Editing Kristján Eldjárn (section)

==Biography==
Kristján was born in Tjörn, Svarfaðardal, [[Danish Iceland|Iceland]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Kristján Eldjárn |url=https://www.mbl.is/greinasafn/grein/1534021/ |access-date=11 September 2021 |work=[[Morgunblaðið]] |date=6 December 2014 |language=Icelandic}}</ref> His parents were Þórarinn Kr. Eldjárn, a teacher in Tjörn, and Sigrún Sigurhjartardóttir. He graduated in [[archaeology]] from the [[University of Copenhagen]] and taught at the [[University of Iceland]]. In 1957 he was awarded a doctorate for his research into [[Old Norse religion|pagan]] burials in Iceland. He was a teacher at the [[Akureyri Junior College|Akureyri Grammar School]] and the College of Navigation in Reykjavík, becoming a curator at the [[National Museum of Iceland]] in 1945 and its Director in 1947, a position he held until the [[1968 Icelandic presidential election|1968 presidential election]].

Between 1966 and 1968, he hosted a series of educational TV programs on the (then new) Icelandic National Television ([[RÚV]]); on the program, he showed the audience some of the National Museum's artefacts and explained their historical context. These programs became quite popular, making him a well known and respected popular figure. This no doubt gave him the incentive needed to run in the 1968 presidential election as a politically [[independent (politics)|non-affiliated]] candidate.

Starting as the underdog in the 1968 presidential election, running against [[Ambassador]] [[Gunnar Thoroddsen]] who initially had a 70% lead in the opinion polls, Kristján won 65.6% of the vote on a 92.2% [[voter turnout]]. He was re-elected unopposed in 1972 and 1976. In 1980 he decided not to run for another term, wanting to devote his remaining years entirely to continuing his lifelong academic work.

President Kristján Eldjárn died following heart surgery in [[Cleveland, Ohio]] on 13 September 1982.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/16/obituaries/kristjan-eldjarn-former-president-of-iceland.html |title=Kristján Eldjárn, Former President of Iceland |work=[[The New York Times]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=16 September 1982 |access-date=22 June 2018 }}</ref>

His son [[Þórarinn Eldjárn]] is one of Iceland's most popular authors, specializing in short stories, but also writing poetry and an occasional novel. His daughter [[Sigrún Eldjárn]] is also an author and illustrator of several children's books. Þórarinn's son, [[Ari Eldjárn]], is a prominent stand-up comedian in Iceland.