Steingrímur Hermannsson (pronounced ; 22 June 1928 – 1 February 2010) was an Icelandic politician who served as

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 supp ...

from 1983 to 1987, and again from 1988 to 1991.

Early childhood

Steingrímur's father was

Hermann Jónasson Hermann Jónasson (25 December 1896 – 22 January 1976) was an Icelandic politician of the Progressive Party, who was prime minister of Iceland on two occasions. He served his first term from 28 July 1934 to 16 May 1942. This term includ ...

, another former Prime Minister. Being the son of a prominent official, Steingrímur enjoyed a relatively care-free upbringing in a country stricken by the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. As a young boy he had an exceptional proximity to Iceland's

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

politics, overhearing state affairs being discussed in his father's living room.

Education

Not wanting to follow his father's footsteps into politics, Steingrímur went to the U.S. in 1948. He received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from

Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...

in 1951 and a master's degree from

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in 1952. After returning to his native country and experiencing troubles both in his private life and business career, he eventually entered politics in the 1960s. He was 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 ...

(Icelandic Parliament) for the Progressive Party in 1971. He became party chairman in 1979.

Politics

Steingrímur served as Prime Minister from 1983 to 1987 and again from 1988 to 1991. He also served for a time as Minister of Justice, Ecclesiastical Affairs and Agriculture (1978–79), Minister of Fisheries and Communications (1980–83) and

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

(1987–88). He was chairman of the Progressive Party from 1979 to 1994. After that he was governor of the Central Bank of Iceland until his retirement in 1998.

International affairs

Internationally, his greatest moment as Prime Minister came in 1986, when he hosted the Reykjavík Summit of

Soviet General Secretary The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Com ...

and

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. Although not considered a success at the time, the summit paved the way for the ending of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

, and the Icelandic government's management of the event was widely commended. In 1991, during the

January Events , partof = Revolutions of 1989, Singing Revolution, and Dissolution of the Soviet Union , image = , caption = A man with a Lithuanian flag in front of a Soviet tank, 13 January 1991 , date = ...

in Lithuania, Steingrímur expressed strong support for Vytautas Landsbergis, Chairman of Lithuanian Parliament. Shortly after,

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

was the first country to recognize the independence of

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

from

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

.http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter/w5_show?p_r=4097&p_d=62813&p_k=1 Steingrímur first kept a low profile in his retirement, rarely voicing his opinion of current affairs. He was however a founding member of

Heimssýn Heimssýn ( English: ''World View'') is an organisation of Icelandic eurosceptics who actively campaign against Iceland becoming of a member of the European Union founded in June 2002. It was founded in June 2002. Ragnar Arnalds, former MP and ...

, an organization opposed to Iceland's entry of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

, and became increasingly critical of the Progressive Party's policies. He gave public support to "The Iceland Movement", an ''ad hoc''

environmental movement The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists a ...

which ran (unsuccessfully) in the 2007 Althing elections, appearing in campaign advertisements on TV. As a result of these activities, he mostly lost the informal status of the Progressive party's "Grand Old Man". In his last years Steingrímur was a well liked and respected elder statesman, and was considered as a potential candidate for the 1996 presidential elections. But he quickly declined that honour, stating his intention to retire at the age of 70. His memoirs, published in three volumes in 1998–2000, became bestsellers.

Family

Steingrímur was twice married and had six children. His youngest son,

Guðmundur Steingrímsson Guðmundur Steingrímsson (born 28 October 1972) is an Icelandic politician. He is the son and grandson of former Icelandic Prime Ministers Steingrímur Hermannsson and Hermann Jónasson. Career Guðmundur was a member of the Althing for South ...

was active in Icelandic politics between 2007 and 2016. He first ran for the Althing in the 2007 elections, for the Social Democratic Alliance. In early 2009, however, he switched sides and joined his grandfather's and father's Progressive Party and got elected. Then switched again and got elected in 2013 for Bright Future. His eldest children, John, Ellen, and Neil Hermannsson reside in the United States with their own children, all of whom have been to Iceland.

References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hermannsson, Steingrimur 1928 births 2010 deaths Steingrimur Hermannsson Steingrimur Hermannsson California Institute of Technology alumni Steingrimur Hermannsson Children of national leaders Steingrimur Hermannsson Steingrimur Hermannsson Steingrimur Hermannsson Steingrimur Hermannsson Steingrimur Hermannsson Governors of the Central Bank of Iceland Steingrimur Hermannsson