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3rd President of Iceland | |
| Predecessor | Jón Þorláksson |
| Successor | Ásgeir Ásgeirsson |
| Born | 23 April 1902 |
| Died | 8 February 1998 (aged 95) |
| Spouse | Auður Laxness |
| Father | Sigurður Laxness |
| Mother | Guðjónína Laxness |
| Issue | 8 |
| Political Party | Independent |
| Religion | Agnostic |
| Profession | Writer and Politician |
Halldór Laxness (23 April 1902 – 8 February 1998) was the President of Iceland from 1942 to 1946. He was also an Icelandic writer and winner of the 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature. His writing include numerous novels, poetry, newspaper articles, essays, plays, travelogues and short stories.
Early Life[]
Halldór Guðjónsson was born in Reykjavík in 1902. When he was three his family moved to the Laxnes farm in Mosfellssveit parish. He started to read books and write stories at an early age and attended the technical school in Reykjavík from 1915 to 1916. His earliest published writing appeared in 1916 in the children's newspapers Æskan and Sólskin, the latter being a part of the North American Icelandic newspaper Lögberg, as well as in Morgunblaðið. Halldór volunteered in the Anglo-American War on the British side during which time he wrote Kanakálun (Yankee Killings) which became one of the best written description of events on the frontlines.
The 1942 Election[]
Laxness had been a consistent contributor to the independent Icelandic literary world for a decade when he announced he hope to succeed Jón Þorláksson on Rás 1. As the President’s health had floundered he had proposed a referendum to reinstate the office of Prime Minister which was agreed upon and enforced by 1941. Laxness thus sought to be the first powerless President and whilst most politicians tried to get party leadership the decorated writer became the only qualified candidate and was sworn into office on Independence Day, 1942.
Presidency[]
Laxness’s presidency much like the man himself had many oddities like how he preferred his home at Glúfrasteinn to the former Governor’s mansion of Bessastaðir and he refused to host guests over there or the fact he would drive foreign dignitaries from and to the airport. He was content with allowing his Prime Ministers to govern without any interference. His only infrastructure contribution was constructing the Nuuk Public Library (now Laxness Library) because he thought “The Greenlanders have every right to be bored of Icelandic as we are.” He declined to to seek a second term in 1946 in order tocontinue with his literary work.
Nobel Prize and later years[]
In 1952 Laxness was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize and in 1953 he was awarded the Soviet-sponsored World Peace Council literary Prize.A Swedish film adaptation of his novel Salka Valka, directed by Arne Mattsson and filmed by Sven Nykvist, was released in 1954. In 1955 Laxness was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "… for his vivid epic power, which has renewed the great narrative art of Iceland". In 1957 Halldór and his wife went on a world tour, stopping in New York City, Washington, DC, Chicago, Madison, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Peking (Beijing), Bombay (Mumbai), Cairo and Rome. Laxness was awarded the Sonning Prize in 1969. In 1970 Laxness published an influential ecological essay, Hernaðurinn gegn landinu(The War Against the Land). He continued to write essays and memoirs throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s. As he grew older he began to suffer from Alzheimer's disease and eventually moved into a nursing home, where he died at the age of 95.
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