The politics of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous country (Danish: land) of the Kingdom of Denmark, function within the framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic dependency, whereby the Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands is the head of government,[1] and of a multi-party system. The Faroe Islands are politically associated with the Kingdom of Denmark but have been self-governing since 1948. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Løgting. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and the responsibility of Denmark.[citation needed]
Executive branch
edit| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| King | Frederik X | 14 January 2024 | |
| High Commissioner | Lene Moyell Johansen | 15 May 2017 | |
| Prime Minister | Aksel V. Johannesen | Social Democratic | 22 December 2022 |
The high commissioner is appointed by the Monarch of Denmark. The High Commissioner has a seat in the Løgting, with the ability to speak in the Løgting regarding common Danish/Faroese affairs, but is unable to vote.[2] Following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually given the initiative to establish a new coalition by the Faroese Parliament, unless the current Løgmaður (Prime Minister in English) is still in power. However, if he or she fails, the chairman of the parliament asks all chairmen of the parties elected to the parliament, and asks them to point to another chairman who they feel can rightly form a new coalition. The chairman with the most votes is then handed the initiative. After forming the coalition, the Løgmaður leads the landsstýri. The landsstýri will often consist of around 7 members. The coalition parties divide the various ministries among themselves and after this, the parties elect their representative to these ministries. Any other member of the cabinet is called a landsstýrismaður if the person is a man, or landsstýriskvinna if the person is a woman. The word ráðharri is also used for a member of the cabinet, i.e. mentamálaráðharri (minister of culture) or heilsumálaráðharri (minister of health).
Current government
editFollowing the 2022 Faroese general election, a new government, consisting of three parties (Social Democratic Party, Republic, and Progress) under Prime Minister Aksel V. Johannesen[3] was created.
| Portfolio | Minister | Took office | Left office | Party | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister | 22 December 2022[4] | Incumbent | Social Democratic | |||
| Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Trade and Industry | 22 December 2022[4] | Incumbent | Republic | |||
| Minister of Finance | 22 December 2022[4] | Incumbent | Progress | |||
| Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs | 22 December 2022[4] | Incumbent | Progress | |||
| Minister of Social Affairs and Culture | 22 December 2022[4] | Incumbent | Republic | |||
| Minister of Health | 22 December 2022[4] | Incumbent | Social Democratic | |||
| Minister of Fisheries | 22 December 2022[4] | Incumbent | Republic | |||
| Minister of Children and Education | 22 December 2022[4] | Incumbent | Social Democratic | |||
| Minister of Environment | 22 December 2022[4] | Incumbent | Social Democratic | |||
Legislative branch
editThe Faroese Parliament (Løgtingið in Faroese) has 33 MPs (members of parliament), elected for a four-year term by proportional representation.
Election of 2 seats to the Danish Parliament was last held 31 October 2022: Social Democrat 1, Unionist 1.
Political parties and elections
editThe Faroe Islands have a multi-party system (disputing on independence and unionism as well as left and right), with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. The Faroese Parliament (Løgting) has 33 seats. Members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. For the Løgting elections, there were seven electoral districts, each one comprehending asýslur, while Streymoy is divided into northern and southern parts (Tórshavn region), but since 2008, the Faroes constitute a single district.[5]
- Fólkaflokkurin (A): People's Party
- Sambandsflokkurin (B): Union Party
- Javnaðarflokkurin (C): Social Democratic Party
- Sjálvstýri (D): Self-Government
- Tjóðveldi (E): Republic
- Framsókn (F): Progress
- Miðflokkurin (H): Centre Party
 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| Social Democratic Party | 9,094 | 26.58 | 9 | +2 | |
| Union Party | 6,834 | 19.98 | 7 | 0 | |
| People's Party | 6,473 | 18.92 | 6 | –2 | |
| Republic | 6,057 | 17.71 | 6 | 0 | |
| Progress | 2,571 | 7.52 | 3 | +1 | |
| Centre Party | 2,242 | 6.55 | 2 | 0 | |
| Self-Government | 938 | 2.74 | 0 | –1 | |
| Total | 34,209 | 100.00 | 33 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 34,209 | 99.57 | |||
| Invalid votes | 52 | 0.15 | |||
| Blank votes | 95 | 0.28 | |||
| Total votes | 34,356 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 39,020 | 88.05 | |||
| Source: kvf.fo | |||||
Administrative divisions
editThe islands are administratively divided into 29 municipalities with about 120 cities and villages.
Traditionally, there are also the 6 sýslur (Norðoyar, Eysturoy, Streymoy, Vágar, Sandoy, and Suðuroy). Sýsla means district and although it is only a police district today, it is still commonly understood as a geographical region. In earlier times, each sýsla had its own ting, the so-called várting (spring ting).
International affairs
editThe nation continues to be intimately tied with the Nordic countries of Europe and the European Union.
Along with diplomatic missions to Iceland, the Court of St. James's (United Kingdom), Russia, and the European Union,[6] the Faroe Islands participate in the Nordic Council, NIB, International Maritime Organization, International Whaling Commission (Complete list of participation of the Faroe Islands in international organisations).
Further reading
edit- Debes, Hans Jacob. 1988. "Reflections on the Position, Participation and Co-Operation of Small Nations in International Politics Case The Faroe Islands". Nordic Journal of International Law. 573: 365–368.
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Mfa.fo, Prime Minister's Office, Government".
- ^ "Stm.dk, the website of the High Commissioner of the Faroe Islands, as part of the Danish Prime Minister's Office".
- ^ "New government has been formed". kvf.fo. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Meet the new government - Nine ministers have been appointed in the new government". kvf.fo. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ Logting.elektron.fo, 5 Uppskot til løgtingslóg um broyting í løgtingslóg um val til Føroya Løgting (in Faroese)
- ^ "Missions of the Faroes abroad, government.fo (without date)".