Kjartan Jóhannsson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kjartan Jóhannsson
Minister of Commerce
In office 15 October 1979 – 8 February 1980
Prime Minister	Benedikt Sigurðsson Gröndal
Preceded by	Svavar Gestsson
Succeeded by	Tómas Árnason
Minister of Fisheries
In office 1 September 1978 – 8 February 1980
Prime Minister	Ólafur Jóhannesson Benedikt Sigurðsson Gröndal
Preceded by	Matthías Bjarnason
Succeeded by	Steingrímur Hermannsson
Personal details
Born	19 December 1939 Reykjavík, Iceland
Died	13 November 2020 (aged 80)
Political party	Social Democratic Party

Kjartan Jóhannsson (born December 19, 1939 – died November 13, 2020) was an important person from Iceland. He worked as a diplomat, a politician, a government minister, and even a professor. He helped Iceland connect with other countries and organizations around the world.

Kjartan was Iceland's ambassador to places like the European Union in Brussels, Belgium. He also worked with the UN in Geneva. He was the leader of the EFTA. In Iceland, he was a member of the Icelandic Parliament (Alþingi). He also led the Icelandic Social Democratic Party. He served as the Minister of Fisheries and Commerce. Later, he became a professor at the University of Iceland.

Kjartan's Education and Learning

After finishing high school at Reykjavík Junior College, Kjartan went to Stockholm, Sweden. He studied civil engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology. He earned his master's degree in 1963. He also took classes in business and economics at Stockholm University.

In 1964, Kjartan moved to Chicago, USA. He studied at the Illinois Institute of Technology with a special scholarship called a Fulbright Scholarship. He earned another master's degree in industrial engineering in 1965. He then continued his studies and earned a PhD in operations research. This field uses math and science to help organizations make better decisions.

Kjartan's Career and Work

Early Professional Work

From 1963 to 1965, Kjartan taught at Reykjavík Junior College. He also worked part-time for an engineering company and the Icelandic Road Administration. From 1966 to 1978, he ran his own company. His company helped businesses with planning and management.

Kjartan also taught at the University of Iceland. He started as a lecturer in 1966. In 1974, he became an associate professor. He kept this job until 1989, except when he was a government minister. Kjartan was one of the first people in Iceland to work with operations research. In 1967, he helped create the first computer program to predict election results in Iceland.

Political Journey

Kjartan became involved in politics in 1972. He was elected to the main council of the Social Democratic Party of Iceland. In 1974, he became the party's vice chairman. That same year, he was elected to the local council in Hafnarfjörður.

In 1978, Kjartan became a member of the Alþingi, Iceland's Parliament. He was re-elected three more times. He was appointed Minister of Fisheries in 1978. As minister, he became known for his strong ideas about protecting fish stocks. He was worried about too much fishing and too many fishing boats.

He stopped new investments in fishing vessels. He also stopped fishing for certain types of fish when scientists said there were too few. He suggested a quota system, which limits how much fish each boat can catch. Most notably, he completely stopped capelin fishing when scientists said the fish numbers were too low. This decision helped protect the capelin population. As Minister of Fisheries, he also spoke up for Iceland in a disagreement with Norway about capelin fishing rights.

In 1979, Kjartan also served as Minister of Commerce. He removed rules that limited the import of sweets, bread, and biscuits. This made it easier to buy these items from other countries.

In 1980, Kjartan became the chairman of the Social Democratic Party. His time as chairman was a bit difficult. Before the 1983 elections, some members left the party. This led to the Social Democratic Party losing many votes. In 1984, Kjartan lost his re-election for chairman.

From 1986 to 1989, Kjartan led groups that suggested changes to taxes. They introduced a "pay-as-you-go" system for income tax. They also suggested replacing sales tax with value-added tax. He also led a group looking at how Iceland should work with the European Union. In 1988, Kjartan was elected speaker of the Lower Chamber of the Althing. He held this position until 1989.

He was also part of the Parliamentary Committee of EFTA from 1985 to 1989. He helped create a plan for EFTA to work more closely with the European Union. He also played a key role in making trade in fish completely free between EFTA countries.

Diplomatic Career

In 1989, Kjartan became Iceland's ambassador to the UN and other international groups in Geneva. He was also part of the EFTA Council and its chairman from 1989 to 1990. He helped EFTA invite countries in Eastern and Central Europe to make free trade agreements. He also helped Iceland negotiate the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement. This agreement allows countries to be part of the EU's single market without being full EU members.

He represented Iceland in important trade talks called the Uruguay Round. These talks led to the creation of the WTO. In 1993, Kjartan was chosen to be the next Secretary General of EFTA. He was the first Icelander to lead an international organization. He started this job in 1994.

During his time as Secretary General, three EFTA countries joined the EU. This meant EFTA had to change a lot. Kjartan helped reorganize EFTA and reduce its staff. He also helped EFTA make more free trade agreements with countries in Europe and beyond.

After six years, Kjartan returned to the Icelandic Foreign Service. He helped Iceland prepare for talks with the EU about changes to the EEA agreement. In 2002, Kjartan became Iceland's ambassador to Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Morocco. He was also the chief negotiator for Iceland in talks with the EU. He stayed in this job until 2005, when he retired and returned to Iceland.