Icelandic political scandals
Encyclopedia
Icelandic political scandals are political scandal
s which have occurred in Iceland's history
and are connected to Iceland's
politicians:
Political scandal
A political scandal is a kind of political corruption that is exposed and becomes a scandal, in which politicians or government officials are accused of engaging in various illegal, corrupt, or unethical practices...
s which have occurred in Iceland's history
History of Iceland
-Early history:In geological terms, Iceland is a young island. It started to form about 20 million years ago from a series of volcanic eruptions on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge...
and are connected to Iceland's
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
politicians:
- (1911) Bankafarganið – Public opinion shifted to mistrust when Björn JónssonBjörn JónssonBjörn Jónsson was Prime Minister of Iceland from 31 March 1909 to 14 March 1911. He was the father of Sveinn Björnsson, the only governor and first president of Iceland. Björn became minister of Iceland after Hannes Hafstein and his supporters suffered a bad outcome in the elections of 1908, where...
, the Icelandic minister, fired the director of the national bank. - (1923) The Magnús Jónsson scandal – Magnús JónssonMagnús JónssonMagnús Jónsson or Magnús prúði was an Icelandic official and poet.He was born to a well-off family and received his education in Iceland and Germany, probably Hamburg...
from Úlfljótsvatn resigned from office as Minister of Finance, after he had been criticized in the AlthingAlthingThe Alþingi, anglicised variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national parliament of Iceland. The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant...
. - (1930) The Big Bomb – Jónas Jónsson from Hriflu fired Helga Tómasson, head physician of Kleppi hospital, after she had warned Jónas that he was exhibiting signs of mental illness and should immediately stop holding office as Minister of Justice.
- (1932) The Magnús Guðmundsson scandal – Minister of Justice Magnús GuðmundssonMagnús Guðmundsson (politician)Magnús Guðmundsson was an Icelandic politician. He graduated in laws from the University of Copenhagen in 1907. Magnus was a member of Althingi for his constituency in North west Iceland from 1916 till the day of his death in 1937...
resigned after Hermann Jónasson found him guilty in a case which connected insolvency proceedings to his wholesale firm. Magnús resumed his position after he was acquitted in Hæstarétti. - (1937) The eider duck scandal – Hermann Jónasson, then chief of police in Reykjavík and city representative for the Progressive PartyProgressive Party (Iceland)The Progressive Party is an agrarian, liberal and centrist party in Iceland. The party is a member of the Liberal International. Current chairman of the party is Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. He was elected on January 18, 2009. His predecessor was Valgerður Sverrisdóttir, who only served as...
was accused of shooting eider ducksCommon EiderThe Common Eider, Somateria mollissima, is a large sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breeds in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, but winters somewhat farther south in temperate zones, when it can form large flocks on...
which were protected. - (1941) Military protection scandal – Prime minister Hermann Jónasson asked Bertil Eric Kuniholm, consul from the US, to relay to his superiors in Washington that Hermann wanted no black men in the troops which were sent to Iceland according to the U.S.-Icelandic defense agreement.
- (1976) Ólafur JóhannessonÓlafur JóhannessonÓlafur Jóhannesson was the fifteenth Prime Minister of Iceland for the Progressive Party on two occasions. He was a member of the Progressive Party, serving as party chairman during the 1980s.-Career:...
was judged guilty of defamation for the comment "Mafia she is and mafia she shall be called" about the so-called Vísir mafiaDV (newspaper)DV is an Icelandic newspaper published by DV ehf. It came into existence in 1981 when two formerly independent newspapers, "Vísir" and "Dagblaðið", merged. It is published four times a week from Monday to Friday...
. - Green bean scandal – Steingrímur HermannssonSteingrímur HermannssonSteingrímur Hermannsson was Prime Minister of Iceland.-Early childhood:Steingrímur's father was Hermann Jónasson, another former Prime Minister. Being the son a prominent official, Steingrímur enjoyed a relatively care-free upbringing in a country stricken by the Great Depression...
, then executive director of Iceland's Research Council, purchased green beanGreen beanGreen beans , also known as French beans , are the unripe fruit of any kind of bean, including the yardlong bean, the hyacinth bean, the winged bean, and especially the common bean , whose pods are also usually called string beans in the northeastern and western United States, but can also be...
s and other food for the SurtseySurtseySurtsey is a volcanic island off the southern coast of Iceland. At it is also the southernmost point of Iceland. It was formed in a volcanic eruption which began 130 metres below sea level, and reached the surface on 15 November 1963. The eruption lasted until 5 June 1967, when the island...
Island Society of which he was director of accounting. The purchases were discovered in the Research Council bookkeeping, but the green beans were listed as car maintenance for the Research Council. - (1987) Albert GuðmundssonAlbert GuðmundssonAlbert Sigurður Guðmundsson was the first Icelandic professional football player and played for, amongst others, Rangers, Arsenal, FC Nancy and AC Milan. After retiring from his sporting career he became a politician and was a member of Alþingi for 15 years, serving as Minister of Finance and...
resigned from office as minister due to payments he received from HafskipHafskipHafskip was Iceland's second-largest shipping line before its collapse which became a national scandal.The firm had fallen deep into debt and might have sunk quietly had it not been for its ties to Iceland's finance minister, who was its former chairman and still a shareholder...
for which he had not prepared a tax statement. - (1988) Alcohol purchase scandal – Jón Baldvin HannibalssonJón Baldvin HannibalssonJón Baldvin Hannibalsson is an Icelandic politician.-Education:The son of Hannibal Valdimarsson, Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson earned an MA in Economics from University of Edinburgh in 1963. He studied at Stockholm University from 1963–1964, and studied teacher education at the University of Iceland in...
and Magnús Thoroddsen presiding judge of the Supreme CourtSupreme Court of IcelandThe Supreme Court of Iceland holds the highest judicial power in Iceland. It is the oldest court of law in Iceland and the higher of the two court branches, while the District Courts of Iceland are the lower. Nine judges sit in the court and hold command over the President of Iceland in accordance...
were criticized for purchasing alcohol at discounted prices for personal use between 1987–1988. Magnús was quickly dismissed from his post by Halldór ÁsgrímssonHalldór ÁsgrímssonHalldór Ásgrímsson is an Icelandic politician, formerly Prime Minister of Iceland from 2004 to 2006 and leader of the Progressive Party from 1994 to 2006.-Education and early life:...
, then Minister of Justice, because of the purchase of more than 2000 bottles. - (1994) Guðmundur Árni Stefánsson resigned from office as Health- and Security Minister in November 1994 after harsh criticism of his official bookkeeping in a report from the National Audit Office.
- (2001) Árni Johnsen resigned as MP, and was then sentenced to prisonPrisonA prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
for various enrichment violations. - (2004) Þórólfur ÁrnasonÞórólfur ÁrnasonÞórólfur Árnason took over as the mayor of Reykjavík on February 1, 2003 after the Left Greens and the Progressive Party had demanded that Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, which was mayor next before Þórólfur, would either resign, or decide not to pursue a career in national politics.His appointment...
resigned from office as mayor of ReykjavíkReykjavíkReykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
in November 2004 after charges that he had been guilty of consultation with oil partners. - (2006) Puffin scandal – Einar K. Guðfinnsson Ministry of FisheriesMinistry of Fisheries and Agriculture (Iceland)The Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture is a cabinet-level ministry.On 13 June 2007 the parliament of Iceland passed law changes to merge the Ministry of Fisheries and the Ministry of Agriculture, which took effect on 1 January 2008. It is an important economic ministry, with fisheries...
was exposed for illegal puffinPuffinPuffins are any of three small species of auk in the bird genus Fratercula with a brightly coloured beak during the breeding season. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among...
hunting at Grímsey á Steingrímsfirði without a stipulated hunting licenseHunting licenseA hunting license is a regulatory or legal mechanism to control recreational and sports hunting.Hunting may be regulated informally by "unwritten law", "self restraint", or "morality" and by laws "enforced by government authority."...
. - (2008) Ólafur F. Magnússon fired his assistant twice.
- (2008) Bjarni HarðarsonBjarni HarðarsonBjarni Harðarson is a bookseller and former MP from the Icelandic Progressive Party. He was elected to parliament in 2007 as the eighth MP from the Suðurkjördæmi electoral district.-Resignation:...
resigned as MP due to mistakenly sending an email which was meant to be secret and anonymous, but was unintentionally sent to the mass media. - (2009) Subsidy scandal: In early April the Independence PartyIndependence Party (Iceland)The Independence Party is a centre-right political party in Iceland. Liberal conservative and Eurosceptic, it is the second-largest party in the Althing, with sixteen seats. The chairman of the party is Bjarni Benediktsson and vice chairman is Ólöf Nordal....
received a 55 million krónurIcelandic krónaThe króna is the currency of Iceland. The króna is technically subdivided into 100 aurar , but in practice this subdivision is no longer used....
subsidy from FL-group and Landsbanka ÍslandsLandsbankiLandsbanki, also commonly known as Landsbankinn in Iceland, is a private Icelandic bank with international operations...
the day before a 300.000 krónur ceiling was set for subsidies to political parties.