Icelandic cabinet-level ministry founded 1 January 2011. It is the result of the merger of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Security, founded 17 April 1939 as the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health, founded 20 November 1959. It is responsible for administration and policy making of social affairs, health and social security. The first Minister of Welfare was Guðbjartur Hannesson. As of November 2017, there are two ministers heading the Ministry of Welfare: Ásmundur Einar Daðason, Minister of Social Affairs and Equality, and Svandís Svavarsdóttir, Minister of Health.
Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 30 November 2024 to elect the 63 members of the Althing. The centre-left Social Democratic Alliance, led by Kristrún Frostadóttir, outperformed the ruling Independence Party to win the most seats, at 15. The election saw the worst performance by the Independence Party, Progressive Party, the Left-Green Movement, and the Pirate Party in each of the parties' histories, while Viðreisn, the People's Party, and the Centre Party saw their best performance in each of the parties' histories. This follows a trend of Icelanders voting against every post–2008 recession government except during the 2021 election.
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