Iceland National Day - June 17

Icelandic National Day is an Annual Holiday in Iceland which Commemorates the Foundation of the Republic of Iceland on  June 17,1944 and its independence from Danish rule

The date was chosen to coincide with the birthday of Jon Sigurosson , a major figure of Icelandic Culture and the leader of the 20th century Icelandic Independence Movement

About Iceland 

  

Iceland is a Nordic Island Country between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean 

Iceland has a population of 329,100 and an area of 103,000 km² (40,000 sq mi), making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe

The capital and largest city is Reykjavik. Reykjavík and the surrounding areas in the southwest of the country are home to over two-thirds of the population.

From 1262 to 1918, Iceland was ruled by Norway and later Denmark. The country became Independent in 1918 and a Republic in 1944

Iceland was the first country in the world to have a political party formed and led entirely by women.^[70] Known as the Women's List or Women's Alliance (Kvennalistinn), it was founded in 1983 to advance the political, economic, and social needs of women. After participating in its first parliamentary elections, the Women's List helped increase the proportion of female parliamentarians by 15%.^[71] Although it disbanded in 1999, merging with the Social Democratic Alliance, it left a lasting influence on Iceland's politics: every major party has a 40% quota for women, and in 2009 nearly a third of members of parliament were female, compared to the global average of 16%

Parliament of Iceland(Althing) in Reykjavik

 

It currently has 63 members, elected for a maximum period of four years

The governments of Iceland have always been coalition governments, with two or more parties involved, as no single political party has ever received a majority of seats in the Althing throughout the republican period

Population of Iceland

As per the January 2015 estimate -329100

Currency of Iceland 

Icelandic Krona

Independence in 1918

The Danish-Icelandic Act of Union , an agreement with Denmark signed on December 01,1918 and valid for 25 years, recognised Iceland as a fully sovereign state in a personal union with Denmark

Republic in 1944

On December 31,1943, the Danish-Icelandic Act of Union expired after 25 years. Beginning on May 20,1944, Icelanders voted in a four-day plebiscite on whether to terminate the personal union with Denmark, abolish the monarchy, and establish a republic. The vote was 97% to end the union, and 95% in favour of the new republican constitution