Alþingi

Alþingi (Parliament in Icelandic, anglicised as Althingi or Althing) is the national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world.[1][2][a] The Althing was founded in 930 at Þingvellir ("thing fields" or "assembly fields"), situated approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) east of what later became the country's capital, Reykjavík. Even after Iceland's union with Norway in 1262, the Althing still held its sessions at Þingvellir until 1800, when it was discontinued. It was restored in 1844 and moved to Reykjavík, where it has resided ever since.[4] The present parliament building, the Alþingishús, was built in 1881, made of hewn Icelandic stone.[5] The unicameral parliament has 63 members, and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional representation.[6] The current speaker of the Althing is Steingrímur J. Sigfússon.