View source for Steingrímur Hermannsson

{{Short description|Icelandic politician (1928–2010)}}
{{icelandic name|Steingrímur}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Steingrímur Hermannsson
| image               = Visit of Steingrimur Hermannsson, Icelandic Prime Minister, to the CEC (cropped).jpg
| office              = 23rd and 25th [[Prime Minister of Iceland]]
| president           = [[Vigdís Finnbogadóttir]]
| term_start          = 28 September 1988
| term_end            = 30 April 1991
| predecessor         = [[Þorsteinn Pálsson]]
| successor           = [[Davíð Oddsson]]
| president1          = Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
| term_start1         = 26 May 1983
| term_end1           = 8 July 1987
| predecessor1        = [[Gunnar Thoroddsen]]
| successor1          = Þorsteinn Pálsson
| office2             = [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iceland)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| term_start2         = 8 July 1987
| term_end2           = 28 September 1988
| primeminister2      = Þorsteinn Pálsson
| predecessor2        = [[Matthías Árni Mathiesen]]
| successor2          = [[Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson]]
| office3             = [[Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture (Iceland)|Minister of Fisheries]]
| term_start3         = 8 February 1980
| term_end3           = 26 May 1983
| primeminister3      = Gunnar Thoroddsen
| predecessor3        = [[Kjartan Jóhannsson]]
| successor3          = [[Halldór Ásgrímsson]]
| office4             = [[Minister of Justice (Iceland)|Minister of Justice]]
| term_start4         = 1 September 1978
| term_end4           = 15 October 1979
| primeminister4      = [[Ólafur Jóhannesson]]
| predecessor4        = Ólafur Jóhannesson
| successor4          = [[Vilmundur Gylfason]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1928|6|22|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Reykjavík]], [[Kingdom of Iceland]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2010|2|1|1928|6|22|df=y}}
| death_place         = Reykjavík, Iceland
| spouse              = 
| children            = 6
| party               = [[Progressive Party (Iceland)|Progressive]]
| alma_mater          = [[Illinois Institute of Technology]]<br />[[California Institute of Technology]]
}}
'''Steingrímur Hermannsson''' (pronounced {{IPA|is|ˈsteinkrimur ˈhɛrmanˌsɔn|}}; 22 June 1928 – 1 February 2010)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=21123&ew_0_a_id=357282|title=Former Prime Minister of Iceland Passes Away|date=2 February 2010|work=Iceland Review Online|access-date=3 February 2010|archive-date=15 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215222139/http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=21123&ew_0_a_id=357282|url-status=dead}}</ref> was an Icelandic politician who served as [[prime minister of Iceland]] from 1983 to 1987, and again from 1988 to 1991. He was the chairman for the [[Progressive Party (Iceland)|Progressive Party]] from 1979 to 1994.

Steingrímur's father, [[Hermann Jónasson]] also served as Iceland's prime minister from 1934 to 1942 and again from 1956 to 1958. Steingrímur's son, [[Guðmundur Steingrímsson]] ran as the chairman for his own party in the [[2013 Icelandic parliamentary election|2013 parliamentary election]].

==Early childhood==

Steingrímur's father was [[Hermann Jónasson]], 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]]. As a young boy he had an exceptional proximity to Iceland's [[World War II]] 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]] in 1951 and a master's degree from [[Caltech]] in 1952.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://caltechcampuspubs.library.caltech.edu/2464/1/June_6,_1952.pdf |title=Caltech Commencement Program |date=6 June 1952 |publisher=Caltech Campus Publications |access-date=29 March 2013}}</ref> 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]] (Icelandic Parliament) in 1971 for the Progressive Party, the party of his father. 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 and Ecclesiastical Affairs (Iceland)|Minister of Justice, Ecclesiastical Affairs]] [[Minister of Agriculture (Iceland)|and Agriculture]] (1978–79), [[Minister of Fisheries (Iceland)|Minister of Fisheries]] [[Minister of Communications (Iceland)|and Communications]] (1980–83) and [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iceland)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] (1987–88). He was chairman of the [[Progressive Party (Iceland)|Progressive Party]] from 1979 to 1994. After that he was governor of the [[Central Bank of Iceland]] until his retirement in 1998.<ref>https://www.sedlabanki.is/library/Skraarsafn/ymsar-skrar/Bankastjorn%20fra%20upphafi.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>

===International affairs===

Internationally, his greatest moment as Prime Minister came in 1986, when he hosted the [[Reykjavík Summit]] of [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Soviet General Secretary]] [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] and [[President of the United States|US President]] [[Ronald Reagan]]. Although not considered a success at the time, the summit paved the way for the ending of the [[Cold War]], and the Icelandic government's management of the event was widely commended. In 1991, during the [[January Events]] in Lithuania, Steingrímur expressed strong support for [[Vytautas Landsbergis]], Chairman of [[Supreme Council of Lithuania|Lithuanian Parliament]]. Shortly after, [[Iceland]] was the first country to recognize the independence of [[Lithuania]] from the [[Soviet Union]].<ref>http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter/w5_show?p_r=4097&p_d=62813&p_k=1 {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>

Steingrímur first kept a low profile in his retirement, rarely voicing his opinion of current affairs. He was however a founding member of [[Heimssýn]], an organization opposed to Iceland's entry into the [[European Union]], and became increasingly critical of the Progressive Party's policies. He gave public support to "The Iceland Movement", an ''ad hoc'' [[environmental movement]] 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.

By 2007, Steingrímur had left the [[Progressive Party (Iceland)|Progressive Party]], after it had turned more to the right and he appeared in TV-ads advertising the [[Icelandic Movement – Living Country|Icelandic Movement]] party.<ref>{{Citation |title=Steingrímur Hermannsson |date=2024-06-27 |work=Wikipedia, frjálsa alfræðiritið |url=https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steingr%C3%ADmur_Hermannsson |access-date=2024-08-15 |language=is}}</ref>

During a eulogy made by former Canadian prime minister [[Brian Mulroney]] at [[George H. W. Bush]]' [[Death and state funeral of George H. W. Bush|state funeral in 2018]], Mulroney joked about Steingrímur's often long speeches.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ólafsdóttir |first=Kristín |date=2018-05-12 |title=Gerði grín að forsætisráðherra Íslands við jarðarför Bush: "Því minna land, því lengri ræða" - Vísir |url=https://www.visir.is/g/20181072823d/gerdi-grin-ad-forsaetisradherra-islands-vid-jardarfor-bush-thvi-minna-land-thvi-lengri-raeda- |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=visir.is |language=is}}</ref>

==Family==

Steingrímur was twice married and had six children. His youngest son, [[Guðmundur Steingrímsson]] 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 his own party as a chairman, [[Bright Future (Iceland)|Bright Future]], where he attempted to become a prime minister just like his father and grandfather.

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==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Ólafur Jóhannesson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Leader of the [[Progressive Party (Iceland)|Progressive Party]]|years=1979–1994}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Halldór Ásgrímsson]]}}
|-
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Kjartan Jóhannsson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture (Iceland)|Minister of Fisheries]]|years=1980–1983}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Halldór Ásgrímsson]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Gunnar Thoroddsen]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Prime Minister of Iceland]]|years=1983–1987}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Þorsteinn Pálsson]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Matthías Mathiesen]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Iceland)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]|years=1987–1988}}
{{s-aft|after={{nowrap|[[Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson]]}}}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Ólafur Jóhannesson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister of Justice (Iceland)|Minister of Justice]]|years=1978–1979}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Vilmundur Gylfason]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Þorsteinn Pálsson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Prime Minister of Iceland]]|years=1988–1991}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Davíð Oddsson]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Second cabinet of Olafur Johannesson}}
{{Cabinet of Gunnar Thoroddsen}}
{{First cabinet of Steingrimur Hermannsson}}
{{Cabinet of Thorsteinn Palsson}}
{{Second cabinet of Steingrimur Hermannsson}}
{{Third cabinet of Steingrimur Hermannsson}}
{{Prime Ministers of Iceland}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hermannsson, Steingrimur}}
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Icelandic people|Steingrimur Hermannsson]]
[[Category:Agriculture ministers of Iceland|Steingrimur Hermannsson]]
[[Category:California Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Communications ministers of Iceland|Steingrimur Hermannsson]]
[[Category:Children of prime ministers]]
[[Category:Fisheries ministers of Iceland|Steingrimur Hermannsson]]
[[Category:Ministers for foreign affairs of Iceland|Steingrimur Hermannsson]]
[[Category:Ministers of justice of Iceland|Steingrimur Hermannsson]]
[[Category:Politicians from Reykjavík|Steingrimur Hermannsson]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Iceland|Steingrimur Hermannsson]]
[[Category:Governors of the Central Bank of Iceland]]
[[Category:Progressive Party (Iceland) politicians|Steingrimur Hermannsson]]