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 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. Founded in 1939 by defectors from the Self-Government Party and former members of the Business Party (Vinnuflokkurin), the party has traditionally supported greater autonomy for the Faroe Islands. Party leader Hákun Djurhuus served as Prime Minister from 1963 to 1967, as did Jógvan Sundstein from 1989 to 1991. In 1998, it adopted a policy of full independence from Denmark as part of a coalition deal in which leader Anfinn Kallsberg became PM. Throughout the decades, it has formed formed coalition governments with all Faroese political parties except for Framsókn, with its latest term in government lasting until 2022.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in the Faroe Islands since 1 July 2017. Legislation allowing same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples was approved by the Løgting on 29 April 2016. The Danish Parliament approved the necessary legislative adaptations on 25 April 2017, and the law received royal assent on 3 May and went into effect on 1 July 2017.
Jørgen Niclasen is a Faroese politician. He served as the leader of the People's Party (Fólkaflokkurin) from 2007 to 2022.
Kaj Leo Holm Johannesen is a Faroese politician. He was the prime minister of the Faroe Islands, representing the Faroese Unionist Party (Sambandsflokkurin). He took office, succeeding Jóannes Eidesgaard on 26 September 2008 and left office on 15 September 2015, after his party and coalition with Fólkaflokkurin and Miðflokkurin lost the general election on 1 September 2015. Johannesen is also a former international football player; he was goalkeeper for the Faroe Islands national football team.
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.
The Second Cabinet of Kaj Leo Johannesen was the government of the Faroe Islands from 14 November 2011 until 15 September 2015 with Kaj Leo Johannesen from Union Party (Sambandsflokkurin) as Prime Minister, making a coalition between Union Party (Sambandsflokkurin), People's Party (Fólkaflokkurin), Self-Government Party (Sjálvstýrisflokkurin) and Centre Party (Miðflokkurin). It is a majority government and the first completely right winged government on the islands since 1985. In September 2013 the Self Governing Party left the coalition and the ministry was closed, after their minister Kári P. Højgaard had been sacked after much discussion about a subsea tunnel between the two largest islands: Streymoy and Eysturoy, Eysturoyartunnilin, which Mr. Højgaard planned to let a private Danish company called Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners make. The plans about making the tunnel were aborted, but in February 2014 all political parties of the Løgting including the independent excluded former member of the Social Democratic Party (Javnaðarflokkurin), Gerhard Lognberg, agreed on making two subsea tunnels: Eysturoyartunnilin and Sandoyartunnilin, both are planned to open in 2021 if everything works out as the politicians have planned, and they will be made by the Faroese government.
Aksel Vilhelmsson Johannesen is a Faroese lawyer and politician for the Social Democratic Party (Javnaðarflokkurin) and the current prime minister of the Faroe Islands. He previously served as prime minister from 2015 to 2019. He is a former footballer.
General elections were held in the Faroe Islands on 1 September 2015. Elections for the Danish Folketing were held beforehand on 18 June.
Bárður á Steig Nielsen is a Faroese politician and businessman who serves as leader of the Union Party since 2015 and was prime minister from 2019 to 2022. He is also goalkeeper of the VÍF Vestmanna handball team and a former handball player of the Faroe Islands national team.
Sonja J. Jógvansdóttir is a Faroese journalist, politician, and establisher and coordinator of Samtak, the Faroese trade union center. Until 2015, she was a member of Social Democratic Party (Javnaðarflokkurin). She is a spokesperson for the rights of homosexual people and their rights in the Faroe Islands and was one of the establishers of LGBT Faroe Islands in 2011.
Lisbeth Beate Lindenskov Petersen was a Faroese politician in the Union Party. She was one of the first women to reach a top position in Faroese politics. Petersen served as mayor of the capital, Tórshavn, from 1992 to 1996 and was the first female mayor of Tórshavn. She was a member of the Faroese Parliament from 1990 to 2008, she was the first Faroese woman who was elected to the Danish Parliament, she was a member of the Danish Parliament from 2001 to 2005. From 2001 to 2004 she was parliamentary leader and head of her party.
General elections were held in the Faroe Islands on 31 August 2019. The elections resulted in the defeat of Aksel V. Johannesen's coalition government consisting of the Social Democrats, Republic, and Progress. Following the elections, a new coalition government was formed by Union Party leader Bárður á Steig Nielsen, consisting of the Union Party, the People's Party and the Centre Party, which won 17 of the 33 seats.
The Cabinet of Bárður á Steig Nielsen was the government of the Faroe Islands between 16 September 2019 and 9 November 2022, with Bárður á Steig Nielsen from Union Party as Prime Minister, making a coalition between People's Party and Centre Party.
Early general elections were held in the Faroe Islands on 8 December 2022. The opposition Social Democratic Party led by former Prime Minister Aksel V. Johannesen emerged as the largest party, receiving the largest vote share of any party since 1990, while Self-Government lost its Løgting representation for the first time since 1945.
Events in the year 2022 in the Faroe Islands.
Events in the year 2019 in the Faroe Islands.
