Gunnar Thoroddsen (pronounced ) (29 December 1910 – 25 September 1983) was the

prime minister of Iceland The prime minister of Iceland ( is, Forsætisráðherra Íslands) is Iceland's head of government. The prime minister is appointed formally by the president and exercises executive authority along with the cabinet subject to parliamentary suppo ...

from 1980 to 1983. Gunnar was the youngest man ever elected to the

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 ...

, Iceland's Parliament. He was 23 years old when he was elected as Member of Parliament in 1934. He served as an ambassador of Iceland in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

from 1965 to 1969 when he ran for the presidency of Iceland in 1968. He wished to succeed his father in law,

Ásgeir Ásgeirsson Ásgeir Ásgeirsson (; 13 May 1894 – 15 September 1972) was the second president of Iceland, from 1952 to 1968. He was a Freemason and served as Grand Master of the Icelandic Order of Freemasons. Early life and education Educated as a th ...

, who served as president from 1952 to 1968. Gunnar had been mayor of

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 ...

from 1947 to 1959 and

Minister of Finance of Iceland The Icelandic Ministry of Finance (Icelandic: ') is responsible for overseeing the finances of the Icelandic government. The Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs is Bjarni Benediktsson. Organization of the Ministry of Finance The top civ ...

from 1959 to 1965. He was minister of industry and a social welfare minister in the cabinet of

Geir Hallgrímsson Geir Hallgrímsson (16 December 1925 – 1 September 1990) was the prime minister of Iceland for the Independence Party from 28 August 1974 to 1 September 1978. Before that he had been mayor of Reykjavík and a member of the Icelandic parliamen ...

28 August 1974 to 27 June 1978. Gunnar and Geir were not in agreement and the disagreement led to Gunnar breaking away from the will of the

Independence Party Independence Party may refer to: Active parties Outside United States * Independence Party (Egypt) * Estonian Independence Party * Independence Party (Finland) * Independence Party (Iceland) * Independence Party (Mauritius) * Independence Part ...

with a few members of parliament and forming a cabinet with the

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...

and the People's Alliance, that replaced a minority government of

Benedikt Sigurðsson Gröndal Benedikt Sigurðsson Gröndal (7 July 1924 – 20 July 2010) was prime minister of Iceland for the Social Democratic Party (Iceland), Social Democratic Party (''Alþýðuflokkurinn'') from 15 October 1979 to 8 February 1980. Prior to that he was ...

. By forming his government Gunnar became the oldest prime minister in Iceland's history at the age of 69. Gunnar did not run in the 1983 elections for parliament, due to his illness, and ended his involvement in politics when his cabinet was succeeded by

Steingrímur Hermannsson Steingrímur Hermannsson (pronounced ; 22 June 1928 – 1 February 2010) was an Icelandic politician who served as prime minister of Iceland from 1983 to 1987, and again from 1988 to 1991. Early childhood Steingrímur's father was Hermann Jó ...

's cabinet.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Thoroddsen, Gunnar 1910 births 1983 deaths Gunnar Thoroddsen Gunnar Thoroddsen Gunnar Thoroddsen Gunnar Thoroddsen Gunnar Thoroddsen Gunnar Thoroddsen