Ólafur Thors

Ólafur Thors

Ólafur Thors (also Ólafur Tryggvason ; born January 19, 1892 in Borgarnes , † December 31, 1964 in Reykjavík ) was an Icelandic politician of the Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkur) and five-time Prime Minister of Iceland .

biography

Study and promotion to minister

Ólafur, a son of the Danish entrepreneur Thor Philip Axel Jensen (1863–1947) and the Icelandic Margrét Þorbjörg Kristjánsdóttir (1867–1945), obtained his university entrance qualification (Stúdentspróf) in 1913 at the Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík , the oldest grammar school in Iceland. He then began studying at the University of Copenhagen , but joined his father's company in Kveldúlfur as early as 1914. Between 1918 and 1935 he was director of the fish steamer company Félag íslenskra botnvboduskipaeigenda founded by his father in 1916.

Ólafur began his political career in 1921 when he was elected a member of the Reykjavík City Council, before he joined the newly founded conservative party Íhaldsflokkurinn in 1924 . As a candidate for the Independence Party, he was elected for the first time in 1926 as a member of the Althing , of which he was a member until his death. On June 3, 1932 he succeeded Magnús Guðmundsson as deputy chairman of the Independence Party and was appointed to a government for the first time on November 14, 1932 as Minister of Justice (Dómsráðherra) by Prime Minister Ásgeir Ásgeirsson . However, he only held this office for a little more than a month until December 23, 1932. On October 2, 1934, he succeeded Jón Þorláksson as Chairman of the Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkur) and held this position for 27 years until October 22, 1961. In the subsequent cabinet of Prime Minister Hermann Jónasson , he was Minister of Industry (Iðnaðarráðherra) between 1939 and 1942. Between 1936 and 1944 and from 1948 until his death, he was also Chairman (Bankaráði) of Landsbanki Íslands , the oldest and second largest bank in Iceland.

Five-time prime minister

Ólafur Thors statue by the sculptor Sigurjón Ólafsson at Lake Tjörnin (1968)

When Ólafur became Prime Minister (Forsætisráðherra) of the Kingdom of Iceland for the first time on May 16, 1942, succeeding Hermann Jónasson , he also took over the post of Foreign Minister (Utanríkisráðherra) in his government, which was in office until December 16, 1942.

When the non-party politician Björn Þórðarson , his successor in the office of Prime Minister, resigned on October 21, 1944, Ólafur became the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Iceland and was foreign minister again until the end of his term on February 4, 1947. In 1947 and 1948 he was also the representative of Iceland in the General Assembly of the United Nations .

After the end of the first social democratic government under Stefán Jóhann Stefánsson , he became Prime Minister again on December 6, 1949 and this time also held the post of Minister of Social Affairs until his election defeat on March 4, 1950. In the subsequent coalition government of Steingrímur Steinþórsson coming from the Progress Party , he took over the office of Minister for Fisheries and Industry.

Subsequently he was Prime Minister himself again from September 11, 1953 to July 24, 1956 and also remained Minister for Fisheries during this time.

On November 20, 1959, Ólafur became Prime Minister of Iceland for the fifth and final time. On October 22, 1961, the previous deputy party chairman Bjarni Benediktsson took over his position as chairman of the Independence Party. This followed him on November 14, 1963 in the office of Prime Minister and continued the coalition government started by Ólafur with the Social Democratic Party.

Web links

• Biography on the Althing homepage (Icelandic)
• Biographical information in rulers.org

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Key Icelandic Ministries
2. ^ Homepage of the Independence Party
3. ^ 1. Thor's cabinet
4. ^ 2. Thor's cabinet
5. ↑ 3. Thor's cabinet
6. ↑ 4. Thor's cabinet
7. ↑ 5. Thor's cabinet

Note: Icelanders are referred to by their first name or first and last name, but not just their surname. Further information can be found under Icelandic personal name .