The Icelandic statesman Davíd Oddsson passed away on 1 March 2026, at the age of 78. He was not only the most influential politician in our history by far: Mayor of Reykjavik, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Governor of the Central Bank of Iceland, and Chief Editor of the daily Morgunbladid. He was also my best friend. Therefore, I cannot claim to be impartial, but on the other hand, I occupied a front seat in the arena in which he acted, so perhaps my observations are worth something.