Gunnar Thoroddsen (December 29, 1910–September 27, 1983) was Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Iceland

The Prime Minister of Iceland is Iceland's head of government. The prime minister is appointed formally by the President and exercises executive authority along with the cabinet subject to parliamentary support....

 of Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

 from 8 February 1980 to 26 May 1983. Gunnar is the youngest man ever elected to 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...

, Iceland's Parliament. He was 23 years old when he was elected as MP in 1934. He served as an Ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

 of Iceland in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 from 1965 to 1969 when he ran for the presidency of Iceland

President of Iceland

The President of Iceland is Iceland's elected head of state. The president is elected to a four-year term by universal adult suffrage and has limited powers. The president is not the head of government; the Prime Minister of Iceland is the head of government. There have been five presidents since...

 in 1968. He wished to succeed his father in law, Ásgeir Ásgeirsson

Ásgeir Ásgeirsson

Ásgeir Ásgeirsson was the second President of Iceland, from 1952 to 1968.Educated as a theologian, Ásgeir graduated with honours from the University of Iceland in Reykjavík in 1915, but was considered too young to be ordained as a minister. He married Dóra Þórhallsdóttir in 1917. Dóra was the...

, who served as president from 1952 to 1968. Gunnar had been mayor of Reykjavík

Reykjavík

Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...

 from 1947 to 1959 and minister of finance from 1959 to 1965. He was minister of industry and a social welfare minister in the cabinet of Geir Hallgrímsson

Geir Hallgrímsson

Geir Hallgrímsson was the 16th Prime Minister of Iceland for the Independence Party from 28 August 1974 to 1 September 1978. Geir was mayor of Reykjavík from 1959 to 1972. During his term as mayor he greatly expanded the city and improved the inner structure...

 August 28, 1974 to June 27, 1978.

Gunnar and Geir were not in agreement and the disagreement led to Gunnar breaking away from the will of the Independence Party

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....

 with a few members of parliament and forming a cabinet with the Progressive Party

Progressive Party (Iceland)

The Progressive Party is an agrarian, liberal and centrist party in Iceland. The party is a member of the Liberal International. Current chairman of the party is Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. He was elected on January 18, 2009. His predecessor was Valgerður Sverrisdóttir, who only served as...

 and the People's Alliance

People's Alliance (Iceland)

The People's Alliance was an electoral alliance in Iceland from 1956 to 1968 and a political party from 1968 to 1998.-History:In 1916 the Social Democratic Party was formed in Iceland. In 1930 a split surged, thus forming the Communist Party of Iceland , recognised as the Icelandic section of the...

, that replaced a minority government of Benedikt Sigurðsson Gröndal. By forming his government Gunnar became the oldest Prime Minister in Iceland's history at the age of 69. Gunnar did not run in the 1983 elections for parliament, due to his illness, and ended his involvement in politics when his cabinet was succeeded by Steingrímur Hermannsson

Steingrímur Hermannsson

Steingrímur Hermannsson was Prime Minister of Iceland.-Early childhood:Steingrímur's father was Hermann Jónasson, another former Prime Minister. Being the son a prominent official, Steingrímur enjoyed a relatively care-free upbringing in a country stricken by the Great Depression...

's cabinet.

Gunnar Thoroddsen died in September 1983.