Politics of the Faroe Islands

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, 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.

Executive branch

Main office-holders

Office	Name	Party	Since
King	Frederik X		14 January 2024
High Commissioner	Lene Moyell Johansen		15 May 2017
Prime Minister	Aksel V. Johannesen	Social Democratic	22 December 2022

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. 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 was created.

Portfolio	Minister	Took office	Left office	Party		Ref
Prime Minister	Aksel V. Johannesen	22 December 2022	Incumbent		Social Democratic
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Trade and Industry	Høgni Hoydal	22 December 2022	Incumbent		Republic
Minister of Finance	Ruth Vang	22 December 2022	Incumbent		Progress
Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs	Bjarni K. Petersen	22 December 2022	Incumbent		Progress
Minister of Social Affairs and Culture	Sirið Stenberg	22 December 2022	Incumbent		Republic
Minister of Health	Margit Stóra	22 December 2022	Incumbent		Social Democratic
Minister of Fisheries	Dennis Holm	22 December 2022	Incumbent		Republic
Minister of Children and Education	Djóni Nolsøe Joensen	22 December 2022	Incumbent		Social Democratic
Minister of Environment	Ingilín D. Strøm	22 December 2022	Incumbent		Social Democratic

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

For other political parties, see List of political parties in the Faroe Islands. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in the Faroe Islands.

The Faroe Islands have a multi-party system (disputing on independence and unionism as well as left and right), with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. The Faroese Parliament (Løgting) has 33 seats. Members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. For the Løgting elections, there were seven electoral districts, each one comprehending asýslur, while Streymoy is divided into northern and southern parts (Tórshavn region), but since 2008, the Faroes constitute a single district.

Schematic depiction of the political party spectrum in the Faroe Islands.

• Fólkaflokkurin (A): People's Party
• Sambandsflokkurin (B): Union Party
• Javnaðarflokkurin (C): Social Democratic Party
• Sjálvstýri (D): Self-Government
• Tjóðveldi (E): Republic
• Framsókn (F): Progress
• Miðflokkurin (H): Centre Party

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Social Democratic Party	9,094	26.58	9	+2
	Union Party	6,834	19.98	7	0
	People's Party	6,473	18.92	6	–2
	Republic	6,057	17.71	6	0
	Progress	2,571	7.52	3	+1
	Centre Party	2,242	6.55	2	0
	Self-Government	938	2.74	0	–1
Total		34,209	100.00	33	0
Valid votes		34,209	99.57
Invalid votes		52	0.15
Blank votes		95	0.28
Total votes		34,356	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		39,020	88.05
Source: kvf.fo

Administrative divisions

The islands are administratively divided into 29 municipalities with about 120 cities and villages.

Traditionally, there are also the 6 sýslur (Norðoyar, Eysturoy, Streymoy, Vágar, Sandoy, and Suðuroy). Sýsla means district and although it is only a police district today, it is still commonly understood as a geographical region. In earlier times, each sýsla had its own ting, the so-called várting (spring ting).

International affairs

The nation continues to be intimately tied with the Nordic countries of Europe and the European Union.

Mission of the Faroe Islands in Reykjavik, Iceland

Along with diplomatic missions to Iceland, the Court of St. James's (United Kingdom), Russia, and the European Union, the Faroe Islands participate in the Nordic Council, NIB, International Maritime Organization, International Whaling Commission (Complete list of participation of the Faroe Islands in international organisations).

Further reading

• Debes, Hans Jacob. 1988. "Reflections on the Position, Participation and Co-Operation of Small Nations in International Politics Case The Faroe Islands". Nordic Journal of International Law. 573: 365–368.

See also

• Cabinet of the Faroe Islands
• List of lawmen and prime ministers of the Faroe Islands
• Politics of Denmark
• List of high commissioners of the Faroe Islands

External links

• Prime Minister’s Office