Björn Jónsson (8 October 1846 – 24 November 1912) was
minister for Iceland from 31 March 1909 to 14 March 1911. He was the father of
Sveinn Björnsson
Sveinn Björnsson (; 27 February 1881 – 25 January 1952) was the first president of Iceland, serving from 1944 to 1952.
Background, education and legal career
Sveinn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, as the son of Björn Jónsson (editor and ...
, the only
regent of Iceland and first
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 ...
. Björn became Minister for Iceland after
Hannes Hafstein and his supporters suffered losses in the elections of 1908, where the voters rejected the draft of a new constitution. Björn was forced to resign after forcing the General Director of the National Bank,
Tryggvi Gunnarsson, out of that post due to heavy criticism of their supporters. Björn and other opponents of the Draft won a landslide victory in the 1908 elections. He served as
speaker of the
Althing
The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Parliament, national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ('Thing (assembly), thing ...
in 1909.
Björn was commonly known for
Ísafold, the paper he published and edited from 1874 to 1909, and was known as Björn í Ísafold or Ísafoldar-Björn. Björn offended the Danish Authorities in 1909 by appointing a Councillor of Commerce to work on business negotiations for Iceland, when he appointed his supporter, Bjarni Jónsson frá Vogi, to that post. The Danish Authorities stated that appointing such a councillor was not in harmony with the common foreign policy of Denmark and Iceland.
In 1909, Björn got alcohol prohibition accepted in the
Alþingi
The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at (' thing fields' or 'assembly fields'), about east of what la ...
. It came into full effect in 1915, more than two years after Björn's death, and was not repealed until 1934.
Death
Björn's health deteriorated sharply in his last years. He died at his home in
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...
on 24 November 1912 after suffering a stroke few days earlier.
References
External links
Biographyon
Alþingi
The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at (' thing fields' or 'assembly fields'), about east of what la ...
1846 births
1912 deaths
Bjorn Jonsson
Bjorn Jonsson
Ministers for Iceland
{{Iceland-politician-stub