Jóhann Hafstein (19 September 1915 – 15 May 1980) was elected to 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 ...

i for the

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 ...

constituency in 1946, which he represented until 1978, when he resigned due to ill health. Jóhann 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 10 July 1970 to 14 July 1971, for the Independence Party, following the death of prime minister Bjarni Benediktsson, his wife and their 4-year-old grandson, caused by a fire at a government summer house at

Þingvellir Þingvellir (, anglicised as ThingvellirThe spelling ''Pingvellir'' is sometimes seen, although the letter "p" is unrelated to the letter thorn (letter), "þ" (thorn), which is pronounced as "th".) was the site of the Althing, Alþing, the annual ...

on 10 July 1970. Hafstein also become the chairman for the Independence Party immediately. Hafstein's cabinet was replaced and defeated in the 1971 parliamentary election, causing him to step down as prime minister. Hafstein stepped down as party leader in 1973 following health problems. He died on 15 May 1980 due to a long illness that had previously caused him to resign two years earlier. Hafstein was Speaker of the Lower House of the Althingi from 1959–1961 and 1962–1963. He was the CEO of the Fisheries Bank from 1952 to 1963. He served as Minister of Justice, Religion and Industrial Affairs, as well as handling the Health portfolio in 1961 and again in 1963–1970. He attended the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1953, 1959 and 1974.

References

, - Hafstein, Jóhann Hafstein, Jóhann Leaders of the Independence Party (Iceland) Prime ministers of Iceland Speakers of the Althing {{Iceland-politician-stub