Social Democratic Party (Iceland)

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Social Democratic Party
Alþýðuflokkurinn
Founded1916
DissolvedMay 2000
Merged intoSocial Democratic Alliance
IdeologySocial democracy
Political positionCentre-left
International affiliationSocialist International
Colours  Red

The Social Democratic Party (Icelandic: Alþýðuflokkurinn), officially the People's Party, was a social-democratic[1] political party in Iceland.

It was founded in 1916, as the political representation of the trade unions of Iceland.[2]

History[]

In 1920 its first member of the Althing, the Icelandic parliament, was elected.

The party would contest elections to the Althing with little success until 1934, when the party obtained 10 parliamentary seats. Iceland shifted towards a proportional representation system later that year which political scientist Amel Ahmed attributes to the rising electoral threat that the Social Democratic Party posed to the Independence Party and Progressive Party.[3]

Between 1926 and 1940, the party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International.[4]

The party led the government of Iceland three times, first in 1947–1949 under Stefán Jóhann Stefánsson, then in 1958–1959 under Emil Jónsson and finally under Benedikt Sigurðsson Gröndal in 1979–1980.

Its longest participation in government was with the Independence Party from 1959–1971.

The Social Democratic Party was succeeded in 2000 by the Social Democratic Alliance, a centre-left party with a wider political base created by the merger of the Social Democratic Party with the National Awakening, the People's Alliance and the Women's List.

Party chairmen[]

Election results[]

Election Votes Vote % Seats Place
August 1916 398 Steady 6.8 Steady N/A 6th Steady
October 1916 903.5 Increase 6.8 Steady 1 Steady 6th Steady
1919 949 Increase 6.8 Steady 0 Decrease 4th Increase
1922 2,033 Increase 17.2 Increase N/A 4th Steady
1923 4,912.5 Increase 16.2 Decrease 1 Steady 3rd Increase
1926 3,164 Decrease 22.7 Increase N/A 3rd Steady
1927 6,097.5 Increase 19.0 Decrease 5 Steady 3rd Steady
1930 4,893 Decrease 20.3 Increase N/A 3rd Steady
1931 6,197.5 Increase 16.1 Decrease 4 Steady 3rd Steady
1933 6,864.5 Increase 19.2 Increase 5 Increase 3rd Steady
1934 11,269.5 Increase 21.7 Increase 10 Increase 3rd Steady
1937 11,084.5 Decrease 19.0 Decrease 8 Decrease 3rd Steady
July 1942 8,979 Decrease 15.4 Decrease 6 Decrease 4th Decrease
October 1942 8,455 Decrease 14.2 Decrease 7 Increase 4th Steady
1946 11,914 Increase 17.8 Increase 9 Increase 4th Steady
1949 11,937 Increase 16.5 Decrease 7 Decrease 4th Steady
1953 12,093 Increase 15.6 Decrease 6 Decrease 4th Steady
1956 15,153 Increase 18.3 Increase 8 Increase 3rd Increase
June 1959 10,632 Decrease 12.5 Decrease 6 Decrease 4th Decrease
October 1959 12,909 Increase 15.2 Increase 9 Increase 4th Steady
1963 12,697 Decrease 14.2 Decrease 8 Decrease 4th Steady
1967 15,059 Increase 15.7 Increase 9 Increase 4th Steady
1971 11,020 Decrease 10.5 Decrease 6 Decrease 4th Steady
1974 10,345 Decrease 9.1 Decrease 5 Decrease 4th Steady
1978 26,912 Increase 22.0 Increase 14 Increase 3rd Increase
1979 21,580 Decrease 17.4 Decrease 10 Decrease 4th Decrease
1983 15,214 Decrease 11.7 Decrease 6 Decrease 4th Steady
1987 23,265 Increase 15.2 Increase 10 Increase 3rd Increase
1991 24,459 Increase 15.5 Increase 10 Steady 3rd Steady
1995 18,846 Decrease 11.4 Decrease 7 Decrease 4th Decrease

References[]

  1. ^ Haas, Melanie; Niedermayer; Stöss, Richard (2006). Die Parteiensysteme Westeuropas. Springer-Verlag. p. 268. ISBN 9783531141114.
  2. ^ Bergmann, Eirikur; Einarsson, Eiríkur Bergmann (2014). Iceland and the International Financial Crisis: Boom, Bust and Recovery. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 34. ISBN 9781137332004.
  3. ^ Ahmed, Amel (2012). Democracy and the Politics of Electoral System Choice: Engineering Electoral Dominance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139382137. ISBN 9781139382137.
  4. ^ Kowalski, Werner (1985). Geschichte der sozialistischen arbeiter-internationale: 1923–1919. Berlin: Dt. Verl. d. Wissenschaften (in German).

Further reading[]

  • Busky, Donald F. (2000). Democratic Socialism: A Global Survey. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 71–72. ISBN 9780275968861.


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