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Iceland: Peoples
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Iceland's current President is Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, a former political science professor who led the far-left People's Alliance in 1987-95 and served as Finance Minister in 1988-91. Although Grímsson won office with only a 41% plurality in 1996, he was not challenged for re-election in 2000. This follows a well-established tradition of giving deference to sitting presidents. He was re-elected again on June 26, 2004. Once in office, a president can generally count on serving as many terms as he or she likes, assuming good behavior. Reflecting the belief that the president is "above politics," presidential candidates run for election as individuals--since 1952, political parties have played no role in nominating or endorsing candidates.
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Iceland is a very technologically advanced society. In 1999, 82.3% of Icelanders had access to a computer, [22] and this figure has not declined in the last years. Iceland ... had 1,007 cell phone subscriptions per 1,000 people in 2006, the 16th highest in the world. [23] The social structure of Iceland is very dependent upon transportation, especially the personal automobile; Icelanders have on average one car per inhabitant older than 17 years,[24] one of the highest figures in the world. Most Icelanders travel by car to work, school or other activities.
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The history of Iceland began around 870 C.E. when Norse settlers arrived from the west coast of Norway, as well as those who had previously settled in Ireland and Great Britain. Some Icelanders would explore eventually the land that came to be known as Greenland; but the majority of the people of Iceland formed a conservative rural society. They were farmers who created a highly-evolved social structure defined by their work with the land. The stories they told, well-known as the Islendinga sogur, or, Iceland sagas, reflected that down-to-earth daily life by which honor was to be measured.
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Iceland was founded more than 1,000 years ago during the Viking age of exploration and settled by a mixed Norse and Celtic population. The early settlement, made up primarily of Norwegian seafarers and adventurers, fostered further excursions to Greenland and the coast of North America (which the Norse called Vinland). Despite its physical isolation some 500 miles (800 km) from Scotland—its nearest European neighbour—Iceland has remained throughout its history very much a part of European civilization. The Icelandic sagas, most of which recount heroic episodes that took place at the time the island was settled, are regarded as among the finest literary achievements of the Middle Ages, reflecting a European outlook while commemorating the history and customs of a people far removed from continental centres of commerce and culture.
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In 2004, 20,669 people (7% of the total population) who were living in Iceland had been born abroad, including children of Icelandic parents living abroad. 10,636 people (3.6% of the total population) had foreign citizenship. The most populous nationalities are Poles (7,000), Danes (890), ex-Yugoslavians (670), Filipinos (647) and Germans (540).
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Most visitors are full of praises for Iceland's ocean-fresh seafood and mouthwatering mountain lamb, but these are only part of the local culinary experience. Traditional food is ... served, made using the only preservation methods available when people had to store up for the winter in the days before refrigerators. Some is delicious, some is different, and is very good to boast about to your friends after you've finished it. Meat was commonly smoked, and the delicious hangikjöt (smoked lamb) is still popular today. Among dairy products, a big favourite with visitors is skyr (curds), especially served with fresh bilberries in late summer. On the more adventurous side is slátur, which literally means "slaughter" but is like haggis. And for those with nerves of steel and stomachs of iron, the menu for the Thorri midwinter feast (January/February) is a real challenge.
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