Today is the 70th anniversary when Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic.Iceland in full the Republic of Iceland is a Nordic country between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. It has a population of 325,671 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 Reykjavík; the surrounding areas in the South-West of the country are home to two-thirds of the population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior consists mainly of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, while many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. According to Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in AD 874 when the chieftainIngólfr Arnarson became the first permanent Norse settler on the island. In the following centuries, Norsemen settled Iceland, bringing with them thralls of Gaelic origin. From 1262 to 1918, Iceland was ruled by Norway and later Denmark. The country becameindependent in 1918 and a republic in 1944. Icelandic culture is founded upon the nations Norse heritage. Most Icelanders are descendants of Norse and Gaelic settlers. Icelandic, a North Germanic language, is descended from Old Norse and is closely related to Faroese and West Norwegian dialects. The countrys cultural heritage includes traditional Icelandic cuisine, Icelandic literature andmediaeval sagas. Iceland has the smallest population of any NATO member and is the only one with no standing army, its lightly armed Coast Guard being in charge of defence. The Danish–Icelandic Act of Union, an agreement with Denmark signed on 1 December 1918 and valid for 25 years, recognised Iceland as a fully sovereign state in a personal union with Denmark. The Government of Iceland established an embassy in Copenhagen and requested that Denmark handle Icelandic foreign policy. Danish embassies around the world displayed two coats of arms and two flags: those of the Kingdom of Denmark and those of the Kingdom of Iceland. During World War II, Iceland joined Denmark in asserting neutrality. After the German occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940, the Althing replaced the King with a regent and declared that the Icelandic government should assume the control of foreign affairs and other matters previously handled by Denmark. A month later, British armed forces invaded and occupied the country, violating Icelandic neutrality. In 1941, the occupation was taken over by the United States, so that Britain could use its troops elsewhere, an arrangement reluctantly agreed to by the Icelandic authorities. On 31 December 1943, the Danish–Icelandic Act of Union expired after 25 years. Beginning on 20 May 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.[28] Iceland formally became a republic on 17 June 1944, with Sveinn Björnsson as its first president. In 1946, the Allied occupation force left Iceland. The nation formally became a member of NATOon 30 March 1949, amid domestic controversy and riots. On 5 May 1951, a defence agreement was signed with the United States. American troops returned to Iceland as the Iceland Defence Force, and remained throughout the Cold War. The US withdrew the last of its forces on 30 September 2006. Iceland had prospered during the war. The immediate post-war period was followed by substantial economic growth, driven by industrialisation of the fishing industry and the US Marshall Plan programme, through which Icelanders received the most aid per capita of any European country (at USD 209, with the war-ravaged Netherlands a distant second at USD 109).[29][30] The 1970s were marked by the Cod Wars — several disputes with the United Kingdom over Icelands extension of its fishing limits to 200 miles offshore. The economy was greatly diversified and liberalised following Icelands joining the European Economic Area in 1994. Iceland hosted a summit in Reykjavík in 1986 between United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, during which they took significant steps toward nuclear disarmament. A few years later, Iceland became the first country to recognize the independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as they broke away from the USSR. Throughout the 1990s, the country expanded its international role and developed a foreign policy oriented toward humanitarian and peacekeeping causes. To that end, Iceland provided aid and expertise to various NATO-led interventions in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Iraq. The Founding of the Republic of Iceland took place in early 1944, when the Alþing (Althing in English), the Icelandic parliament, on February 25, 1944 decided to formally sever the ties between Iceland and the Danish monarchy, in accordance with the stipulations provided in the 1918 Danish–Icelandic Act of Union, which had granted Iceland independence, but maintained the two countries in a union, with the King of Denmark also as King of Iceland, in a personal union. The Alþing passed a law to the effect that on May 20–23, 1944 a national referendum should take place to confirm or reject the decision of the parliament. After an overwhelming majority in favour of republican independence (99%) and a new constitution (95%), the Republican Celebration (Lýðveldishátiðin) was held on June 17, 1944 in Þingvellir, where the Alþing formally severed the ties to the Danish monarchy, founded the Republic of Iceland, and elected its first president,Sveinn Björnsson. The Republican Celebration was held in Þingvellir on June 17, 1944. At 13:30, Prime MinisterBjörn Þórðarson officially set the celebrations going, after which a religious ceremony was held. The new flag of the Republic of Iceland was raised, and the members of parliament rose from their seats, as church bells rang. All declared unilaterally that Iceland would henceforth be a republic. The members of parliament then voted on who should be the first President of the Republic, and chose Sveinn Björnsson, who had been regent of Iceland and the Kings placeholder during the war years. Sveinn thus became the first president of Iceland, and the only one not elected directly by the people of Iceland.
Posted on: Wed, 18 Jun 2014 03:45:38 +0000
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