|
Ástþór Magnússon
Ástþór Magnússon Wium (born 4 August 1953) is an Icelandic businessman and peace activist, who is best known as a perennial candidate for the office of President of Iceland. Background and education After finishing the '' landspróf'' (national examination), Ástþór studied at the Commercial College of Iceland before moving to the United Kingdom in order to study commercial photography and marketing at the Medway College of Art and Design. Business career Ástþór brought Eurocard to Iceland in 1979, making it the first credit card company operating in Iceland. The success of Eurocard made him financially independent. Political career Ástþór unsuccessfully campaigned for the post of President of Iceland four times: in 1996, 2004, 2012 and 2016. In 2000, he failed to get the necessary 1,500 signatures and therefore was not on the ballot. On 1 June 2012, his candidacy was revoked because he had failed to obtain the mandatory certificate from the senior elector ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peace Activist
A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peace. Some of the methods used to achieve these goals include advocacy of pacifism, nonviolent resistance, diplomacy, boycotts, peace camps, ethical consumerism, supporting anti-war political candidates, supporting legislation to remove profits from government contracts to the military–industrial complex, banning guns, creating tools for open government and transparency, direct democracy, supporting whistleblowers who expose war crimes or conspiracies to create wars, demonstrations, and political lobbying. The political cooperative is an example of an organization which seeks to merge all peace-movement and green organizations; they may have diverse goals, but have the common ideal of peace and humane sustainability. A concern of some pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2012 Icelandic Presidential Election
Presidential elections were held in Iceland on 30 June 2012. The result was a victory for the incumbent Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who defeated his nearest rival Thóra Arnórsdóttir by nearly 20% of the vote, and went on to serve a record fifth term as president of Iceland. Electoral system The President of Iceland is elected in one round by first-past-the-post voting. Candidates and campaign There were six candidates, but the election became a contest between the incumbent president, and the journalist Thóra Arnórsdóttir, who wanted to return the presidency to a more ceremonial role. Main candidates: *The incumbent president, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, initially stated he would not seek re-election, but then stated on 4 March that he would run for a fifth term, after receiving a petition of over 30,000 voters in favour of his candidacy. Speaking in Selfoss (town), Selfoss, he said that "under normal circumstances I would have come to a different conclusion, but more than 30 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bessastaðir
Bessastaðir () is the official residence of the president of Iceland. It is situated in Álftanes, about from the capital city, Reykjavík. History Bessastaðir was first settled in 1000. It became one of Snorri Sturluson's farms in the 13th century. After Snorri's murder in September 1241, Bessastaðir was claimed by the King of Norway. Thereafter it became a Royal stronghold and the dwellings of the King's highest-ranking officers and officials in Iceland. It resisted an attack by Turkish slave raiders in July 1627. In the late 18th century Bessastaðir was changed into a school for a few years, before becoming a farm. In 1867 the farm was purchased by the poet and statesman Grímur Thomsen, who lived there for almost two decades. Among later owners were editor and parliamentarian Skúli Thoroddsen, and his wife, Theodóra Thoroddsen Theodóra Friðrika Guðmundsdóttir Thoroddsen (1 July 1863 – 23 February 1954) was an Icelandic poet, folktale collector, translator, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2009 Icelandic Parliamentary Election
Snap parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 25 April 2009, following strong pressure from the public as a result of the Icelandic financial crisis. The Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement, which formed the outgoing coalition government under Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, both made gains and formed an overall majority of seats in the Althing (Iceland's parliament). The Progressive Party also made gains, and the new Citizens' Movement, formed after the January 2009 protests, gained four seats. The big loser was the Independence Party, which had been in power for 18 years until January 2009: it lost a third of its support and nine seats in the Althing. Background There had been weekly protests in front of the Althing since the collapse of Iceland's three commercial banks in October 2008. These protests intensified with the return of the Althing from Christmas recess on 20 January 2009. Three days later, Prime Minister Geir Haarde of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
E-democracy
E-democracy (a combination of the words electronic and democracy), also known as digital democracy or Internet democracy, is the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in political and governance processes. The term is believed to have been coined by digital activist Steven Clift. E-democracy incorporates 21st-century information and communications technology to promote democracy; such technologies include civic technology and government technology. It is a form of government in which all adult citizens are presumed to be eligible to participate equally in the proposal, development and creation of laws. E-democracy encompasses social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination. Goals Expanding democracy The Internet has several attributes that encourage thinking about it as a democratic medium. Electronic voting should be done with a proper purpose and with achieving a common constitution ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Direct Democracy
Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate decides on policy initiatives without legislator, elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are representative democracy, representative democracies. The theory and practice of direct democracy and participation as its common characteristic was the core of work of many theorists, philosophers, politicians, and social critics, among whom the most important are Jean Jacques Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, and G. D. H. Cole, G.D.H. Cole. Overview In direct democracy, the people decide on policies without any intermediary or representative, whereas in a representative democracy people vote for representatives who then enact policy initiatives. Depending on the particular system in use, direct democracy might entail passing executive decisions, the use of sortition, making laws, directly electing or dismissing offici ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Democracy Movement (Iceland)
The Democracy Movement ( is, Lýðræðishreyfingin) was an Icelandic political movement that was established in 1998. In the 2009 Icelandic parliamentary election it received 0.6% of the vote and is thus the second largest party not in parliament. Election results Post-mortem The party has ceased to exist after the 2009 election. On 29 January 2013, spurred by the ruling made by the EFTA court in the Icesave dispute, the founder of the party helped to start a petition calling for the MPs previously having supported the ''Icesave bills'', now to withdraw from the parliament. At the bottom of the petition a note stated it had been powered by the domain of ''Democracy Movement''. The party however no longer exist as a party, as they no longer gather to yearly congress meetings - and also stopped running the website of the party. See also * Politics of Iceland The politics of Iceland take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (; born 14 May 1943) is an Icelandic politician who was the fifth president of Iceland from 1996 to 2016.Official CV. He was previously a member of the Icelandic Parliament for the People's Alliance and served as Minister of Finance from 1988 to 1991. Since the end of his presidency, Ólafur has been serving as Chairman of the Arctic Circle, a non-profit organization, and as Chairman of the International Renewable Energy Agency's Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation. Early life Ólafur was born in Ísafjörður, the son of barber Grímur Kristgeirsson and housewife Svanhildur Ólafsdóttir Hjartar. He matriculated from Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík in 1962. From 1962 to 1970 he studied at the University of Manchester, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science in 1965 and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in political science in 1970, thus becoming the first Icelander to earn a PhD in this field. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2016 Icelandic Presidential Election
Presidential elections were held in Iceland on 25 June 2016. President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, elected in 1996, stepped down after serving five consecutive terms. The history professor Guðni Th. Jóhannesson was elected after receiving a plurality of 39.1% of the vote. He took office on 1 August, as the first new president of Iceland in twenty years. Electoral system The President of Iceland is elected by plurality in a single round of voting. Candidates must be Icelandic citizens and at least 35 years of age on election day. Campaign On 1 January 2016, incumbent president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson announced that he would not seek a sixth term in the office, wanting "to transfer the responsibilities of the president onto other shoulders". He later retracted and decided to run in April, citing political unrest after the fallout of the Panama Papers leak, which implicated Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and forced him to resign after large anti-government prot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2004 Icelandic Presidential Election
Presidential elections were held in Iceland on Saturday, 26 June 2004. Traditionally, Icelandic presidential elections in which the incumbent president indicates a wish to obtain a new mandate are uncontested. The incumbent president, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, was first elected in 1996 with 41.4% of the vote, in an election with an 85.9% turnout contested by four candidates. In 2000 he was re-elected without opposition. When Ólafur Ragnar announced his intention to seek another mandate in 2004, two other candidates emerged: :Ástþór Magnússon, a businessman and peace activist, who won 2.6% of the vote in the 1996 election and failed to obtain the necessary 1,500 supporters when he attempted to stand in the 2000 election, and : Baldur Ágústsson, a businessman who was essentially unknown to the general public. Unlike parliamentary elections in Iceland, presidential elections are not fought on the basis of party politics; instead, candidates attempt to use their personalities ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perennial Candidate
A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can run for office, or laws that impose a non-negligible financial penalty on registering to run for election. Definition A number of modern articles related to electoral politics or elections have identified those who have run for elected office and lost two to three times, and then decide to mount a campaign again as perennial candidates. However, some articles have listed a number of notable exceptions. Some who have had their campaign applications rejected by their country's electoral authority multiple times have also been labelled as perennial candidates. Reason for running It has been noted that some perennial candidates take part in an election with the aim of winning, and some do have ideas to convey on the campaign trail, regard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1996 Icelandic Presidential Election
Presidential elections were held in Iceland on 29 June 1996.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p962 The result was a victory for Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who received 41.4% of the vote. Prime minister Davíð Oddsson and former foreign minister Jón Baldvín Hannibalsson considered running in the election. Guðrún Pétursdóttir, an academic, ran, but withdrew from the race ten days prior to the election date. Ólafur was considered a left-wing politician at the time, having been the leader of the left-wing People's Alliance from 1987 to 1995. Guðrún Agnarsdóttir, a former member of parliament for the Women's List, was considered on the left as well. Pétur Hafstein announced his candidacy shortly after Davíð decided not to run. Pétur was a Supreme Court judge, and was expected to appeal to voters of the conservative Independence Party. Ólafur's campaign was described by political scientist Ólafur Harðarson as "Americaniz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
