Why Iceland has the best

form of Government?
Alex

- Fig 1. National Flag of Iceland

About Iceland
- It is located in Northern Europe, and is an island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, northwest of the United Kingdom.
- Its landmass is of 103,000 sq km.
- It has a population of 360 000.
- The Capital of Iceland is Reykjavík
- The national language is Icelandic
- Iceland ranks first on the Global Gender Gap Index

for the ninth year in a row.

- Fig. 2 Map of Iceland.

Iceland’s Government
Iceland is a constitutional republic with a multi-party system. The head of state is the President.
Executive power is exercised by the Government. Iceland is arguably the world's oldest parliamentary
democracy, with the Parliament, the Althingi, established in 930. The office of President was established
in the Constitution of the Republic of Iceland which took effect on June 17 1944.

- Fig 3. Althingi/Iceland parliament house.

The President
Guðni Th. Johannesson is the current president of Iceland, is the country's head of state, and the only
representative chosen by the entire electorate in a direct election. Before taking office as president,
Guðni was Professor of history at the University of Iceland. He has taught at the University of Iceland,
Reykjavik University, Bifröst University and the University of London.

- President of iceland Guðni Th. Johannesson. oxford-union

Structure of Iceland’s government
Legislative power is invested in both the Parliament and the President. The judiciary is independent of the
executive and the legislature.
Every fourth year the electorate chooses, by secret ballot, 63 representatives to sit in Althingi. Anyone
who is eligible to vote, with the exception of the President and judges of the Supreme Court, can stand
for parliament. Following each election, the President gives a leader of a political party the authority to
form a cabinet, usually beginning with the leader of the largest party. If unsuccessful; the President will
ask another political party leader to form a government.
A cabinet of ministers stays in power until the next general election or a new government is formed. The
ministers sit in Althingi, but only those elected have the right to vote in parliament.
The president is elected by direct popular vote for a term of four years, with no term limit.
Judicial power lies with the Supreme Court and the district courts.
Iceland Happiness Index
The average value for Iceland during this period was
7.49 points with a minimum of 7.36 points in 2013 and a
maximum of 7.56 points in 2015. Iceland ranks forth out
of 200 other countries on the on the world happiness
index.

- Fig. 4 Graph of Iceland: Global Happiness Index.

Conclusion
In conclusion I believe that Iceland has the best form of government because:

- Iceland has universal healthcare that is paid for by taxes

- They rank forth on the global happiness Index
- Iceland rank’s first place for gender equality (above Norway, Finland, Rwanda,
and sweden)
Bibliography
“The World Factbook.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 26 Apr. 2018, www.cia.gov/index.html.

“Iceland Happiness Index.” TheGlobalEconomy.com, www.theglobaleconomy.com/index_api.php.

“How Is Iceland Governed?” Go to Frontpage, www.government.is/topics/governance-and-national-symbols/how-is-iceland-governed/.

“President of Iceland.” Forseti.is, www.forseti.is/en.

MYP 3 I&S Summative Unit 2

Criterion C: Communicating

i Effective & appropriate style

ii Appropriate structure
iii MLA formatting