| Full name: |
Republic of Iceland / Lýðveldið Ísland |
| National anthem: |
"Lofsöngur"(Song of Praise)
"Ó, gud vors lands" (O, God of Our Land) |
| National symbol: |
Gyrfalcon |
| National holiday: |
Independence Day, 17 June (Independence from Denmark 1944; celebrated on the birthday of Jon Sigurdsson, leader of Iceland's 19th century independence movement). |
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| Current Government: |
Head of State: President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson (since 1 August 1996). Election last held on 30 June 2012 (next to be held in June 2016).
Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson (since 23 May 2013. Following elections, the leader of the majority party or coalition is usually appointed as prime minister. |
| Constitution: Republic, parliamentary democracy. Several previous constitutions; latest ratified June 1944 at independence; amended many times. A new constitution drafted in 2012 in the aftermath of the country's banking collapse was voted down in April 2013 by the recently elected parliament, though several amendments to the previous constitution were passed. |
| Single chamber Althingi (parliament) (63 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms). Elections last held in April 2013. |
Member of EFTA, NATO, OECD, OSCE, Schengen treaty.
EU (candidate country). Applied for EU membership in July 2009. Accession negotiations started in July 2010 and were put on hold by the Icelandic government in May 2013. Iceland also participates, though without voting rights, in a number of EU agencies and programmes. |
| Defence: Iceland has no standing military force; US military forces in Iceland were withdrawn in October 2006; the defence of Iceland is a NATO commitment and NATO maintains an air policing presence in Icelandic airspace; Iceland participates in international peacekeeping missions with a Crisis Response Unit manned by civilians. |
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