Olafur Ragnar Grimsson

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (Ísafjörður, May 14th 1943 -) is the President in exercise of the République of Iceland since August 1996.

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson was born the May 14th 1943. Of 1962 with 1970, it studies the economic scenes and policies at the University of Manchester. It returns then to Iceland to become teaching in political sciences with the Université of Iceland. Grímsson begins a political career: he is elected member of the Parliament, the Althing (in Icelandic Alþingi ) in 1974, becomes president of the Alliance of the people ( Alþýðubandalagið ), a left party, of 1987 with 1995; then to the government of Steingrímur Hermannsson as a Minister for Finance of 1988 enters to 1991.

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson is elected President the June 29th 1996 succeeding Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. He is re-elected without opposition in 2000 and for a third mandate the June 26th 2004 by beating Baldur Ágústsson with 85,6% of the voices.

The June 2nd 2004, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson inflicted to a very heavy snub with the Prime Minister Davíð Oddsson at the same time as it started a sharp constitutional debate while refusing, like authorizes article to him 26 of the Constitution, to ratify the law on the media voted by the Alþingi . Consequently the law was to be subjected to a referendum but to avoid a heavier disappointment, Davíð Oddsson preferred to withdraw its law. It was the first use of article 26 in Iceland.

Then a storm of impassioned constitutional debates fell down on Iceland to know if article 26 did not call into question the sovereignty of the Parliament and as a such article were unconstitutional. Some require a constitutional modification to amend article 26 and that only the sovereign people have the law to call into question a law voted to the Parliament.

The presidential one of 2004 with considering the record number of 21,2% blank votes or null . Some interpret this rejection like a criticism of the decision of the President not to sign the law on the media.

Grímsson married in 1974 with Guðrún Katrín Þorbergsdóttir and in 1975 Guðrún Katrín was confined of two binoculars. Guðrún Katrín is very popular in Iceland, and its charisma is one of the reasons which brought to the political success of her husband. Its death of a leukemia in 1998 was lived like a national drama.

Grímsson then became engaged to Dorrit Moussaieff in May 2000 before remarier the May 14th 2003 for its sixtieth birthday.

See too

List of the current leaders

External bond

official Biography

Simple: Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

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