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Árni Mathiesen

Bread and circuses

September 28, 2010

Monumental day today: for the first time in Iceland’s history, parliament voted to indict a former prime minister for negligence and misconduct in the line of duty. I am, of course, referring to Geir H. Haarde and his involvement in the Icelandic economic meltdown. Three others were up for indictment with him [I wrote about [...]

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Parliamentary committee recommends indictments for ex-PM and others

September 12, 2010

Some pretty big news yesterday. A parliamentary committee, appointed to recommend whether or not any public officials should be indicted as a result of their involvement in the economic collapse in 2008, delivered its findings yesterday afternoon. There had been a fair bit of tension beforehand, particularly as it was known that the committee — [...]

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Score one for New Iceland!

April 25, 2010

This past Friday, Reykjavík District Court ruled that the Icelandic state and Árni Mathiesen, former Minister of Finance for the Independence Party, should pay ISK 3 million in compensation to an applicant for the position of district court judge in North Iceland back in 2005. The applicant, Guðmundur Kristjánsson, was deemed the most qualified for [...]

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The Dirty Dozen

February 12, 2010

As many readers know, we Nicelanders are waiting with bated breath these days for the release of the Black Report – the outcome of the investigation into the bank collapse by a specially-appointed parliamentary committee. The report was delayed at the beginning of February, among other things because high-ranking officials implicated in the report were [...]

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The Icelandic Press Photography Prize

January 17, 2010

A reader sent me a link to an interesting article written by a [non-Icelandic] panel member for the 2009 Icelandic press photography prize [thanks Bill!]. Make sure they pay upfront… no-one could resist a wisecrack when I was invited to lead the jury for Icelandic Press Photography Prize 2009. Arguably, there’s never been a more [...]

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Of corruption, stupidity and the value of green energy

September 14, 2009

Lest you think the entire HS Orka debacle started with the entrance of Magma Energy stage left, think again. The sale of Iceland’s resources actually began in 2007, when the Icelandic government – headed by the Independence Party – decided to sell its share in the geothermal power company HS Orka. Curiously, one of the [...]

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