The Kingdom of Iceland (; ) was a sovereign and independent country under a

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

and

hereditary Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...

monarchy that was established by the Act of Union with

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

signed on 1 December 1918. It lasted until 17 June 1944 when a national referendum established the republic of Iceland in its place. Under 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 ...

, due to the Act of Union, the monarch was simultaneously

monarch of Denmark A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority a ...

. The

Parliament of Iceland The (; ), 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 (' thing fields' or 'assembly fields'), about east of what lat ...

asked that Denmark represent Iceland internationally, and day-to-day matters were delegated to a Danish

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can als ...

for Icelandic affairs based in

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 – after the German invasion of Denmark in 1940 – a

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

was appointed.

History

Origins of Danish rule

Because of the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then in ...

, Iceland had been under the control of the Crown of Denmark since 1380, although formally it had been a Norwegian possession until 1814. In 1874, one thousand years after the first acknowledged settlement, Denmark granted Iceland

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 ...

. The constitution, written the same year, was revised in 1903 and the extent of Iceland's home rule increased in 1904.

Establishment of the kingdom

On 1 December 1918, the Act of Union, an agreement with Denmark, recognized Iceland as a fully

sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...

, an independent country in

with Denmark through a common

monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

. The Kingdom of Iceland established its own flag and

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

and asked that Denmark represent its foreign affairs and defence interests on its behalf while retaining full control over its foreign affairs and defence. Iceland opened its first embassy in 1920. The Act would be reviewed in 1940 and could be revoked three years later if agreement to continue it could not be reached.

World War II, British occupation and the establishment of the republic

During the first year of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Iceland strictly enforced a position of neutrality and took action against both

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and German forces that violated it. The German invasion of Denmark on 9 April 1940 and subsequent occupation severed communications between Iceland and Denmark. As a result, on 10 April, the ''Althing'' passed two resolutions investing the Icelandic cabinet with the power of

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

and declaring that the Kingdom of Iceland would accept full responsibility for both

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

and coastal surveillance. On 10 May 1940, Operation Fork was launched by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

when military forces sailed into Reykjavík Harbour and began an invasion of Iceland. The Government of Iceland issued a protest against what it called a "flagrant violation" of Icelandic neutrality. On the day of the invasion, Prime Minister Hermann Jónasson read a radio announcement instructing Icelanders to treat the British troops as guests. On 15 May 1941, the ''Althing'' adopted a law creating the position of

for

Sveinn Björnsson Sveinn Björnsson (; 27 February 1881 – 25 January 1952) was the first president of Iceland, serving from 1944 to 1952. Background, education and legal career Sveinn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, as the son of Björn Jónsson (editor and ...

in order to represent the monarchy. At its peak, Britain had approximately 25,000 troops stationed in Iceland, all but eliminating unemployment in Reykjavík and other strategically important places. In July 1941, the ''Althingi'' adopted the American–Icelandic defence agreement, passing responsibility for Iceland's defence to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Following a constitutional referendum in May 1944, Iceland formally became a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

on 17 June 1944. King Christian X sent a message of congratulations to the Icelandic people.

Titles of the Crown

* ''

By the Grace of God By the Grace of God (, abbreviated D.G.) is a formulaic phrase used especially in Christian monarchies as an introductory part of the full styles of a monarch. In England and later the United Kingdom, the phrase was formally added to the royal sty ...

, King of Iceland, Denmark, the Wends and the Goths,

Duke of Schleswig The following is a list of earl, jarls and dukes, who ruled over Schleswig respectively Southern Jutland (Sønderjylland). First jarls/dukes House of Estridsen (1080–1375) House of Schauenburg (1325-1459) Under domain of Oldenburg In ...

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

, Stormarn,

Dithmarschen Dithmarschen (, ; archaic English: ''Ditmarsh''; ; ) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Flensburg, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, and Steinburg, by the ...

Lauenburg Lauenburg (), or Lauenburg an der Elbe (; ), is a town in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the northern bank of the river Elbe, east of Hamburg. It is overall the southernmost town of Schleswig-Holstein and belongs to ...

and Oldenburg''.

Flags

File:Light Blue Flag of Iceland.svg, Flag of Iceland (1915–1944)Iceland – Flag History
at '' Flags of the World''. Retrieved on 18 March 2014. File:State flag of Iceland (1918–1944).svg, State Flag of Iceland (1915–1944) File:Royal Standard of Iceland (1921-1944).svg, Royal Standard (1921–1944)Iceland – Royal Standard
at '' Flags of the World''. Retrieved on 18 March 2014. File:Standard of the Regent of Iceland (1941–1944).svg, Standard of the Regent (1941–1944)

References

Bibliography

"Iceland, Home Rule and Sovereignty (1904–44)"
at ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

''. Retrieved on 17 March 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Iceland, Kingdom of 1918 establishments in Iceland 1944 disestablishments in Iceland 20th century in Iceland

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 ...

Former Danish colonies Former kingdoms Island countries States and territories disestablished in 1944 States and territories established in 1918