Ásgeir Ásgeirsson

Ásgeir Ásgeirsson
2nd President of Iceland
In office 1 August 1952 – 1 August 1968
Prime Minister	Hermann Jónasson Emil Jónsson Ólafur Thors Bjarni Benediktsson Ólafur Thors Bjarni Benediktsson
Preceded by	Sveinn Björnsson
Succeeded by	Kristján Eldjárn
6th Prime Minister of Iceland
In office 3 June 1932 – 28 July 1934
Monarch	Kristján X
Preceded by	Tryggvi Þórhallsson
Succeeded by	Hermann Jónasson
Personal details
Born	13 May 1894 Kóranesi á Mýrum, Iceland
Died	15 September 1972 (aged 78) Reykjavík, Iceland
Political party	Progressive Party Social Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Dóra Þórhallsdóttir

Ásgeir Ásgeirsson (pronounced [ˈausceir̥ ˈausceir̥sɔn]; 13 May 1894 – 15 September 1972) was the second President of Iceland, from 1952 to 1968.

Early life and education

Educated as a theologian, Ásgeir graduated with honours from the University of Iceland in Reykjavík in 1915, but was considered too young to be ordained as a minister. He married Dóra Þórhallsdóttir in 1917. Dóra was the daughter of Þórhallur Bjarnarson, bishop of Iceland 1908–1916. Her brother was Tryggvi Þórhallsson, who was Prime Minister of Iceland 1927–1932.

Political and business career

Ásgeir was elected to the Althing in 1923 at the age of 29 for the Progressive Party. He spoke as the president of the Althing at Þingvellir on the occasion of the Althing's 1000th anniversary celebrations in 1930, and became Minister of Finance in 1931 and Prime Minister in 1932. He left the Progressive Party in 1934, but stood for election as an independent for a while until he joined the Social Democratic Party, and remained in the Althing until he was elected president in 1952. From 1938 and until he was elected president, he was the director of Útvegsbanki Íslands, an Icelandic bank which later merged with three other banks and became Íslandsbanki (which later became Glitnir).

President of Iceland

Ásgeir was elected the second President of Iceland in a closely contested election in 1952, which had been called upon early due to the death of Sveinn Björnsson, Iceland's first president. Ásgeir's main opponent, Bjarni Jónsson, minister in the Reykjavík Cathedral, had the endorsement of the governing parties in Iceland, the Independence Party and the Progressive Party. Still Ásgeir managed to receive 46.7% of the vote, compared to Bjarni's 44.1%. The third candidate, Gísli Sveinsson, a former MP for the Independence Party, got 6.0%.

Ásgeir was the first Icelandic president to go to Denmark on an official visit.^[1] He also visited Norway, Canada, the United States and Israel.^[1]

Ásgeir was re-elected unopposed in 1956, 1960, and 1964. Shortly after his fourth term started, his wife, Dóra, died from leukemia. In 1968, Ásgeir decided not to seek re-election. It was widely expected that his son-in-law, Gunnar Thoroddsen would be elected as his successor. However, even though Gunnar started as the frontrunner (according to opinion polls), he lost the election to Kristján Eldjárn.

Awards

In 1955, Ásgeir was awarded the Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Sonderstufe des Großkreuzes des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland).

Coat of Arms of Ásgeir Ásgeirsson through membership of foreign order of chivalry.

References