64 Quotes by Icelandic authors

Icelandic sayings carry the salt of the North Atlantic and the hush of long winters. Stoic yet playful, they braid sagas’ fatalism with everyday wit, weighing luck against labor, kinship against solitude, and nature’s whim against human stubbornness. Images of lava fields, grazing sheep, and creaking sea ice surface in terse lines, where understatement cuts sharper than bravado. Folklore walks beside modernity, trolls and bankers sharing a bench. Expect weather as a moral, humor as a shield, and language honed like volcanic glass.

See the complete list of authors from Iceland

"Leadership ultimately comes down to asking yourself the question, who am I not to offer myself up to do something?"

Halla Tómasdóttir, Entrepreneur

Halla Tómasdóttir

"In the early years of the 21st century, Abu Dhabi has served as the primary venue for urgent global discussions on a clean energy future; a country rich in fossil fuels demonstrating a vision of the use of alternative energy sources which the world now must turn into concrete actions"

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

"My mission was to urge decision-makers in this great country to realise the enormous geothermal potential of the US, to hammer home how such a transformation could bring economic and technological benefits to the American people, paving the road towards a clean energy future, helping to bring strategic advantage and bolster energy independence in an increasingly volatile world"

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

"And, if we are going to be successful in the energy revolution that must take place if we are going to prevent irreversible climate change, not to say for our own economic benefit, we need quickly to turn down these walls of division and separation between the different clean energy systems"

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

"With these words I welcome you all and thank each and every one of you for your contribution to the success of the Arctic Circle; it has indeed been, and will continue to be, a joint endeavour in our common journey towards a responsible Arctic future and a sustainable world"

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

"But Iceland, as was mentioned in the introduction, can also serve as an inspiration, as an example of how to battle climate change through comprehensive transformation of our energy systems"

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

"Thus it can truly be said, based on our experience, that the development of a clean-energy economy is a good insurance policy against long-term difficulties which inevitably will continue to plague all financial markets"

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

"An abundance of clean energy gives countries a strategic advantage in the 21st century global economy"

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

"Respect for the facts and scientific evidence has been more important than displays of political and economic power"

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

"Ms Finnbogadottir qualified languages as "humanity's most precious and fragile treasures""

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

"She highlighted the value of languages both as means of communication and as expressions of culture and identity"

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

"If they disappear, so will important knowledge. Such as knowledge of the land and environment. And memories will disappear. The language is a treasure chest for memories"

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

"With our effort, we can be a model for other nations as an inspiration how to safeguard a language, thus with our help other nations can also learn to strengthen the self-image"

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

"It is first and foremost our own responsibility. We can't ask the people of the world to help us"

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

"Icelandic is us, and while we talk this precious language, we have our very special identity"

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

"Our main character as a nation will disappear. Our self-image disappears if we have to translate our memories into another language"

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

"I am not the only one shouting in the wilderness. We Icelanders are all a bit worried about our language, the treasure of our identity"

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

"We're all cut from the same cloth, just not equally lucky in being born in a place more favoured than the next"

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

"We are all human, with our hearts in the same place and our heads in the same place"

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

"Disdain for people is one thing I cannot accept, because I think we are all of equal value"

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

"If you believe in a brighter future, you will work toward making the future brighter, or at least no darker than now"

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

"And the moment you believe in something, you start working towards it"

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

"Believe in what is brighter than today. Believe in it, because it empowers"

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

"Things have changed greatly and, to my mind, really, my one accomplishment in life was to give young girls and women confidence in themselves: 'If she can do it, so can I.' And that's enough for me to have done in this life, to have given women confidence"

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

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