BJORNSSON, SVEINN

born Feb. 27, 1881, Reykjavk, Ice. died Jan. 25, 1952, Reykjavk statesman and diplomat who from 1944 to 1952 served as the first president of the Republic of Iceland. Bjrnsson was a lawyer at the Supreme Court after 1907 and became a member of the Reykjavk town council in 1912, acting as its president (191820). A member of the Althing (parliament) in 191416 and 1920, he served as special envoy to the United States (1914) and Great Britain (1915), arranging the first BritishIcelandic trade agreement. He acted as minister to Denmark (192024 and 192641) and was a delegate to several international conferences. Although Iceland has been independent since 1918, its foreign affairs had been conducted by Denmark until the beginning of World War II. The German occupation of Denmark after May 1940, however, resulted in Iceland's autonomy, and Bjrnsson was elected regent three times in 194143, assuming all the prerogatives in Icelandic affairs previously held by the Danish king. In July 1941, U.S. troops entered Iceland on the invitation of Bjrnsson's government and remained, in reduced numbers, after the war; their continued presence provoked the leading controversy in the nation's postwar foreign policy. He was elected president on the inauguration of the Republic of Iceland in 1944 and, was reelected by acclamation in 1945 and 1949.