Social Democratic Party (Iceland)

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Alþýðuflokkurinn (The Social Democratic Party) was an Icelandic Political Party based on social democratic ideas. It was founded in 1916 as the political field of the labour unions of Iceland.

Its first member of the Althing, the Icelandic parliament, was Jón Baldvinsson, who was elected in 1920.

Three times the party led the government of Iceland; in 1947-1949 under Stefán Jóhann Stefánsson, in 1958-1959 under Emil Jónsson and under Benedikt Sigurðsson Gröndal in 1979-1980. Its longest participation in government was with the Independence Party from 1959-1971.

The Social Democratic Party should not be confused with the (Social Democratic) Alliance, a later Social Democratic party with a wider political base, created by the merger of The Social Democratic Party and two other political parties.