Career
He was Prime Minister of Iceland from 4 February 1947 to 6 December 1949. He was first elected to the Althing in 1934 but did not get reelected in 1937. From 1942 to 1953, he regained hiis seat in the Althing.
He was chairman of the now defunct Social Democratic Party (Alþýðuflokkurinn) from 1938 to 1952.
He was ambassador of Iceland in Denmark from 1957 to 1965. He was minister for social affairs from 1939 to 1941 and Minister of Foreign and Social Affairs from 1941 to 1942.