[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 19027]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                           ICELANDIC HERITAGE

 Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the 
Icelandic heritage of our country and of the state of North Dakota.
  For a century it has been North Dakota's custom to set aside time to 
honor the contributions of Icelanders to North Dakota. In order to 
honor the thousands of people of Icelandic descent that reside in my 
state, the Governor has proclaimed July 30 to August 2 as Icelandic 
Heritage Days.
  Icelandic Heritage Days culminates with a celebration of the 
historical presentation of a new constitution to the Icelandic 
Parliament. This occurred on August the second, or ``August the 
Deuce,'' as many Icelanders call it, 1874 by King Kristjan the Ninth. 
This action formally freed Iceland from hundreds of years of Danish 
rule.
  In 1878, people of Icelandic descent first settled in northeastern 
North Dakota. Since this time, Icelandic-Americans have been 
instrumental in the development of their communities and my state. One 
settler, E.H. Bergman, was a member of the Territorial Legislature, 
which passed legislation enabling the establishment of the states of 
North and South Dakota. Since Bergman's time, many more people of 
Icelandic descent have represented their constituencies in the ND 
Legislature and state government.
  Mr. President, this year's celebration is especially noteworthy 
because an honored dignitary, the Honorable Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, the 
President of Iceland, will be in attendance. This visit will mark the 
first time that an Icelandic head-of-state has visited North Dakota.
  It is a pleasure to have President Grimsson visit North Dakota, and a 
privilege to honor Icelandic-Americans for all they have done for North 
Dakota and this great country.

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