Politics of Iceland
Government Constitution of Iceland Law Taxation Constitutional reform
Legislature Althing Speaker Birgir Ármannsson (D) Members of Parliament Constituencies
Executive President of Iceland Halla Tómasdóttir (I) Prime Minister of Iceland Bjarni Benediktsson (D) Cabinet
Judiciary Supreme Court of Iceland President Benedikt Bogason Justices of the Court
Elections Presidential Parliamentary 2012 referendum
Political parties List of political parties
Administrative divisions Regions (Landshlutar) Municipalities (Sveitarfélög) Localities (Kaupstaðir)
Foreign relations Diplomatic missions of Iceland in Iceland Iceland and the European Union Cod Wars (1950s / 1970s)
Iceland portal Other countries
v t e

Iceland was historically divided into 23 counties known as sýslur (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈsistlʏr̥]), and 23 independent towns known as kaupstaðir ([ˈkʰœypˌstaːðɪr̥]). Iceland is now split up between 24 sýslumenn (magistrates) that are the highest authority over the local police (except in Reykjavík where there is a special office of police commissioner) and carry out administrative functions such as declaring bankruptcy and marrying people outside of the church. The jurisdictions of these magistrates often follow the lines of the historical counties, but not always. When speaking of these new "administrative" counties, the custom is to associate them with the county seats rather than using the names of the traditional counties, even when they cover the same area.

Independent towns (kaupstaðir) were first created in the 18th century as urbanisation began in Iceland; this practice continued into the 1980s. The last town that was declared an independent town was Ólafsvík in 1983. Since then, the laws regarding municipalities have been changed in such a way that there is no longer any distinction made between urban or rural municipalities.

The historical counties were:

• Árnessýsla [ˈaurˌnɛsˌsistla]
• Austur-Barðastrandarsýsla [ˈœystʏr-ˈparðaˌstrantarˌsistla]
• Austur-Húnavatnssýsla [ˈœystʏr-ˈhuːnaˌvasːˌsistla]
• Austur-Skaftafellssýsla [ˈœystʏr-ˈskaftaˌfɛlsˌsistla]
• Borgarfjarðarsýsla [ˈpɔrkarˌfjarðarˌsistla]
• Dalasýsla [ˈtaːlaˌsistla]
• Eyjafjarðarsýsla [ˈeiːjaˌfjarðarˌsistla]
• Gullbringusýsla [ˈkʏtl̥ˌpriŋkʏˌsistla]
• Kjósarsýsla [ˈcʰouːsarˌsistla]
• Mýrasýsla [ˈmiːraˌsistla]
• Norður-Ísafjarðarsýsla [ˈnɔrðʏr-ˈiːsaˌfjarðarˌsistla]
• Norður-Múlasýsla [ˈnɔrðʏr-ˈmuːlaˌsistla]
• Norður-Þingeyjarsýsla [ˈnɔrðʏr-ˈθiŋkˌeiːjarˌsistla]
• Rangárvallasýsla [ˈrauŋkˌaurˌvatlaˌsistla]
• Skagafjarðarsýsla [ˈskaːɣaˌfjarðarˌsistla]
• Snæfellsnes- og Hnappadalssýsla [ˈstnaiːˌfɛlsˌnɛːs- ɔɣ ˈn̥ahpaˌtalsˌsistla]
• Strandasýsla [ˈstrantaˌsistla]
• Suður-Múlasýsla [ˈsʏːðʏr-ˈmuːlaˌsistla]
• Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla [ˈsʏːðʏr-ˈθiŋkˌeiːjarˌsistla]
• Vestur-Barðastrandarsýsla [ˈvɛstʏr-ˈparðaˌstrantarˌsistla]
• Vestur-Húnavatnssýsla [ˈvɛstʏr-ˈhuːnaˌvasːˌsistla]
• Vestur-Ísafjarðarsýsla [ˈvɛstʏr-ˈiːsaˌfjarðarˌsistla]
• Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla [ˈvɛstʏr-ˈskaftaˌfɛlsˌsistla]

The 23 independent towns were:

• Akranes
• Akureyri (with Grímsey)
• Bolungarvík
• Dalvík
• Eskifjörður
• Garðabær
• Grindavík
• Grundarfjörður (in the past)
• Hafnarfjörður
• Húsavík
• Ísafjörður
• Keflavík
• Kópavogur
• Neskaupstaður
• Njarðvík
• Ólafsfjörður
• Ólafsvík
• Reykjavík
• Sauðárkrókur
• Selfoss
• Seltjarnarnes
• Seyðisfjörður
• Siglufjörður
• Vestmannaeyjar

• Farthings of Iceland
• Regions of Iceland
• Municipalities of Iceland
• Constituencies of Iceland

v t e Iceland articles
History	By topic Economic Military Nationality Prohibition Rulers Timeline Settlement Commonwealth Christianization Aristocracy Sturlung Era Reformation Danish trade monopoly Independence Movement Kingdom World War II Invasion Cold War Cod Wars 2008–2011 financial crisis
Geography	Natural Climate Earthquakes Extreme points Fjords Forests Geology Glaciers Highlands Islands Lakes National parks Rivers Valleys Volcanoes Waterfalls Wildlife Political Constituencies Counties Farthings Localities Municipalities Regions
Politics	Administrative divisions Cabinet Constitution Elections Foreign relations Human rights Law Law enforcement LGBT rights Military Parliament Political parties President Prime Minister Supreme Court
Economy	Agriculture Banking Communications Króna (currency) Energy Nasdaq Iceland Nordic model Outvasion Taxation Tourism Transport
Society	Abortion Demographics Education Healthcare Icelanders Icelandic Language Languages Religion Women Culture Anthem Architecture Art Chess Cinema Coat of arms Cuisine Flag Literature Mass media Music Names National costume Public holidays Sport Television
Outline Index Category Portal