Editing History of Iceland (section)

===Home rule and sovereignty===
{{Further|Danish–Icelandic Act of Union}}

[[File:Kbh Hannes Hafsteinn.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Hannes Hafstein]], first [[Prime Minister of Iceland]] and the first Icelander to be appointed to the [[Cabinets of Denmark|Danish Cabinet]] as the [[Minister for Iceland]]]]

In 1874, a thousand years after the first acknowledged settlement, Denmark granted Iceland a constitution and limited home rule over domestic matters, which was expanded in 1904. The constitution was revised in 1903, and a minister for Icelandic affairs, residing in [[Reykjavík]], was made responsible to the Althing, the first of whom was [[Hannes Hafstein]].

Iceland and Denmark signed the [[Danish–Icelandic Act of Union]] on 1 December 1918, recognizing the [[Kingdom of Iceland]] as a fully sovereign state joined with Denmark in a [[personal union]] with the Danish king.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hálfdanarson|first=Guðmundur|date=1 June 2000|title=Iceland: A Peaceful Secession|journal=Scandinavian Journal of History|volume=25|issue=1–2|pages=87–100|doi=10.1080/03468750050115609|s2cid=143707310|issn=0346-8755}}</ref> Iceland established its own flag. Denmark was to represent its foreign affairs and defense interests.  Iceland had no military or naval forces, and Denmark was to give notice to other countries that it was permanently neutral. The act would be up for revision in 1940 and could be revoked three years later if agreement was not reached.  By the 1930s the consensus in Iceland was to seek complete independence by 1944 at the latest.<ref>Solrun B. Jensdottir Hardarson, "The 'Republic of Iceland' 1940–44: Anglo-American Attitudes and Influences," ''Journal of Contemporary History'' (1974) 9#4 pp. 27–56 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/260290 in JSTOR]</ref>