Halldór Ásgrímsson (pronounced ; 8 September 1947 – 18 May 2015) was an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic politician, who served as

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 ...

from 15 September 2004 to 15 June 2006 and was the leader of the Progressive Party from 1994 to 2006.

Education and early life

Halldór studied at the Co-operative College in Bifröst, and became a certified public accountant in 1970. He later completed graduate commerce studies at the Universities of

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, and worked as a lecturer at the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( ) 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' school to a modern co ...

from 1973 to 1975.

Political career

He represented the Eastern constituency as a member 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 ...

(Icelandic parliament) from 1974 to 1978 and from 1979 to 2003, when he was elected to represent the Reykjavík North constituency. Over the years, he has served in a large number of ministerial portfolios, namely as Minister of Fisheries from 1983 to 1991, Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs from 1988 to 1989, Minister for Nordic Cooperation from 1985 to 1987 and 1995 to 1999 and

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

from 1995 to 2004. As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Halldór put Iceland on the Coalition of the Willing, the alliance supporting the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Halldór took over as prime minister on 15 September 2004, succeeding Independence Party leader Davíð Oddsson, while Davíð replaced Halldór as Foreign Minister. On 5 June 2006, following poor results for his party in the 2006 Icelandic municipalities elections, Halldór announced his resignation as prime minister and stated that he intended to step down as leader of the Progressive Party in August 2006, and leave politics altogether. Geir H. Haarde, the Foreign Minister of Iceland, succeeded him on 15 June 2006. Halldór Ásgrímsson's successor as Progressive Party leader was

Jón Sigurðsson Jón Sigurðsson (17 June 1811 – 7 December 1879) was the leader of the 19th century icelandic nationalism, Icelandic independence movement. Biography Born at Hrafnseyri, in Arnarfjörður in the Westfjords area of Iceland, he was the son of ...

, Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, who was elected at the party's convention in August 2006. At the convention, Halldór ended his political career with an emotional and dynamic farewell speech to the party. When Halldór resigned as MP after the convention, he was the longest serving Icelandic MP at the time. On 31 October 2006, Halldór was chosen as the Secretary-General of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Halldór Ásgrímsson was an Honorary Member o
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation
He died of a heart attack at a Reykjavík hospital in May 2015. His casket was carried by prime minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and his long-life partner, Davíð Oddsson.

References

External links

Halldór's biography (since his tenure as PM)

Nordic Council of Ministers
, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Asgrimsson, Halldor 1947 births 2015 deaths Accounting educators Halldor Asgrimsson Halldor Asgrimsson Accountants Halldor Asgrimsson Halldor Asgrimsson Halldor Asgrimsson Halldor Asgrimsson Halldor Asgrimsson University of Bergen alumni University of Copenhagen alumni Halldor Asgrimsson