Hannes Hafstein
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Hannes Þórður Pétursson Hafstein (December 4, 1861 – December 13, 1922) was an Icelandic politician and poet. In 1904 he became the first Prime Minister of Iceland and the first Icelander to be appointed to the Danish Cabinet as the Minister for Iceland in the Cabinet of Deuntzer and was - unlike the previous Minister for Iceland Peter Adler Alberti - responsible to the Icelandic Althing.
He was born on the farm Möðruvellir in Hörgárdalur valley, Iceland. His parents were Pétur Havstein (February 17, 1812 - June 24, 1875) and Kristjana Gunnarsdóttir Havstein (September 20, 1836 - February 24, 1927).
He graduated from The Icelandic National School in 1880 and graduated with a law degree from the University of Copenhagen in 1886. He was member of Alþingi in 1900-1901, 1903-1915 and 1916-1922. He attended his last meeting there in 1917. He was proposed the first Minister of Iceland on January 31, 1904 from February 1, 1904, and he served as such until March 31, 1909. Then he became the CEO of the Iceland Bank. In 1912 he was elected the president of Althingi prior to becoming minister of Iceland for the second time from July 24 1912 to July 21 1914, when he became CEO again. In 1917 his declining health forced him to resign his duties.
Hannes died in Reykjavík on December 13, 1922.
| Preceded by: — | Prime Minister of Iceland (first term) 1904–1909 | Succeeded by: Björn Jónsson |
| Preceded by: Kristján Jónsson | Prime Minister of Iceland (second term) 1912–1914 | Succeeded by: Sigurður Eggerz |
[edit] References
The Althing's official web site (Icelandic)
da:Hannes Th. Hafstein
