Þórhallur Bjarnarson (2 December 1855 15 December 1916) was an Icelandic prelate and politician who served as a member of parliament between 1894 and 1899 and from 1902 to 1908. He was also the sixth

Bishop of Iceland The following is a list of Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, Evangelical Lutheran bishops of Iceland. The first bishop of Iceland was Geir Vídalín who took office in 1801. As of 2024, 15 people have held the office of Bishop of Iceland. Li ...

from 1908 until 1916.

Biography

Bjarnarson was born in Laufás near

Eyjafjörður Eyjafjörður (, ''Island Fjord'') is one of the longest fjords in Iceland. It is located in the central north of the country. Situated by the fjord is the country's fourth most populous municipality, Akureyri. Physical geography The fjord is ...

, the son of the Reverend Björns Halldórsson and his wife Sigríður Einarsdóttir. He graduated from the School of Applied Sciences in 1877 and graduated with theology from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

in 1883. He was ordained a priest on 18 March 1884 and was appointed pastor at Reykholt. That same year he was also appointed Dean of the Borgarfjarðar Deanery. On 19 March 1885 he was appointed pastor of

Akureyri Akureyri (, ) is a town in northern Iceland, the country's fifth most populous Municipalities of Iceland, municipality (under the official name of Akureyrarbær , 'town of Akureyri') and the largest outside the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital R ...

; however, on 28 August he became a lecturer at the Prestaskólar (Seminary) and later its director in 1894. He was also the Member of Parliament for

Borgarfjörður Borgarfjörður () is a fjord in the west of Iceland near the town of Borgarnes. Although the waters of Borgarfjörður appear calm, the fjord has significant undercurrents and shallows. The many flat islands lying in the fjord are for the most ...

from 1894 to 1900 and from 1902 to 1908, first as an independent and then as a member of the Home Rule Party. He served as President of the Lower House between 1897 and 1899. He was also a member of the City Council of Reykjavik between 1888 and 1906. On 19 September 1908 he was appointed

to succeed the retiring Hallgrímur Sveinsson. He was consecrated by Sveinsson on 4 October 1908. He served as bishop until his death.

Family

Þórhallur lived longest in Laufás near Laufásvegur in Reykjavik. His wife was Valgerður Jónsdóttir (27 January 1863 23 January 1913). They had four children, including Tryggvi Þórhallsson who became

Prime Minister of Iceland The prime minister of Iceland () is head of government of the Republic of Iceland. The prime minister is appointed formally by the president of Iceland, president and exercises executive authority along with the Cabinet of Iceland, cabinet subje ...

in 1927. His other three children were Svava, Björn and Dóra who married

Ásgeir Ásgeirsson Ásgeir Ásgeirsson (; 13 May 1894 – 15 September 1972) was the second president of Iceland; he served from 1952 to 1968. He also served as the prime minister of Iceland from 3 June 1932 to 28 July 1934 for the Progressive Party. Ásgeir is ...

and who became

President of Iceland The president of Iceland () is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Halla Tómasdóttir, who won the 2024 Icelandic presidential election, 2024 presidential election. The president is not involved in the running of the country, bu ...

in 1952.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjarnarson, Thorhallur 1855 births 1916 deaths Thórhallur Bjarnarson 19th-century Icelandic Lutheran clergy 20th-century Icelandic Lutheran bishops