Þór Saari
Encyclopedia
Þór Saari is a member of parliament
of Althing
, the Iceland
ic parliament, representing the The Movement
. He was the The Movement's chairman, a rotating post, from October 2010 to October 2011. He previously represented the Citizens' Movement
.
Þór worked as sailor (Merchant Mariner) from age sixteen to twenty-six. He went to college at age twenty-seven and graduated with að Bachelors degree (Cum Laude) in Markting from the University of South Carolina in 1991. From 1991 to 1992 Þór lived in Barcelona, Spain and worked as an English lecturer at the Euroaula School of Hotel and Tourism Management and at the Centre D'Estudis Catalunya.
Þór moved to New York City in 1992 and studied economics at New York University from 1992 to 1994, graduating with an M.A. in Economics and an Advanced Certificate in International Economics in 1994. Worked as a Research Assistant at SOM Economics (part of The Brenner Group, 2 World Trade Center) from 1993 to 1995. Worked as a Database Administrator at The Conference Board from 1995 to 1997 and as an Editor at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in 1997, editing the United Nations Statistical Yearbook, 42nd edition.
He moved to Iceland in 1997 and worked as an Economist (Division Director) at the Central Bank of Iceland from 1997 to 2002. Obtained a Teacher Certificate from the University of Akureyri, Iceland in 2000. Worked as an Economist at Iceland´s National Debt Management Agency from 2002 to 2007 and as a part-time Lecturer at the Icelandic Polytechnical College, Faculty of Business from 2007 to 2009. From 2007 to 2009 Þór worked as a Consultant to the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) in Paris, France on it´s Africa Project on Government Debt Management and Bond Markets and to this day has ties to the project.
Þór was elected to the Icelandic Parliament in April 2009 for The Citizens Movement, later The Movement and has served on several Parliamentary committes such as the Budget Committee, the Economic and Trade Committee, the General Affairs Committe, the Industries Committee, and is a member of the Icelandic delegation to the West Nordic Council.
Þór has been active as a union Trustee for the Reykjavik Seafares Union, Anti-Death Penalty Co-ordinator for Amnesty International (South-East Region U.S.A.), organizer for South-Carolinians Against the Persian Gulf War, activist for Icelanders Against the Iraq War and is one of the founders of the Citizens Movement (later the Movement).
Þór is also a member of Amnesty International, The Movement, Future Iceland, The Iceland Nature Conservancy, The Reykjavik Academy, Unity-Grassrots Association, The Reykjavik Angling Club, Wave-Democracy Club, and the Union for Democracy and Public Interest.
Þór is divorced after a ten year marriage and has one daughter, Hildigunnur, now age 11.
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
of 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...
, the 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...
ic parliament, representing the The Movement
The Movement (Iceland)
The Movement is a political movement in Iceland. It has 3 members of parliament in the Alþingi . All of them are former Citizens' Movement MPs.*Þór Saari, economist*Margrét Tryggvadottir, editor...
. He was the The Movement's chairman, a rotating post, from October 2010 to October 2011. He previously represented the Citizens' Movement
Citizens' Movement (Iceland)
The Citizens' Movement is a political party in Iceland, founded by a number of grassroots movements in the lead up to the 2009 election during the Global Recession, which hit Iceland particularly hard....
.
Life and carrer
Þór (Thor) was born in Miami Beach, Florida in 1960 to parents Rannveig Steingrímsdóttir (Iceland) and Lee Elis Roy Saari (Finland) Þór moved to Reykjavik, Iceland at the age of six.Þór worked as sailor (Merchant Mariner) from age sixteen to twenty-six. He went to college at age twenty-seven and graduated with að Bachelors degree (Cum Laude) in Markting from the University of South Carolina in 1991. From 1991 to 1992 Þór lived in Barcelona, Spain and worked as an English lecturer at the Euroaula School of Hotel and Tourism Management and at the Centre D'Estudis Catalunya.
Þór moved to New York City in 1992 and studied economics at New York University from 1992 to 1994, graduating with an M.A. in Economics and an Advanced Certificate in International Economics in 1994. Worked as a Research Assistant at SOM Economics (part of The Brenner Group, 2 World Trade Center) from 1993 to 1995. Worked as a Database Administrator at The Conference Board from 1995 to 1997 and as an Editor at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in 1997, editing the United Nations Statistical Yearbook, 42nd edition.
He moved to Iceland in 1997 and worked as an Economist (Division Director) at the Central Bank of Iceland from 1997 to 2002. Obtained a Teacher Certificate from the University of Akureyri, Iceland in 2000. Worked as an Economist at Iceland´s National Debt Management Agency from 2002 to 2007 and as a part-time Lecturer at the Icelandic Polytechnical College, Faculty of Business from 2007 to 2009. From 2007 to 2009 Þór worked as a Consultant to the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) in Paris, France on it´s Africa Project on Government Debt Management and Bond Markets and to this day has ties to the project.
Þór was elected to the Icelandic Parliament in April 2009 for The Citizens Movement, later The Movement and has served on several Parliamentary committes such as the Budget Committee, the Economic and Trade Committee, the General Affairs Committe, the Industries Committee, and is a member of the Icelandic delegation to the West Nordic Council.
Þór has been active as a union Trustee for the Reykjavik Seafares Union, Anti-Death Penalty Co-ordinator for Amnesty International (South-East Region U.S.A.), organizer for South-Carolinians Against the Persian Gulf War, activist for Icelanders Against the Iraq War and is one of the founders of the Citizens Movement (later the Movement).
Þór is also a member of Amnesty International, The Movement, Future Iceland, The Iceland Nature Conservancy, The Reykjavik Academy, Unity-Grassrots Association, The Reykjavik Angling Club, Wave-Democracy Club, and the Union for Democracy and Public Interest.
Þór is divorced after a ten year marriage and has one daughter, Hildigunnur, now age 11.