Jón Þorláksson
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Jón Þorláksson (3 March 1877 – 20 March 1935) was
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 8 July 1926 to 28 August 1927. He was the only leader of the Conservative Party (''Íhaldsflokkurinn'') which merged with the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
to form the Independence Party in 1929, and the Mayor of
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 ...
from 1933 to his death.


Career

Jón Þorláksson (usually transcribed Thorlaksson) was a farmer's son, from Vesturhópshólar in Húnavatnssýsla in the northwest of Iceland. He and his two sisters and one brother were unusually gifted. One of his sisters, Björg Þorláksdóttir, was for example the first Icelandic woman to receive a doctorate, from the Sorbonne in 1926. Jón Þorláksson graduated from
Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík (MR; official name in English: Reykjavik College) is collegein Iceland. It is located in Reykjavík. The school traces its origin to 1056, when a school was established in Skálholt, and it remains one of the oldest ...
in 1897, highest in his class and with the best results ever given to a student at that school. He studied civil engineering at the Polytechnic College in
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 ...
(later the
Danish Technical University The Technical University of Denmark (), often simply referred to as DTU, is a polytechnic university and school of engineering. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's first polytechnic, and it is today ran ...
), graduating in 1903. In 1905, he became Iceland's Chief Engineer, overseeing in the next 12 years the construction of roads and bridges in the country, and advocating (and helping to build) hydroelectric power plants and the use of Iceland's ample resources of thermal power to heat houses. Jón resigned from his office in 1917, starting a company which imported building materials, but also working as an independent engineer on several projects. He was elected to the parliament in 1921, on a list opposed to the nascent socialist party. Respected rather than popular, he soon became the leader of the conservative and libertarian elements in the parliament, founding in 1924 the Conservative Party. Jón Þorláksson became
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 Daði Már Kristófersson. Organization of the Ministry of Finance The t ...
in the government formed by the Conservative Party in 1924, raising the value of the Icelandic crown in 1925, very much as
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
raised the value of the pound at the same time. Upon the sudden death of Prime Minister Jón Magnússon in 1926, he became Prime Minister as well. After the defeat of the Conservative Party in the parliamentary elections of 1927, Jón Þorláksson became the leader of the opposition. He was the first leader of the Independence Party which was formed by a merger of the Conservative Party and a small
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
in 1929. He became Mayor of
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 ...
in December 1932. Because of failing health he resigned as leader of the Independence Party in 1934 and died one year later. He was married and had two adopted daughters.


Political ideas

Jón Þorláksson was a
classical liberal Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, eco ...
who had learnt his economics from the well-known Swedish economist
Gustav Cassel Karl Gustav Cassel (20 October 1866 – 14 January 1945) was a Swedish economist and professor of economics at Stockholm University. Cassel was among the most prominent economists in the world in the interwar period. He made contributions to the ...
. In a magazine article in 1926, Jón Þorláksson distinguished between conservative and radical ideas on the one hand and
libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...
and authoritarian ideas on the other hand. He said that those two sets of ideas could exist in all four combinations. His opponents in the Icelandic left-wing or socialist parties were for example, he contended, both radical and authoritarian. Sometimes libertarians also had to be radical. But at present they should be conservative, because essentially their task was to conserve the freedom won in the battles of the 18th and 19th centuries, and to defend them against socialism. Thus, Jón Þorláksson defined himself as a conservative libertarian. In a paper read to the general meeting of the Conservative Party in 1929, he briefly, but clearly, outlined the classical liberal idea of how people could, by working solely for their own personal interest, in a competitive environment, unwittingly serve the public interest. There, he forcefully defended
free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
and limited government. Publicly, Jón Þorláksson proposed the
privatisation Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
of the two commercial banks in Iceland, then in the hands of government.


References

In 1985, Hannes H. Gissurarson edited a collection of Jón's papers, and in 1992 Hannes published a 600-page biography of Jón Þorláksson (in Icelandic). {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorlaksson, Jon 1877 births 1935 deaths Jon Thorlaksson Jon Thorlaksson Jon Thorlaksson Jon Thorlaksson Jon Thorlaksson Icelandic political party founders