Minister for Iceland (, ; ) was a post in the Danish cabinet for

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic affairs.

History

The post was established on 5 January 1874 as, according to the

Constitution of Iceland The Constitution of Iceland (Icelandic language, Icelandic: ''Stjórnarskrá lýðveldisins Íslands'' "Constitution of the republic of Iceland") is the supreme law of Iceland. It is composed of 80 articles in seven sections, and within it the l ...

, the executive power rested in the

king of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe Is ...

through the Danish cabinet. The Constitutional Act of Iceland of 3 October 1903 stated that the minister for Iceland had to be a resident of

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

and be able to read and write Icelandic. The minister was responsible to the Icelandic

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. The post of Minister for Iceland was part of the post of Justice Minister of Denmark until 1904 when Iceland obtained extended

home rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

. After an agreement with the

Social Liberal Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...

government in Copenhagen in January 1917, Jón Magnússon formed the first coalition government consisting of three ministers and with a majority in the Althing behind it.

Parliamentarism A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of the legisl ...

was thus implemented in Iceland. Jón Magnússon got the title ''forsætisráðherra Íslands'' (

Prime Minister of Iceland The prime minister of Iceland () is head of government of the Republic of Iceland. The prime minister is appointed formally by the president of Iceland, president and exercises executive authority along with the Cabinet of Iceland, cabinet subje ...

, but literally chairman or president of the ministers), while all three ministers were also formally members of the Danish cabinet each with the title Minister of Iceland. In 1918, the Danish–Icelandic Act of Union recognised Iceland as an independent and sovereign state in a

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

with Denmark. The

Kingdom of Iceland The Kingdom of Iceland (; ) was a sovereign and independent country under a constitutional and hereditary monarchy that was established by the Act of Union with Denmark signed on 1 December 1918. It lasted until 17 June 1944 when a national ...

was established and the post of Minister for Iceland was closed down on 30 November 1918.

List of ministers

Constitution (1874–1904)

Home rule (1904–1918)

References

*Dam, Poul (1996). ''Hvem var minister'' (3. edition). Aros. . *Skou, Kaare R. (2005). ''Dansk politik A–Å''. Aschehoug. . *Sundbøl, Per (1978). ''Dansk Islandspolitik 1913-1918''. Odense Universitetsforlag. . {{Ministers of Iceland 1874 establishments in Denmark 1918 disestablishments

Denmark–Iceland relations

History

List of ministers

Constitution (1874–1904)

Home rule (1904–1918)

See also

References