Ólafur Jóhannesson

Ólafur Jóhannesson
Ólafur Jóhannesson
19th Prime Minister of Iceland
	In office; 1 September 1978 – 15 October 1979
President	Kristján Eldjárn
Preceded by	Geir Hallgrímsson
Succeeded by	Benedikt Gröndal
	In office; 14 July 1971 – 28 August 1974
President	Kristján Eldjárn
Preceded by	Jóhann Hafstein
Succeeded by	Geir Hallgrímsson
Minister of Foreign Affairs
	In office; 8 February 1980 – 26 May 1983
Prime Minister	Gunnar Thoroddsen
Preceded by	Benedikt Gröndal
Succeeded by	Geir Hallgrímsson
Personal details
Born	1 March 1913; Skagafjörður, Iceland
Died	20 May 1984 (aged 71)
Political party	Progressive Party
Alma mater	University of Iceland

Ólafur Jóhannesson (1 March 1913 – 20 May 1984) was the Prime Minister of Iceland for the Progressive Party on two occasions. First from 1971 to 1974 and again from 1978 to 1979. He was a member of the Progressive Party, serving as party chairman during from 1968 to 1979.^[1]

Career

Ólafur was educated at Akureyri Junior College (matriculated 1935), and studied law at the University of Iceland (graduated 1939, Hdl. 1942).^[2] Following postgraduate studies in Denmark and Sweden, he worked as a lawyer and accountant, before returning to academia, becoming a lecturer and serving as a professor of law at the University of Iceland 1947–78.

He served as Prime Minister and Minister for Justice and Minister Ecclesiastical Affairs 1971–74 and 1978–79; Minister for Justice, Minister Ecclesiastical Affairs and Trade Secretary 1974–78; and Foreign Minister 1980–83.^[2] As Minister for Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs, he recognised Ásatrúarfélagið as a religious organisation in May 1973. During his tenure, Ólafur headed the government that defied United Kingdom during the Cod War.^[3]

Ólafur became the Progressive Party leader in 1968 and formed a cabinet with him as a prime minister following the 1971 election. After the 1974 election, Geir Hallgrímsson the chairman of the Independence Party formed a new cabinet with the Progressive Party where Geir was prime minister. After the 1978 election, Ólafur became prime minister again and formed a new left-wing cabinet. In October 1979 Ólafur decided to dissolve the coalition because of economic disagreements, including because of high inflation and high gas prices.^[4] Ólafur left as party leader later that year but served as an MP until his death in 1984. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1980 to 1983 in Gunnar Thoroddsen's cabinet.

Family

In 1941, Ólafur married Dóra Guðbjartsdóttir (1915−2004). They had three children.^[5]

References

^ "Framsóknarflokkurinn", Wikipedia, frjálsa alfræðiritið (in Icelandic), 2024-08-11, retrieved 2024-08-15
^ ^a ^b Halfdanarson, Gudmundur (23 October 2008). Historical Dictionary of Iceland. Scarecrow Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-8108-6274-6. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
^ Jessup, John E (1998). An encyclopedic dictionary of conflict and conflict resolution, 1945-1996. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 363. ISBN 978-0-313-28112-9. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
^ "Annað ráðuneyti Ólafs Jóhannessonar", Wikipedia, frjálsa alfræðiritið (in Icelandic), 2021-05-22, retrieved 2024-08-15
^ "Tímarit.is".

Party political offices
Preceded by Eysteinn Jónsson	Leader of the Progressive Party 1968–1979	Succeeded by Steingrímur Hermannsson
Political offices
Preceded by Jóhann Hafstein	Prime Minister of Iceland 1971–1974	Succeeded by Geir Hallgrímsson
Preceded by Geir Hallgrímsson	Prime Minister of Iceland 1978–1979	Succeeded by Benedikt Gröndal