History of the Icelandic Parliament

Iceland is a peaceful country, referred to as Iceland. Located in the northeastern part of Atlantic Ocean, close to the Arctic Circle, it is the second largest island in Europe. It covers an area of ??103,106 square kilometers. The population is 240,000 (1984), all of whom are Icelanders, of Germanic and Norwegian descent. Icelandic is the national language. Lutheran Christianity is the state religion. The capital is Reykjavik.

The Immigration Period and the Ancient Icelandic War In 860 AD, a Norwegian ship was wrecked and drifted to Iceland. The tribal leader Ingolf Arnason, who was expelled by the King of Norway in 874, led his family and slaves to settle in Iceland. They named a place with self-effluent hot springs Reykjavik (Smoking Fjord). ). Since then, the number of immigrants from Norway and occasionally from Ireland has continued to increase. In the early 10th century, the immigration period in Iceland's history ended.

In 930, a general assembly of residents called Altyn was held for the first time in Reykjavik. Altyn is both a legislative assembly and a court for arbitration disputes. In 965, Alting divided the island into 4 administrative districts, each with a court jointly presided over by three patriarchs, forming the ancient Republic of Iceland. The economy has developed greatly during this period. Christianity was introduced and became the state religion in 1000 AD. As feudal nobles flocked to Norway, Iceland became a vassal state of Norway in 1262, with a governor appointed by the King of Norway to govern it, thus ending the 300-year-old ancient war.

Iceland after 1202. After Iceland surrendered to Norway, Altyn lost its legislative power and only played the role of a judicial organ. The Governor-General of Norway applies Norwegian laws to Iceland and has the power to make decisions on Icelandic affairs. In 1380, the King of Denmark also became the King of Norway, and Iceland became a vassal state of Denmark, which aroused opposition from the Icelandic people. In 1534, Norway was annexed by Denmark, and Iceland became a Danish territory. In the late 1630s, Archbishop J. Arathon (1484-1550) of the Diocese of Kola mobilized the Icelandic people to oppose Danish rule, which was later suppressed. In 1602, King Christian IV of Denmark implemented a trade monopoly system in Iceland, stipulating that Danish merchants in Copenhagen and other three places had the privilege to engage in trade in Iceland. Trade monopoly restricted Iceland's economic development for a long time, and it was not until 1854 that Denmark was forced to abolish this system.

Since the mid-19th century, the Icelandic nationalist movement has gradually gained momentum under the leadership of J. Sigurdsson (1811-1879). Under the pressure of the Icelandic people demanding autonomy and independence, Denmark had to agree to Iceland's reconstruction of Altyn in 1843, but stipulated that Altyn was only an advisory body rather than a power authority. In 1849, Iceland demanded internal autonomy, and in 1851 a national conference was held to formally propose the idea of ??autonomy. After negotiations, Iceland won the power to implement internal autonomy in 1874. Altyn became a legislative body and formulated its own constitution, but all major issues still needed to be submitted to the Danish government for approval. In 1903, Iceland established a separate government to handle domestic affairs. The Icelandic Independence Party was established at the end of the 19th century. In 1916, the Social Democratic Party and the Progressive Party were also established. These parties played a role in the struggle for independence. On November 30, 1918, Denmark and Iceland signed a treaty of alliance, stipulating that Iceland was a sovereign country, but foreign affairs were controlled by Denmark. The King of Denmark remains Iceland's head of state. After Denmark was occupied by fascist Germany in April 1940, the connection between Iceland and Denmark was cut off. Iceland's Altyn declared the exercise of diplomatic rights and military defense rights. In May, Britain sent troops to occupy Iceland. On July 8, 1941, Iceland and the United States signed the "Wartime Defense Treaty", and the US military stationed in Iceland instead of the British army.

Before the end of World War II, Iceland announced the expiration of the Icelandic Alliance Treaty on February 25, 1944. On March 8, Iceland's Altyn passed a new constitution and decided to establish the Republic of Korea. On June 16, it was officially announced that Iceland would leave the Danish-Iceland Alliance. On June 17, the Republic of Iceland was proclaimed, with S. Bjersson serving as its first president. U.S. troops in Iceland withdrew in 1945, leaving only Keflavik Air Base. Iceland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949 and concluded a treaty with the United States in 1951, allowing the United States to station troops in Iceland on the condition that the United States assumes responsibility for Iceland's defense. Before 1956, most Icelandic governments were jointly formed by the Peasants' Progress Party and the Independence Party. After 1959, most governments were formed jointly by the Social Democratic Party and the Independence Party. The issue of U.S. military bases has long been a political issue of concern to the Icelandic people. In 1971, the Icelandic government, which was jointly formed by political parties such as the People's Alliance and the Left Liberal Alliance, demanded that the United States withdraw its troops. On December 8 of the same year, Iceland established diplomatic relations with China.

Another major problem that Iceland often encounters is the delimitation of fishing areas. In 1958, Iceland decided to expand its fishing zone to 12 nautical miles. Britain repeatedly opposed it and only recognized it two years later. In the 1960s, the international fishing industry was in recession. In order to protect national interests, Iceland expanded the fishing zone to 50 nautical miles in 1972. The United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Germany lodged strong protests against this. The United Kingdom also dispatched warships to escort British fishing boats, and had many disputes with Icelandic patrol boats, forming a protracted fishing war between the two countries. The International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled in 1974 that it refused to recognize the 50-nautical-mile fishing zone declared by Iceland. Iceland announced in 1974 that it would expand the fishing zone to 200 nautical miles.

Iceland and the United Kingdom severed diplomatic relations in 1976. After three months of negotiations, the United Kingdom recognized Iceland's 200-mile fishing zone and restored diplomatic relations with Iceland. On August 1, 1980, V. Finnbogadottir became the world's first democratically elected female president and was re-elected on August 1, 1984.