Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Prime Minister of Iceland | |
| Assumed office 23 May 2013 | |
| President | Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson |
| Preceded by | Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 March 1975 Reykjavík, Iceland |
| Political party | Progressive Party |
| Spouse | Anna Sigurlaug Pálsdóttir |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | University of Copenhagen University of Oxford |
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈsɪɣmʏntʏr ˈtaːvið ˈkʏnløyxsɔn]; born 12 March 1975) is an Icelandic politician who has been Prime Minister of Iceland since 2013. He has also been chairman of the Progressive Party since 2009. He was elected to the Althing (Iceland's parliament) as the 8th member for the Reykjavík North constituency on 25 April 2009. He currently represents the Northeast Constituency as its 1st member since 27 April 2013.
Life and career
He has a degree in economics and political science.[1]
He was elected chairman of the Progressive Party on 18 January 2009 with 40.9% of the votes of party members, beating Höskuldur Þórhallsson (37.9%).[2]
On 22 January 2009, Sigmundur Davíð proposed the support of the Progressive Party's seven votes in the Althing for a minority coalition between the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement, as an alternative to the ruling coalition between the Independence Party and the Social Democratic Alliance and with the aim of forcing early elections.[3] The next day, Prime Minister Geir Haarde announced elections for 9 May 2009, in which for health reasons he would not be a candidate.
In the Althing election on 27 April 2013, the Progressive Party and Independence Party each won 19 seats.[4] On 30 April President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson asked Sigmundur Davíð to form a government.[5]
On 17 May 2013 Icelandic media reported that Sigmundur Davíð, as chairman of the Progressive Party, would become Iceland’s next prime minister while the leader of the Independence Party, Bjarni Benediktsson, would take up the position of Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs.[6] He is the youngest prime minister in the history of the Icelandic Republic and was the world's youngest democratically elected head of government at that time.[7]
References
- ^ "New government in Iceland", Nordic Labour Journal, 23 May 2013, retrieved 29 May 2013
- ^ "Sigmundur kjörinn formaður", Morgunblaðið, 18 January 2009. Template:Is icon
- ^ Opposition attempts to call Iceland elections, bypassing PM, IceNews, 22 January 2009
- ^ Iceland vote: Centre-right opposition wins election, BBC News, 28 April 2013, retrieved 1 May 2013
- ^ Robert Roberson; Balazs Koranyi (30 April 2013), Iceland's center-right Progressives to form new government, Reuters, retrieved 1 May 2013
- ^ Iceland Election: Sigmundur Davíð to be Prime Minister icelandreview.com, 18 May 2013, retrieved 19 May 2013
- ^ Young Guns icelandreview.com, 3 June 2013, retrieved 3 June 2013