Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson

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Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson (2014)

Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson ([ ˈsɪɣmʏntʏr ˈtaːvið ˈkʏnløyxsɔn ], German transcription Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson ; born March  12, 1975 in Reykjavík ) is an Icelandic politician. He is a member of the Icelandic parliament Althing and was chairman of the Progress Party from 2009 to 2016 . He was Prime Minister of Iceland from May 23, 2013 to April 6, 2016, and Minister of Justice from late August to early December 2014 . In connection with the Panama Papers , he is accused of having withheld his wife's previous stake in a mailbox company from Parliament. In September 2017 he left the Progress Party and founded the Center Party (Miðflokkurinn) for early parliamentary elections .

Life

Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson grew up in Breiðholt , a district in the east of the Icelandic capital Reykjavík. His parents are Gunnlaugur Magnús Sigmundsson and Sigríður G. Sigurbjörnsdóttir. Gunnlaugur was from 1995 to 1999 a member of the Progress Party in the Icelandic Althing and at times also head of the Icelandic airline Icelandair . Since Gunnlaugur was employed by the World Bank in Washington from 1982 to 1985 , Sigmundur Davíð spent several years of his childhood in the USA.

In 1995 Sigmundur Davíð graduated from the Menntaskólinn in Reykjavík. He then began economics to study and graduated in 2005 with a BS exam (BS próf) in the subject Business Administration at the University of Iceland . In addition, he completed study visits to Moscow and Copenhagen. He also spent a total of five years at Oxford University , where he did postgraduate studies in economics and political science and also received further training in a specialty economic planning. The aim of all of this was to obtain a DPhil degree. There were contradicting statements about this desired degree at Oxford; the Icelandic press addressed this in 2011. Sigmundur Davíð announced on his website that he had spent a total of 5 years in Oxford, but did not graduate there with a doctorate. Although he wrote a thesis, he had not yet been able to complete the associated oral defense due to lack of time. He wants to make up for this at some point. He was unwilling to give the Icelandic media permission to check his statements on the spot in Oxford.

Sigmundur Davíð also worked as a part-time journalist for the state broadcaster RÚV from 2000 to 2007 .

politics

In January 2009 the Progress Party elected a successor to Valgerður Sverrisdóttir in the party chairmanship. Sigmundur Davíð received 40.9 percent of the vote in the first ballot, his opponents 37.9 percent ( Höskuldur Þórhallsson ) and 18.9 percent (Páll Magnússon). Since none of the candidates received more than 50 percent of the vote, a run-off election took place on January 18, 2009 . Sigmundur Davíð was elected as the new leader of the Progress Party with 56 percent of the vote. In the parliamentary elections in 2009 , he ran as the top candidate of his party and was able to gain a seat in the constituency of Reykjavík-Nord .

Sigmundur and the Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson in April 2013

General election 2013

In the 2013 parliamentary elections , he ran again as the top candidate of his party, which received 19 out of 63 seats in parliament with 24.4 percent of the vote. The Independence Party of Bjarni Benediktsson again received the most votes (26.7 percent) and also 19 seats in parliament.

On April 30, 2013, the Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson instructed the leader of the Progressive Party, Sigmundur Davíð, to form a new government. Sigmundur Davíð explored possible coalitions with other parties.

On May 18, 2013, the Icelandic media reported that the coalition negotiations between the Progress Party and the Independence Party had been successful. Sigmundur Davíð will become the next Prime Minister of Iceland and Bjarni Benediktsson (Independence Party) will become Finance and Economy Minister. On May 23, the government was appointed.

Election promise

In terms of foreign policy, Sigmundur Davíð, an outspoken EU skeptic, wanted, like his political rival Bjarni Benediktsson of the Independence Party, to break off talks about Iceland's EU membership .

Domestically, he promised voters to reduce household debt through unscheduled write-offs and announced the abolition of inflation-indexed mortgages in the event of government participation. He said he would do this by asking the foreign creditors of the failed Icelandic banks to accept a substantial loss of their assets.

In particular, the abolition of inflation-indexed mortgages has probably induced many voters in Iceland to vote for Sigmundur Davíð; in many cases, the situation for owners of certain types of mortgage had worsened between 2008 and 2013 due to inflation.

Panama Papers and Resignation

In March 2016, through the publication of the so-called Panama Papers, it became known that Sigmundur Davíð and his wife Anna Sigurlaug Pálsdóttir had acquired the letterbox company Wintris Inc. in the British Virgin Islands in 2007 , the creditors of the two banks Landsbanki and Kaupthing , which went bankrupt in Iceland's financial crisis 2008-2011 is. Wintris' investment amounts to around four million US dollars . On December 31, 2009 Sigmundur Davíð sold his shares for one dollar to his future wife. He is accused of having withheld his participation in Wintris from parliament when he moved into the Althing in 2009. He contradicted this interpretation of the ethical rules and also had a spokesman explain that he and his wife had not violated Icelandic law and "that all investments and income had been declared in Icelandic tax returns since 2008".

The affair in connection with the publication of the Panama Papers in early April 2016 attracted international attention, but it had been an issue in Iceland since mid-March 2016. After Swedish journalists Sigmundur Davíð spoke to Wintris in a film interview on March 11, 2016 and he broke off the conversation, his wife published a message on Facebook in which she acknowledged the ownership of Wintris and stated that the company would always paid Icelandic taxes and have not invested in Icelandic companies since Sigmundur Davíð entered politics.

The affair led to criticism and calls for resignation in Iceland. The criticism was based, among other things, on the fact that Sigmundur Davíð had originally gained popularity as part of a grassroots movement as a result of the Icelandic financial crisis and was seen as a fighter against the power of the creditors. He had emphasized the importance of keeping money in Iceland and staying with the Icelandic krona . After the 2008 collapse, a 39% stability tax was collected from investors withdrawing funds from Iceland . The government of Sigmundur Davíð abolished this tax in 2015 in favor of a stability contribution , whereby, according to an article in The Reykjavík Grapevine, the equivalent of two billion euros went to the creditors - including Wintris - instead of the Icelandic state.

On April 4, 2016, Sigmundur Davíð stated that he was not considering resigning. On the same day there was a demonstration against him on the Austurvöllur in front of the parliament building, in which around 22,000 people are said to have taken part. According to the police, never before has such a large crowd gathered for a demonstration, not even during the Icelandic financial crisis.

After the opposition announced a vote of no confidence in him, Sigmundur Davíð asked Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson on April 5, 2016 to dissolve the old thing and to schedule new elections. The President initially refused because he wanted to speak to the representatives of the political parties first. On the afternoon of April 5, it was first announced that Sigmundur Davíð would resign from the office of prime minister, but would continue to hold the party chairmanship. This was denied the same evening in a press release from his office, according to which he had only proposed that his deputy Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson should temporarily take over the government office . On the evening of April 6th, Höskuldur Þórhallsson , Althing MP for the Progressive Party, announced that Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson would be the new Prime Minister and that early elections would take place in the autumn.

At the party meeting of the Progressive Party in early October 2016, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson stood for re-election as party chairman, but was defeated by Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, who was elected as the new chairman with 52.7% of the vote.

A conversation secretly recorded and leaked to the media by Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and other members of parliament in a bar in Reykjavík led to the Klaustur affair at the end of November 2018 .

family

Sigmundur Davíð is married to the anthropologist Anna Sigurlaug Pálsdóttir, who is almost the same age; they have had a child together since 2012.

literature

Web links

Commons : Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ↑ a b Vala Hafstað: Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson Iceland's New PM ( English ) In: Iceland Review Online . April 6, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  2. ↑ Nýtt embætti dómsmálaráðherra í innanríkisráðuneyti ( Icelandic ) Innanríkisráðuneytið (Icelandic Ministry of the Interior). August 26, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  3. ↑ Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir: Ólöf Nordal Iceland's New Interior Minister ( English ) In: Iceland Review . December 4, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  4. ↑ Brynjólfur Þór Guðmundsson: Ástandinu innan Framsóknar ekki viðbjargandi ( Icelandic ) In: ruv.is . Ríkisútvarpið . September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  5. ↑ Former PM Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson Davíð to form new party before the elections ( English ) In: Iceland Monitor / mbl.is . Morgunblaðið . September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  6. ↑ Víkingur og vaskur til verka , Morgunblaðið, October 7, 2004 at: mbl.is
  7. ↑ Brautskráðir kandidatar frá hagfræðideild 2005: https://web.archive.org/web/20140530184912/http://www.hi.is/sites/default/files/oldSchool/office/lokaritger__ir_2005.xls
  8. ↑ Vegna httjöllunar fjölmiðla um menntun mína (Because of the media discussion about my education) sigmundurdavid.is
  9. ↑ Menntun Sigmundar Davíðs aftur í sviðsljósið (Sigmundur Davíð's training again in the spotlight) eyjan.pressan.is
  10. ↑ Spegill, spegill herm þú mér ( Memento from April 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (mirror, mirror on the wall) frettatiminn.is.
  11. ↑ DV má ekki grennslast fyrir um námsferil Sigmundar ( Memento from April 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (DV is not allowed to inquire about Sigmundur's student days) dv.is
  12. ↑ Sigmundur kjörinn formaður , article from January 18, 2009 at mbl.is
  13. ↑ Sigmundur Davíð kjörinn formaður Framsóknar , article from January 18, 2013 at pressan.is
  14. ↑ Landslide in parliamentary elections , article from April 28, 2013 in icelandreview
  15. ↑ Útreikningar á úthlutun þingsæta samkvæmt úrslitum kosninga til Alþingis April 27, 2013 ( Icelandic , PDF) Landskjörstjórn. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  16. ↑ form a government and parliamentarians , articles of 30 April 2013 in Iceland Review
  17. ↑ Sigmundur Davíð næsti forsætisráðherra ruv.is May 18, 2013
  18. ↑ Iceland Election: Sigmundur Davíð to be Prime Minister icelandreview.com, May 18, 2013
  19. ↑ Iceland's center-right Progressives to form new government , article from April 30, 2013 at: reuters.com
  20. ↑ Elena Kuch, Jan Lukas Strozyk, Benedikt Strunz: Iceland's premier parked money in the Caribbean . In: tagesschau.de . April 3, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  21. ↑ a b The Icelandic premier's offshore company . In: Tages-Anzeiger . April 3, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  22. ↑ Vala Hafstað: PM's Wife Owns Company Abroad ( English ) In: Iceland Review . March 16, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  23. ^ A b York Underwood: Recap: What Did Iceland's Prime Minister Do? ( English ) In: The Reykjavík Grapevine . April 4, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  24. ↑ Vala Hafstað: PM Will not Resign ( English ) In: Iceland Review Online . April 4, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  25. ↑ Bjarki Ármansson: Segja at 22 þúsund hafa mætt á Austurvöll ( Icelandic ) In: Vísir . April 4, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  26. ↑ Lögreglan: "Aldrei séð annan eins mannfjölda" ( Icelandic ) RÚV. April 4, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  27. ↑ Panama Papers: Iceland prime minister seeks early poll. BBC News, April 5, 2016, accessed April 5, 2016 .
  28. ↑ Handelsblatt online: Prime Minister does not want to resign. Retrieved April 6, 2016 .
  29. ↑ Sigurður Ingi Nýr formaður Framsóknar ( Icelandic ) Framsóknarflokkurinn. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  30. ↑ Larissa Kyzer: Protests Outside Alþingi on Iceland's Centenary ( English ) In: Iceland Review . December 2, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  31. ↑ Laurence Peter: Iceland scandal over MPs' crude and sexist bar talk ( English ) In: BBC News . December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  32. ↑ Æviágrip: Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson ( Icelandic ) Althing. April 8, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
Note: Icelanders are referred to by their first name or first and last name, but not just their surname. Further information can be found under Icelandic personal name .
personal data
SURNAME Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Icelandic politician
DATE OF BIRTH March 12, 1975
PLACE OF BIRTH Reykjavík