Nicole Brown
630-571-5466 ext. 366
Melitta Cutright
630-571-5466 ext. 327

For Immediate Release

President of Iceland to Address Lions Clubs International Convention

OAK BROOK, Illinois, June 1, 2005—Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, president of the Republic of Icleand, will serve as the keynote speaker for the 89th Lions Clubs International Convention in Boston, Massachusetts. He will address attendees at the second plenary session on Monday, July 3, 2006.

Elected as Iceland's fifth president in 1996, he received his Ph.D. in political science from Manchester University in England and initiated the teaching of political science at the University of Iceland. President Grimsson was a member of the board of the Progressive Party's Youth Federation and was elected to the Icelandic Parliament as a representative of Reykjavik for the People's Alliance Party.

From 1984 to 1990, he was chair, and later president, of the International Association of Parliamentarians for Global Action and a member of its board until 1996. On behalf of the association, he accepted the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize in 1987.

Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organization with nearly 1.35 million members in more than 46,000 clubs in 197 countries and geographic areas. In addition to its efforts toward conquering blindness, the organization has made a strong commitment to community service and helping youth throughout the world. To learn more about Lions Clubs International, visit www.lionsclubs.org.

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