Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson - former president of Iceland

President of Iceland 1996-2016 Mr. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson celebrates his 80th birthday this coming Sunday, 14 May 2023.

To celebrate this remarkable man and the 80-year milestone in his life an International Symposium - Signposts to the Future - will be held in Harpa in Reykjavík on the occasion of his birthday, May 14th.

Mr. Grímsson is one of the most prominent and influential modern time speakers and thinkers on the Arctic and through his initiative The Arctic Circle he has initiated and shaped an Arctic Dialogue platform of Global importance.

The Symposium includes many distinguished speakers, as seen in the agenda below. It starts in Harpa at 13.30, concluding with a reception at 16.45, and is open to everyone!

The Agenda of the International Symposium - Signposts to the Future:

13:30 Opening

Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir, Minister of Culture and Business, Iceland: Opening remarks

Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland: Address

Al Gore, Vice President, USA, 1992-2000; Nobel Peace Prize, 2007: Message

Lisa Murkowski, Senator, USA: Message

Six Nations Peace Initiative

Lessons from the Success of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) 

Tom Harkin, Senator, 1985–2015, USA,: Opening

Silvia Hernandez, Senator, 1982-1988, 1991- 1994, 2000-2006; Minister, 1994-1997, Mexico

Thomas Downey, Congressman, 1975–1993, USA

Nicholas Dunlop, Secretary-General, the Climate Parliament; Former SecretaryGeneral, Parliamentarians for Global Action

Milind Deora, MP, 2004-2014; Minister, 2011-2014, India. Moderator

The Energy Revolution

Adnan Amin, CEO, COP28 in the United Arab Emirates; Director-General IRENA, 2011-2019: Opening

Chengyu Fu, Chairman, Sinopec Group, 2011-2015, China

Haukur Harðarson, Chairman and Founder, Arctic Green Energy

David Wallerstein, CXO, Tencent, USA/China/Europe

Halla Hrund Logadóttir, Director of Energy, Iceland. Moderator

Arctic - Climate

Peter Seligmann, CEO, Conservation International, 1987-2017; Founder Nia Tero, USA: Opening. Moderator

Kuupik Kleist, Prime Minister of Greenland, 2009-2013; Vice Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council

Atsushi Sunami, President, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan

Lassi Heininen, Professor Emeritus, University of Lapland, Finland

Politics in the Future

Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister

Lilja Alfreðsdóttir, Minister of Culture and Business

Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Kristrún Frostadóttir, Member of Parliament

Ólafur Þ. Harðarson, Professor Emeritus, University of Iceland. Moderator

Final Remarks

Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, President of Iceland

16:45 - 17:30 Reception

Signposts to the future

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