Sverrir Hermannsson (26 February 1930 – 12 March 2018) was an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic politician, businessman, and banker.

Early life

Sverrir was born in the Svalbarði farm in Ögurvík, Ísafjarðardjúp, on 26 February 1930, to Hermann Hermannsson and Salóme Rannveig Gunnarsdóttir. He graduated from a high school in

Akureyri Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner. Nickn ...

in 1951 and earned a business degree from the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...

in 1955.

Career

Beginning in politics as a member of the Independence Party, he was

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the lower chamber of

Althing The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at (" thing fields" or "assemb ...

from 1979 to 1983. Sverrir was

Minister of Industry The industry minister is a cabinet position in a government. The title may refer to the head of the governmental department that specializes in industry. This position may also be responsible for trade and employment, areas that fall under the mi ...

from 1983 to 1985, followed by Minister of Education from 1985 until 1987. From 1975 to 1983, and again from 1987 to 1988, he sat on the Nordic Council. In 1988, he resigned from the Althing to manage

Landsbanki Landsbanki (literally "national bank"), also commonly known as Landsbankinn (literally "the national bank") which is now the name of the current rebuilt bank (here called "New Landsbanki"), was one of the largest Icelandic commercial banks that f ...

where he served until 1998. Soon after leaving Landsbanki, in 1998, he returned to politics to found the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and served its chairman from 1998 to 2003. At the 1999 election, he was returned to the Althing, representing

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

, before leaving politics again in 2003.

Death

Sverrir died, at the age of 88, on 12 March 2018.

Footnotes

External links

Althing biography
1930 births 2018 deaths Sverrir Hermannsson Sverrir Hermannsson Sverrir Hermannsson Sverrir Hermannsson Sverrir Hermannsson Sverrir Hermannsson University of Iceland alumni {{Iceland-politician-stub