Iceland and Icelandic News

Country Profile
Iceland is a Nordic European Island Country in North Atlantic Ocean.
Iceland has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km² (40,000 sq mi), which makes it the most sparsely populated country in Europe
Capital                                Reykjavik
Currency                             Icelandic Krona
Official Language                Icelandic
Population                          0.32 Million(2011 Estimate)
Flag of Iceland

  






Politics and Government
Iceland is a Parliamentary Representative Democratic Republic where the Prime Minister of Iceland is Head of Govt and of a Multi-Party System.
The President of Iceland is Head of State and is elected for a 4-year term


Vigdís Finnbogadóttir who served as the 4th President of Iceland from 1980 to 1996 was Iceland's and Europe's 1st Female President.

Also she was the world's 1st Democratically Elected Female Head of State.Also with a Presidency of 16 years(August1980-August 1996)she also remains the longest-serving, elected female head of state of any country to date.

 President of Iceland

Olafur Ragnar Grimsson is the 5th and current President of Iceland in office from Aug 1996.

He was -

Elected UN-opposed in the 2000 Presidential Election

Re-Elected in the 2004 Presidential Election 

Elected UN-opposed in the 2008 Presidential Election and

Re-Elected in the 2012 Presidential Election 

 Prime Minister of Iceland

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (Social Democratic Party)is the current Prime Minister of Iceland in office from Feb 01,2009. She is Iceland's longest-serving member of Parliament(member since 1978)

 Icelandic Parliament

 

Iceland's Parliament is called 'Althing' which is composed of 63 members, elected every 4 years.

Iceland's  Volcano Grimsvotn Erupts

Smoke from the Grimsvotn volcano, Iceland is seen from a plane Saturday, May 21, 2011

 Smoke plumes from the Grimsvotn volcano, which lies under the Vatnajokull glacier, about 120 miles, (200 kilometers) east of the capital, Rejkjavik

The eruption at Grimsvotn has so far hit only Iceland, which closed its international airspace. A thick cloud of ash blocked out the daylight at towns and villages at the foot of the glacier where the volcano lies and covered cars and buildings

Iceland's Meteorological Office confirmed that an eruption had begun at the Grimsvotn volcano, accompanied by a series of small earthquakes

Iceland's President Re-elected for 5th Term

 

Olafur Ragnar Grimsson has been re-elected for a 5th term which makes him the longest-serving President in Iceland's history.In a preliminary count,Olafur Ragnar Grimssongot  52.2% Votes and  Thora Arnorsdottir, the closest challenger got 33.8%Votes in the Presidential Election held on June 30,2012.