Exhibit 31.1  Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

I, Joseph S. Micallef, President of the Trustees and Chief Executive Officer
of Great Northern Iron Ore Properties, certify that:

| | 1. |  | I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of Great Northern
Iron Ore Properties;
| | -- |  | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| | 2. |  | Based on my knowledge, this Annual Report does not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this Annual Report;
| | -- |  | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| | 3. |  | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
financial information included in this Annual Report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of
operations and cash flows of the Registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this Annual Report;
| | -- |  | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| | 4. |  | The Registrants other certifying officers and I are
responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e)
and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the
Registrant and we have:
| | -- |  | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| |  | a) |  | designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
Registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the
period in which this Annual Report is being prepared; and
| |  | -- |  | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| |  | b) |  | designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused
such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the
reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles; and
| |  | -- |  | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| |  | c) |  | evaluated the effectiveness of the Registrants disclosure
controls and procedures and presented in this Annual Report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and
procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report based on such evaluation; and
| |  | -- |  | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| |  | d) |  | disclosed in this Annual Report any change in the
Registrants internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the Registrants most recent fiscal quarter
(the Registrants fourth quarter in the case of an Annual Report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to
materially affect, the Registrants internal control over financial reporting;
| |  | -- |  | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| | 5. |  | The Registrants other certifying officers and I have
disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the Registrants auditors and
the audit committee of the Registrants board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent function):
| | -- |  | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| |  | a) |  | all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Registrants
ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
| |  | -- |  | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| |  | b) |  | any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
other employees who have a significant role in the Registrants internal controls over financial reporting.
| |  | -- |  | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

|Date: |                                                                            | February 7, 2005 |  | By: |  | /s/   Joseph S. Micallef | 
|----- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- |  | --- |  | ------------------------ | 
|      |                                                                            |                  |  |    
|      | Joseph S. Micallef, President of the Trustees,     Chief Executive Officer

---