FRY-DAI

Tomorrow is Icelandic Independence Day. Also called Icelandic National Day or simply ‘the seventeenth of June’, the day marks Iceland’s move to complete independence from Denmark.

Iceland was proclaimed an independent republic on June 17th 1944. Iceland actually gained independence from Denmark much earlier, on December 1st 1918 with the signing of the Act of Union with Denmark. The Act recognized Iceland as an independent state under the Danish crown. During World War II, Denmark was occupied by Germany and there was a movement in Iceland for complete separation. The referendum was held in at the end of May 1944. Voters were asked whether the Union with Denmark should be abolished and whether to adopt a new republican constitution. Both measures were approved with more than 98% in favour and a voter turnout of 98.4%.