Editing Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (section)

==Political career==
As part of the [[left-wing politics|left-wing]] [[People's Alliance (Iceland)|People's Alliance]], Ólafur was a Member of [[Althing]] for [[Reykjavík (Althing constituency)|Reykjavík]] from 1978 to 1983. During this time, from 1980 to 1983, he was Chairman of the [[People's Alliance (Iceland)|People's Alliance]] parliamentary group. Subsequently, he was Chairman of the People's Alliance executive committee from 1983 to 1987; additionally, from 1983 to 1985 he was editor of a newspaper, ''Þjóðviljinn''.<ref name=CV/> From 1981 to 1984, he was also a member of the [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]], serving again briefly from 1995 to 1996.<ref name="pres">{{cite web|title=President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson|url=https://www.unido.org/fileadmin/user_media/UNIDO_Header_Site/Subsites/Green_Industry_Asia_Conference__Maanila_/GC13/Olafur_Bio_Final.pdf|website=United Nations|access-date=22 April 2016}}</ref> In 1984, with three other left-wing intellectuals, he took part in a [https://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=EBBF6DB20C85145A debate] with economist [[Milton Friedman]], who was in Iceland to give a lecture on the "tyranny of the status quo" at the [[University of Iceland]].

Ólafur was chairman and later President of [[Parliamentarians for Global Action]] (PGA) from 1984 to 1990, serving on their council until 1996. In 1986, he received the [[Indira Gandhi Prize]] on behalf of the PGA.<ref name=pres /> From 1987 to 1995, he was Leader of the People's Alliance. During this time, he served as [[Ministry of Finance (Iceland)|Minister of Finance]] from 1988 to 1991.<ref name="formerfinmins">{{Cite web|url=http://www.fjarmalaraduneyti.is/radherra/fyrri_radherrar|title=Fyrri ráðherrar &#124; Fjármálaráðuneytið|date=March 25, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325200911/http://www.fjarmalaraduneyti.is/radherra/fyrri_radherrar|archive-date=25 March 2010}}</ref> As Minister of Finance, he "was subjected to the idea that the rating agencies were the golden judges of financial health."<ref name="saga">{{cite news|last1=Reid|first1=Stuart|title=Iceland's Saga: A Conversation With Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/interviews/2013-12-06/icelands-saga|access-date=18 April 2016|work=Foreign Affairs|date=February 2014}}</ref> He was re-elected as a Member of Althing for [[Reykjanes (Althing constituency)|Reykjanes]] from 1991 to 1996.