Simple directory > Regional > Faroe Islands

Country : Faroe Islands Official name: Føroyar (Faroe Islands) Head of State: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark Head of government: Prime Minister Jóannes Eidesgaard (JF) (from 3 Feb 2004); Danish High Commissioner Søren Christensen (since 1 Aug 2005) Ruling party: Coalition government of the Sambandsflokkurin (SF) (Union Party), the Javnaoarflokkurin (JF) (Social Democrats), and the Fólkaflokkurin (FF) (People's Party) (from 3 Feb 2004) Area: 1,399 square km (18 islands) Population: 48,200 (2004) Capital: Tórshavn Official language: Faroese, Danish Currency: Faroese krone (FKr) (same value as Danish krone) Exchange rate: FKr5.75 per US$ (Nov 2004) GDP per capita: US$22,000 (2003) GDP real growth: 10.00% (2003) Labour force: 24,250 (2003) Unemployment: 1.00% (2003) Inflation: 5.10% (2003) Balance of trade: -US$51.00 million (2003) Foreign debt: US$64.00 million (2003)

Historical profile

The first Norse settlers arrived in the Faroes from neighbouring Denmark and the Orkneys in the ninth century.

1380 Early administration was undertaken by a parliamentary body known as the Alting. The end of parliamentary procedures saw the Alting renamed the Løgting and becoming a royal court.

1397 The Faroes become a Danish province, with the political merger of Norway and Denmark into the Kalmar Union.

1849 The first Danish constitution included the Faroe Islands administered under the Danish county Roskilde.

1939–45 Although the Faroe Islands were occupied by the British during the Second World War, they were largely able to govern themselves, and the economy had never been better than in this period.

1946 The Faroe Islands returned to Danish control. In a referendum, a very small majority voted in favour of becoming an independent state. Negotiations and diplomacy led to a home rule arrangement instead.

1948 The Home Rule Act made the Faroes security, foreign and economic affairs the responsibility of Denmark.

1998 Anfinn Kallsberg replaced Edmund Joensen as prime minister.

2001 A referendum to be held for approval of legislative amendments to enable a gradual winding-down of Denmark's authority on the islands was shelved after Denmark's Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said that subsidies would stop after four years if the islanders voted for independence.

2002 In the parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Anfinn Kallsberg's coalition lost its majority but the Sambandsflokkurin (SF) (Union Party) did not get enough votes to form a government.

2004 After the January parliamentary elections, Jóannes Eidesgaard (Social Democrat) became prime minister on 3 February, in a coalition with the Union Party and the Fólkaflokkurin (FF) (People's Party).

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