Althing
The Alþingi, anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at Þingvellir, about east of what later became the country's capital, Reykjavík. The present parliament building, the Alþingishúsið, was built in 1881 of hewn Icelandic stone. The unicameral parliament has 63 members, and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional representation. Þórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir became speaker of the Althing in February 2025.
After Iceland's union with Norway in 1262, the Althing lost its legislative power, which was not restored until 1904, when Iceland gained home rule from Denmark. For 641 years, the Althing did not serve as the parliament of Iceland; ultimate power rested with the Norwegian, and subsequently, Danish throne. Even after Iceland's union with Norway in 1262, the Althing still held its sessions at Þingvellir until 1800, when it was discontinued. It was restored in 1844 by royal decree and moved to Reykjavík. The restored unicameral legislature first came together in 1845, and after 1874 operated in two chambers with an additional third chamber taking on a greater role as the decades passed, until 1991, when Althing became once again unicameral.
The constitution of Iceland provides for six electoral constituencies with the possibility of an increase to seven. The constituency boundaries and the number of seats allocated to each constituency are fixed by legislation. No constituency can be represented by fewer than six seats. Furthermore, each party with more than 5% of the national vote is allocated seats based on its proportion of the national vote in order that the number of members in parliament for each political party should be more or less proportional to its overall electoral support. If the number of voters represented by each member of the Althing in one constituency would be less than half of the comparable ratio in another constituency, the Icelandic National Electoral Commission is tasked with altering the allocation of seats to reduce the difference.
Historical background
Foundation: 930–1262
The Althing claims to be the longest-running parliament in the world. Its establishment as an outdoor assembly or thing held on the plains of Þingvellir from about 930, laid the foundation for an independent national existence in Iceland. To begin with, the Althing was a general assembly of the Icelandic Commonwealth, where the country's most powerful leaders met to decide on legislation and dispense justice. All free men could attend the assemblies, which were usually the main social event of the year and drew large crowds of farmers and their families, parties involved in legal disputes, traders, craftsmen, storytellers, and travellers. Those attending the assembly lived in temporary camps during the session. The centre of the gathering was the Lögberg, or Law Rock, a rocky outcrop on which the Lawspeaker took his seat as the presiding official of the assembly. His responsibilities included reciting aloud the laws in effect at the time. It was his duty to proclaim the procedural law of the Althing to those attending the assembly each year.The Gulathing Law was adopted in 930 at the first Althing, introduced by Úlfljótr, who had spent three years in Norway studying their laws. The Icelandic laws conferred a privileged status on the Danes, Swedes and Norwegians.
According to Njáls saga, the Althing declared Christianity as the official religion in 1000. By the summer of 1000, the leaders of Iceland had agreed that prosecuting close relatives for blaspheming the old gods was obligatory. Iceland was in the midst of unrest from the spread of Christianity that was introduced by travelers and missionaries sent by the Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason. The outbreak of warfare in Denmark and Norway prompted Thorgeir Ljosvetningagodi, a pagan and chieftain of the Althing, to propose "one law and one religion" to rule over the whole of Iceland, making baptism and conversion to Christianity required by law.Public addresses on matters of importance were delivered at the Law Rock and there the assembly was called to order and dissolved. The Lögrétta, the legislative section of the assembly, was its most powerful institution. It comprised the 39 district Chieftains plus nine additional members and the Lawspeaker. As the legislative section of the Althing, the Lögrétta took a stand on legal conflicts, adopted new laws and granted exemptions to existing laws. The Althing of old also performed a judicial function and heard legal disputes in addition to the spring assemblies held in each district. After the country had been divided into four-quarters around 965, a court of 36 judges was established for each of them at the Althing. Another court was established early in the 11th century. It served as a supreme court of sorts, and assumed the function of hearing cases left unsettled by the other courts. It comprised 48 judges appointed by the goðar of Lögrétta.
Monarchy: 1262–1800
When the Icelanders submitted to the authority of the Norwegian king under the terms of the "Old Covenant" in 1262, the function of the Althing changed. The organization of the Commonwealth came to an end and the rule of the country by goðar ceased. Executive power now rested with the king and his officials, the Royal Commissioners and District Commissioners. As before, the Lögrétta, now comprising 36 members, continued to be its principal institution and shared formal legislative power with the king. Laws adopted by the Lögrétta were subject to royal assent and, conversely, if the king initiated legislation, the Althing had to give its consent. The Lawspeaker was replaced by two legal administrators, called lögmenn.Towards the end of the 14th century, royal succession brought both Norway and Iceland under the control of the Danish monarchy. With the introduction of absolute monarchy in Denmark, the Icelanders relinquished their autonomy to the Crown, including the right to initiate and consent to legislation. After that, the Althing served almost exclusively as a court of law until the year 1800.
High Court: 1800–1845
The Althing was disbanded by royal decree in 1800. A new High Court, established by this same decree and located in Reykjavík, took over the functions of Lögrétta. The three appointed judges first convened in Hólavallarskóli on 10 August 1801. The High Court was to hold regular sessions and function as the court of highest instance in the country. It operated until 1920, when the Supreme Court of Iceland was established.Consultative assembly: 1845–1874
A royal decree providing for the establishment of a new Althing was issued on 8 March 1843. Elections were held the following year and the assembly finally met on 1 July 1845 in Reykjavík. Some Icelandic nationalists did not want Reykjavík as the location for the newly established Althing due to the perception that the city was too influenced by Danes. Jón Sigurðsson claimed that the situating of the Althing in Reykjavík would help make the city Icelandic.It comprised 26 members sitting in a single chamber. One member was elected in each of 20 electoral districts and six "royally nominated Members" were appointed by the king. Suffrage was, following the Danish model, limited to males of substantial means and at least 25 years of age, which to begin with meant only about 5% of the population. A regular session lasted four weeks and could be extended if necessary. During this period, the Althing acted merely as a consultative body for the Crown. It examined proposed legislation and individual members could raise questions for discussion. Draft legislation submitted by the government was given two readings, an introductory one and a final one. Proposals which were adopted were called petitions. The new Althing made a number of improvements to legislation and to the administration of the country.