The Tribute of the Day must go to the Prime Minister of Iceland. Unfortunately, this blog did not exist when I had the great fortune of listening to Mr. Geir H. Haarde (amazing CV) and meeting him after his speech at the Oxford Union, where the photo is taken. He is a humble politician valuing true liberal, and foremost economically liberal values and ideas. Most importantly, he is not only valuing them, he is also leading his country with them as guiding light, with inspiration from Adam Smith (Oxford) and John Locke (Oxford).
Iceland is a country that was heavily dependent on its fishing industry and did not have much more to offer. The oil chocks of the late 1970 and early 80s hit the country hard, after which they choose the economic path of Thatcher and Reagan in the early 80s. And it has paid off. Today, the country has a record low level of unemployment, 1%, increased living standards, and the economy, that is so dependent on the rest of the world for trade, is doing well. The general quality of life in Iceland is today ranked the best in the world. And they continue cutting taxes. An amazing country I must say. The Prime Minister opens up his office once a week for the citizens to come and ask questions. And he speaks a remarkable number of languages, including Swedish.