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Steingrímur J. Sigfússon

b. 1955

Icelandic politician

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About Steingrímur J. Sigfússon

Born 1955. Steingrímur J. Sigfússon is an Icelandic politician.

Steingrímur Jóhann Sigfússon (born 4 August 1955) is an Icelandic politician. He has been a member of the Althing (Icelandic parliament) since 1983 and was the founding chairman of the Left-Green Movement (Vinstri hreyfingin – grænt framboð) from 1999 until 2013. He was the Minister for Agriculture and Communications from 1988 to 1991. He was Minister of Finance from 2009 to 2011. In 2011, he took on the roles of Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture and Minister of Economic Affairs. He was first elected as a member of the People's Alliance and helped found the Left-Green Movement after the merger of the People's Alliance into the more moderate Social Democratic Alliance.

Steingrímur was born in Gunnarsstaðir, a large sheep farm between Garður and Þórshöfn in the Þistilfjörður region of northeast Iceland (Svalbarðshreppur municipality). In his younger days he was an avid sportsman, both track and field and also a volleyball player. On 16 January 2006, Steingrímur was injured in a car accident not far from Blönduós but later recovered.

He supported the end of the US military presence in Iceland, but believed Iceland itself should have taken the initiative in ending this presence. Since September 2006, when US forces left Naval Air Station Keflavik, he has strongly opposed any possible development of an Icelandic army seeing the country's need for armed forces as practically non-existent. He believes that civilian institutions such as the police and the coast guard should be organized in order to provide the needed protection in the unlikely event of a major disturbance.

In November 2006, he published the book Við öll – Íslenskt velferðarsamfélag á tímamótum ("All of Us – Icelandic Welfare Society at Crossroads"), laying out his political ideology.

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Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Nationality
Education
University of Iceland
Positions held
Minister of Food, Fisheries and Agriculture (Iceland), Minister of Finance of Iceland, Member of the Althing, Member of the 2016-2017 Parliament of Iceland
Also known as
Steingrimur J. Sigfusson

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Steingrímur J. Sigfússon's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Steingrímur J. Sigfússon?

Icelandic politician

When was Steingrímur J. Sigfússon born?

Steingrímur J. Sigfússon was born on 4 August 1955 in Svalbarðshreppur.

What is Steingrímur J. Sigfússon's occupation?

Steingrímur J. Sigfússon is a politician.

What nationality is Steingrímur J. Sigfússon?

Steingrímur J. Sigfússon is Icelandic.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Steingrímur J. Sigfússon

· Wikidata: Q511882

· DBpedia: Steingrímur J. Sigfússon

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Steingrímur J. Sigfússon. https://biography.guide/steingrimur-j-sigfusson/

MLA: "Steingrímur J. Sigfússon." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/steingrimur-j-sigfusson/.

Chicago: "Steingrímur J. Sigfússon." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/steingrimur-j-sigfusson/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-21 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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