Halldór Blöndal
Encyclopedia
Halldór Blöndal is a politician of the Independence Party (Iceland)
. He is the son of Kristjana Benediktsdóttir, Bjarni Benediktsson
's sister. He worked as a teacher and a journalist from 1959 until 1980. Form 1971 to 1979 he frequently sat on Althingi as a substitute member. He gained a seat of his own in the Parliament in 1979, where he has served for Iceland's North Eastern Constituency. Counted as strong supporter of whaling
due to his summertime jobs in whale processing from 1954 to 1974, he helped building whale watching tourism industry while he was Minister of Communication and Tourism 1991 to 1999. He was also Minister of Agriculture in the first term of Davíð Oddsson
as prime minister from 1991 to 1995. From 1999–2005, Halldór was the president of the Althing
and during his term the old house of the Althing was completely renovated and a new service building erected. He is from 2005 chairman of the Committee of foreign affairs of Althing.
Independence Party (Iceland)
The Independence Party is a centre-right political party in Iceland. Liberal conservative and Eurosceptic, it is the second-largest party in the Althing, with sixteen seats. The chairman of the party is Bjarni Benediktsson and vice chairman is Ólöf Nordal....
. He is the son of Kristjana Benediktsdóttir, Bjarni Benediktsson
Bjarni Benediktsson
Bjarni Benediktsson was Prime Minister of Iceland from 14 November 1963 to 10 July 1970. His father, Benedikt Sveinsson , was a leader in the independence movement in Iceland and a member of Althingi from 1908 to 1931.Bjarni studied constitutional law and became professor at the University of...
's sister. He worked as a teacher and a journalist from 1959 until 1980. Form 1971 to 1979 he frequently sat on Althingi as a substitute member. He gained a seat of his own in the Parliament in 1979, where he has served for Iceland's North Eastern Constituency. Counted as strong supporter of whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
due to his summertime jobs in whale processing from 1954 to 1974, he helped building whale watching tourism industry while he was Minister of Communication and Tourism 1991 to 1999. He was also Minister of Agriculture in the first term of Davíð Oddsson
Davíð Oddsson
Davíð Oddsson is an Icelandic politician and the longest-serving Prime Minister of Iceland, holding office from 1991 to 2004. He also served as Foreign Minister from 2004 to 2005. Previously, he was Mayor of Reykjavík from 1982 to 1991, and he chaired the board of governors of the Central Bank of...
as prime minister from 1991 to 1995. From 1999–2005, Halldór was the president of the Althing
Althing
The Alþingi, anglicised variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national parliament of Iceland. The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant...
and during his term the old house of the Althing was completely renovated and a new service building erected. He is from 2005 chairman of the Committee of foreign affairs of Althing.