Politics of the Faroe Islands

Politics of the Faroe Islands
Constitution Constitution Act of Succession Freedom of Speech and the Press Taxation
The Crown Monarch King Frederik X Privy Council Purveyors to the Royal Court
The unity of the Realm  Kingdom of Denmark  Faroe Islands  Denmark  Greenland
Executive Regeringen The Government of Denmark list ) Lene Moyell Johansen Landsstýri The Government of the Faroe Islands Premier Aksel V. Johannesen Deputy Premier Høgni Hoydal Johannesen Cabinet Privy Council Council of State Queen Margrethe II
Legislature 35th National Parliament ) Speaker Páll á Reynatúgvu Members 69th Kingdom Parliament ) Speaker Pia Kjærsgaard Members
Supreme Court President Poul Søgaard Courts
Elections Political parties Recent elections Kingdom: 2019 2015 2011 National: 2019 2015 2011 Referendums Alcohol (1907) Independence Alcohol (1973) Act of Succession
Administrative divisions Regions Municipalities Towns
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister: Jenis av Rana Diplomatic missions of / to the Faroes Nationality law Passport Visa requirements Visa policy Arctic policy of the Kingdom Faroe Islands–European Union relations Politics of the European Union Arctic policy of the EU
Related topics Arctic Command Defence Command Politics of Denmark Politics of Greenland Unitarism Home rule
Other countries
v t e

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

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

Following 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.

Legislative branch

The 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

The Faroe Islands have a