Social Democratic Alliance
Social Democratic Alliance Samfylkingin | |
---|---|
Chairperson | Logi Einarsson |
Vice-chairperson | N/A |
Chairperson of the board | Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir |
Secretary of the board | Óskar Steinn Ómarsson |
Chairperson of the parliamentary group | Helgi Hjörvar |
Founded | 5 May 2000 |
Merger of | |
Headquarters |
Hallveigarstígur 1, 101 Reykjavík |
Youth wing | Social Democratic Youth |
Ideology |
Social democracy, Pro-Europeanism |
Political position | Centre-left |
European affiliation | Party of European Socialists (Associate) |
International affiliation | Socialist International |
Nordic affiliation | SAMAK |
Colours | Red, Orange |
Seats in the Althing |
3 / 63 |
Website | |
www | |
The Social Democratic Alliance (Icelandic: Samfylkingin-Jafnaðarmannaflokkur Íslands) is a social-democratic[1][2][3] political party in Iceland. It is centre-left in alignment. It became the largest party in the Icelandic parliament after the 2009 Icelandic election, forming a coalition government along with the Left-Green Movement, until returning to opposition status after the 2013 Icelandic election. In the 2016 election it was almost wiped out and only got 3 seats in the parliament.[4]
History
The Social Democratic Alliance was born in the run-up to the parliamentary elections of 1999 as an alliance of the four left-wing parties that had existed in Iceland up till then: the Social Democratic Party, the People's Alliance, the Women's List and National Awakening.[5] The parties then formally merged in May 2000 under the name "The Alliance" (Samfylkingin). The merger was a deliberate attempt to unify the entire Icelandic centre-left into one political party capable of countering the centre-right Independence Party. The initial attempt failed however as a group of Alþingi representatives rejected the new party's platform – which was inspired by that of Tony Blair's New Labour – and broke away before the merger to found the Left-Green Movement, based on more traditional democratic socialist values as well as green politics and euroscepticism. The Icelandic Movement – Living Country merged into the party in March 2009.[6] In February 2013 the official name of the party was changed to "The Alliance – Social Democratic Party of Iceland" (Samfylkingin – Jafnaðarmannaflokkur Íslands).[7]
The current chair of the party is Oddný Guðbjörg Harðardóttir, who was elected in June 2016 to succeed Árni Páll Árnason, the outgoing party leader. Logi Einarsson, current member of the local council of Akureyri, has been vice chair since the same date. The youth wing of the Social Democratic Alliance is Social Democratic Youth.
Electoral results
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | 44,378 | 26.8 | 17 / 63 |
17 | 2nd | Opposition |
2003 | 56,700 | 31.0 | 20 / 63 |
3 | 2nd | Opposition |
2007 | 48,743 | 26.8 | 18 / 63 |
2 | 2nd | Coalition |
2009 | 55,758 | 29.8 | 20 / 63 |
2 | 1st | Coalition |
2013 | 24,292 | 12.9 | 9 / 63 |
11 | 3rd | Opposition |
2016 | 10,893 | 5.7 | 3 / 63 |
6 | 7th | TBD |
Chairpersons
Chairperson | Period |
---|---|
Margrét Frímannsdóttir | 1999–2000 |
Össur Skarphéðinsson | 2000–2005 |
Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir | 2005–2009 |
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir | 2009–2013 |
Árni Páll Árnason | 2013–2016 |
Oddný Guðbjörg Harðardóttir | 2016 |
Logi Már Einarsson | 2016-present |
Members of the parliament
Member | Since | Title | Constituency | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Logi Már Einarsson | 2016 | Party leader | Northeast | |
Oddný G. Harðardóttir | 2009 | Member of Parliament | South | |
Guðjón S. Brjánsson | 2016 | Member of Parliament | Northwest |
References
- ↑ Hans Slomp (30 September 2011). Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 680. ISBN 978-0-313-39182-8. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ↑ Claire Annesley (11 January 2013). Political and Economic Dictionary of Western Europe. Routledge. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-135-35547-0. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
- ↑ Åsa Bengtsson; Kasper Hansen; Ólafur Þ Harõarson; Hanne Marthe Narud; Henrik Oscarsson (15 November 2013). The Nordic Voter: Myths of Exceptionalism. ECPR Press. p. 209. ISBN 978-1-907301-50-6.
- ↑ "Social Democrats nearly wiped out in Iceland's election; Nordic Labour Journal". nordiclabourjournal.org. 2016-11-07. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
- ↑ Julia Kaute (2 December 2010). Warming up for the EU: Iceland and European Integration: An Analysis of the Factors Contributing to the Changing Perception of Iceland’s Political Elites Toward Membership in the European Union. GRIN Verlag. p. 45. ISBN 978-3-640-76745-8. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ↑ "Major political party conferences underway in Iceland | IceNews - Daily News". Icenews.is. 2009-03-29. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
- ↑ Ísland. "Nafni Samfylkingarinnar breytt | RÚV". Ruv.is. Retrieved 2014-08-01.