Independence Party chair files swallowtail flag bill for eighth time

Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir, chair of Iceland’s Independence Party, has submitted a bill proposing that the country’s swallowtail state flag be flown at Alþingi, Iceland’s parliament, and the Government House every day from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., mbl.is reports.

The bill would also require the flag to be illuminated during the dark winter months.

This is the eighth time the proposal has been submitted since 2018. Birgir Þórarinsson, then a Centre Party MP and later an Independence Party MP, originally introduced it and submitted it five times between 2018 and 2024. Hafsteinsdóttir took over the proposal during last year’s spring session and submitted it again during last year’s autumn session.

The original bill also called for the flag to be flown at the Supreme Court building, the president’s official residence and the president’s office in Reykjavík. The current version omits those locations, citing comments received on the proposal.

The swallowtail flag is Iceland’s state flag. It resembles the country’s national flag but has a forked front.

The Centre Party’s MPs have also submitted a separate flag bill during the first days of the new parliamentary session. It would restrict public institutions from flying national flags other than Iceland’s.

Under that proposal, flags of other countries could be flown alongside Iceland’s flag on those countries’ national days and during official visits by their representatives. The ministry could grant exemptions in special circumstances.

That bill was also submitted during the previous parliamentary session.