Icelandic History and Politics

History and Politics

236 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

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Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.

All 236 questions

  1. In which year was the Althing, Iceland's national assembly, founded?
  2. On which date is Iceland's national day celebrated?
  3. What is the capital of Iceland?
  4. Who was the first president of Iceland after the republic was founded in 1944?
  5. Which woman became the first democratically elected female president in the world, in 1980?
  6. Which military alliance has Iceland belonged to since 1949?
  7. What is Iceland's currency?
  8. How many seats are there in the Althing?
  9. Which description fits Iceland's armed forces?
  10. In which year did Iceland become a member of the United Nations?
  11. What was the role of the law-speaker (lögsögumaður) in the commonwealth?
  12. Why is Þingvellir on the UNESCO World Heritage List?
  13. What happened to the Althing in 1800?
  14. What did the Icelandic constitution of 1944 establish?
  15. Which political body governs Iceland's local communities?
  16. Which country has had a defence agreement with Iceland since 1951?
  17. What was the result of the Cod Wars for Iceland?
  18. When did the EEA agreement enter into force for Iceland?
  19. Which of these is the name of Iceland's parliament?
  20. What happened on 24 October 1975 in Iceland?
  21. Who was Iceland's first woman prime minister?
  22. What is the main role of the president of Iceland?
  23. Which volcanic eruption in 2010 disrupted air travel across Europe?
  24. When did Iceland receive home rule, with its first minister Hannes Hafstein?
  25. Which organisation did Iceland join in 1970 for free trade in Europe?
  26. How many years passed between the founding of the Althing in 930 and the proclamation of the republic in 1944?
  27. Which list gives the stages of independence in the correct order?
  28. How did the 2008 bank collapse change politics in Iceland?
  29. How is the law-speaker of the commonwealth best compared with a modern office?
  30. Which statement about the system of government is correct?
  31. Why is the EEA agreement important for Iceland's trade?
  32. Which feature of Iceland's defence is unusual among Nordic states?
  33. Which pair of events best shows the growth of the women's rights movement?
  34. Iceland recognised Lithuania's restored independence in 1991, before most other states. What does this show?
  35. Why did the 1951 defence agreement matter for a country without an army?
  36. Why did the Cod Wars raise questions about NATO?
  37. Complete the sentence about Althing with the correct year: The present parliament building, the Alþingishús, was built in ______ of hewn Icelandic stone.
  38. Complete the sentence about Christianisation of Iceland with the correct year: Iceland was legally Christianized in the year ______ CE, setting Christianity as the official religion of Iceland through…
  39. Complete the sentence about Christianisation of Iceland with the correct year: According to the Njáls saga, in ______ CE the Althing declared Christianity as the official religion in Iceland.
  40. Complete the sentence about Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði with the correct year: In the year 999 or ______, Iceland's legislative assembly was debating which religion they should practice: Norse paganism o…
  41. Complete the sentence with the correct year: In ______, Gissur went with many men to Snorri's home and murdered him.
  42. Complete the sentence about Snorri Sturluson with the correct year: The two families then arranged a marriage in ______ between Snorri and Herdís, the daughter of Bersi Vermundarson.
  43. Complete the sentence about Snorri Sturluson with the correct year: The marriage succumbed to Snorri's philandering, and in ______, he settled without Herdís in Reykholt as the manager of an estate.
  44. Complete the sentence about Snorri Sturluson with the correct year: In ______, he became lawspeaker of the Althing, the only public office of the Icelandic commonwealth and a position of high respect.
  45. Complete the sentence about Snorri Sturluson with the correct year: In the summer of ______, he left the lawspeaker position and sailed to Norway, by royal invitation.
  46. Complete the sentence about Snorri Sturluson with the correct year: In the summer of ______, he met his Swedish colleague, the lawspeaker Eskil Magnusson, and his wife, Kristina Nilsdotter Blake, in S…
  47. Complete the sentence about Gamli sáttmáli with the correct year: The signing brought about the union of Iceland with Norway, which subsequently led to Iceland's union with Denmark in ______, by way o…
  48. Complete the sentence about Gamli sáttmáli with the correct year: The laws of the Icelandic Commonwealth were updated and a book of laws named Jónsbók was issued in ______.
  49. Complete the sentence about Gamli sáttmáli with the correct year: The agreement was renewed in ______ at the behest of Haakon V of Norway.
  50. Complete the sentence about Kalmar Union with the correct year: Gustav Vasa's election as King of Sweden on 6 June ______, and his triumphant entry into Stockholm 11 days later, marked Sweden's final…
  51. Complete the sentence about Kalmar Union with the correct year: Frederick I formally renounced his claim to Sweden in ______ at the Treaty of Malmö.
  52. Complete the sentence about Kalmar Union with the correct year: Margaret became regent of Denmark and Norway when Olaf died in ______, leaving her without an heir.
  53. Complete the sentence about Kalmar Union with the correct year: In ______, Swedish nobles called upon her help against King Albert.
  54. Complete the sentence about Kalmar Union with the correct year: After Margaret defeated Albert in ______, her heir Eric was proclaimed King of Norway.
  55. Complete the sentence about Kalmar Union with the correct year: Eric was subsequently elected King of Denmark and Sweden in ______ under the banner of the House of Griffin.
  56. Complete the sentence about Kalmar Union with the correct year: The money was never paid, so in ______ the Kingdom of Scotland annexed the islands.
  57. Complete the sentence about Icelandic Reformation with the correct year: Resistance to the Icelandic Reformation ended with the execution of Jón Arason, Catholic bishop of Hólar, and his two sons, in…
  58. Complete the sentence about Icelandic Reformation with the correct year: In ______, the King sent a new governor to Iceland, Klaus von Mervitz, with a mandate to introduce reform and take possession o…
  59. Complete the sentence about Icelandic Reformation with the correct year: Oddur returned to Iceland from his studies in Germany in ______, aged 20, and quickly began translating the New Testament into…
  60. Complete the sentence about Icelandic Reformation with the correct year: Oddur's New Testament was printed in Roskilde in ______, and is the oldest preserved printed work in the Icelandic language.
  61. Complete the sentence about Icelandic Reformation with the correct year: In ______, bishop Ögmundur, who was almost blind now, made him his successor, and Gissur was consecrated bishop while Ögmundur…
  62. Complete the sentence about Jón Arason with the correct year: Jón Arason was born in Gryta, educated at Munkaþverá, the Benedictine abbey of Iceland, and was ordained a Catholic priest about ______.
  63. Complete the sentence about Jón Arason with the correct year: In ______, Jón officially adopted four of his children as his heirs: Ari, Björn, Magnús and Þórunn.
  64. Complete the sentence about Jón Arason with the correct year: In ______, Jón, Ari, and Björn were beheaded, ending his campaign for a Catholic Iceland.
  65. Complete the sentence about Gissur Einarsson with the correct year: The king ratified this decision the following year, yet he was not formally made into bishop until ______, in Copenhagen.
  66. Complete the sentence about Gissur Einarsson with the correct year: On October 7, ______, Gissur married Katrín Hannessdóttir, sister of Eggert Hannesson.
  67. Complete the sentence about Jón Sigurðsson with the correct year: In ______, he moved to Denmark to study grammar and history at the University of Copenhagen.
  68. Complete the sentence about Kingdom of Iceland with the correct year: In ______, one thousand years after the first acknowledged settlement, Denmark granted Iceland home rule.
  69. Complete the sentence about Kingdom of Iceland with the correct year: The Act would be reviewed in ______ and could be revoked three years later if agreement to continue it could not be reached.
  70. Complete the sentence about Kingdom of Iceland with the correct year: The German invasion of Denmark on 9 April ______ and subsequent occupation severed communications between Iceland and Denmark.
  71. Complete the sentence about Iceland in World War II with the correct year: On 7 July ______, the defence of Iceland was transferred from Britain to the United States, which was still a neutral country…
  72. Complete the sentence about Iceland in World War II with the correct year: On 17 June ______, Iceland dissolved its union with Denmark and the Danish monarchy and declared itself a republic, which it…
  73. Complete the sentence about Iceland in World War II with the correct year: Following the invasion of Denmark on 9 April ______, Iceland opened a legation in New York City.
  74. Complete the sentence about Sveinn Björnsson with the correct year: From 29 September ______ to 31 December the same year, he served as prosecutor at the National Upper Court.
  75. Complete the sentence about Sveinn Björnsson with the correct year: Although Iceland had become a sovereign state in ______, its foreign affairs had been conducted by Denmark until the beginning of th…
  76. Complete the sentence about Sveinn Björnsson with the correct year: Sveinn was elected president by the Althing on the inauguration of the republic of Iceland in ______.
  77. Complete the sentence about Ásgeir Ásgeirsson with the correct year: Educated as a theologian, Ásgeir graduated with honours from the University of Iceland in Reykjavík in ______, but was considered t…
  78. Complete the sentence about Ásgeir Ásgeirsson with the correct year: Ásgeir was elected to the Althing in ______ at the age of 29 for the Progressive Party.
  79. Complete the sentence about Vigdís Finnbogadóttir with the correct year: Vigdís enrolled at the University of Grenoble in ______, later switching to the Sorbonne.
  80. Complete the sentence about Vigdís Finnbogadóttir with the correct year: Vigdís adopted a daughter in ______, making her the first single woman in Iceland to adopt a child.
  81. Complete the sentence about Vigdís Finnbogadóttir with the correct year: Vigdís taught French lessons on television for RÚV beginning in ______, making her a well known figure throughout the nation.
  82. Complete the sentence about Guðni Th. Jóhannesson with the correct year: In May ______, Guðni launched a bid to become President of Iceland.
  83. Complete the sentence about Guðni Th. Jóhannesson with the correct year: In ______, he completed an MSt degree in history at St Antony's College at the University of Oxford.
  84. Complete the sentence about Halla Tómasdóttir with the correct year: Halla announced her candidacy for the presidency of Iceland on 17 March ______.
  85. Complete the sentence about Bjarni Benediktsson with the correct year: After conceding defeat on 26 April ______, Bjarni said his party had lost the trust of voters. "We lost this time but we will win…
  86. Complete the sentence about Independence Party with the correct year: From its first election, in ______, it was the largest party in Iceland.
  87. Complete the sentence about Social Democratic Alliance with the correct year: The leader of the alliance at the ______ election was Margrét Frímannsdóttir.
  88. Complete the sentence about Left-Green Movement with the correct year: Since the ______ Icelandic parliamentary election, the party has had no members in the Althing.
  89. Complete the sentence about Left-Green Movement with the correct year: In the ______ Icelandic parliamentary election, the Left-Green Movement took 9.1% of the vote and six seats in the Althing.
  90. Complete the sentence about Left-Green Movement with the correct year: The party had five members in the 63-seat Icelandic parliament after the ______ Icelandic parliamentary election, where it polled…
  91. Complete the sentence with the correct year: In the ______ Icelandic parliamentary election, it rose from nine seats to 14.
  92. Complete the sentence about Pirate Party with the correct year: In July ______, the party requested and was issued the letter P for future elections.
  93. Complete the sentence about Pirate Party with the correct year: An MMR opinion poll published in January ______ put their public support at 37.8%, significantly above that of all other Icelandic polit…
  94. Complete the sentence about Politics of Iceland with the correct year: The regent had, for all practical purposes, the position of a president, and Sveinn in fact became the country's first president…
  95. Complete the sentence about Politics of Iceland with the correct year: The modern parliament, called the "Althing" or "Alþingi", was founded in ______ as an advisory body to the Danish king.
  96. Complete the sentence about Politics of Iceland with the correct year: Until ______, membership of the Althing was divided between a lower and upper house but this was changed to a fully unicameral sy…
  97. Complete the sentence about President of Iceland with the correct year: Iceland was the first country to have an elected female head of state when Vigdís Finnbogadóttir assumed Iceland's presidency on…
  98. Complete the sentence about President of Iceland with the correct year: When Iceland became a republic in ______ by the passing of a new constitution the position of King of Iceland was simply replace…
  99. Complete the sentence about Constitution of Iceland with the correct year: The current constitution was first instituted on 17 June ______ when Iceland became a republic; since then, it has been amend…
  100. Complete the sentence about Constitution of Iceland with the correct year: Before ______, Icelanders had officially ruled themselves as they happened to see fit in domestic matters.

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