Geir Haarde

Infobox Prime Minister
name = Geir Hilmar Haarde


caption =
order = Prime Minister of Iceland
president = Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
deputy =
term_start = 15 June 2006
term_end =
predecessor = Halldór Ásgrímsson
successor =
birth_date = birth date and age|1951|04|08|df=y
birth_place = Reykjavík, Iceland
religion = Lutheran
spouse = Patricia Angelina (div.)
Inga Jóna Þórðardóttir
alma_mater = Brandeis University
Johns Hopkins University
University of Minnesota
profession = Economist, Journalist
party = Independence Party

Geir Hilmar Haarde (IPA2|ˈceɪ:r̯ ˈhɪlmar̯ ˈhɔrtɛ) (born 8 April 1951 [http://www.althingi.is/cv_en.php4?ksfaerslunr=31 CV at Alþingi website] .] ) is Prime Minister of Iceland and Chairman of the Independence Party. Geir became Prime Minister on 15 June 2006, [http://eng.forsaetisraduneyti.is/minister/cv CV] at the website of the Prime Minister's Office.] initially leading a coalition between his party and the Progressive Party. After the 2007 parliamentary elections, in which the Independence Party increased its share of the vote, Haarde renewed his term as Prime Minister, leading a coalition between his party and the Alliance.

Biography

Geir was born in the Icelandic capital Reykjavík. He received his bachelor's degree in the United States at Brandeis University as a Wien Scholar, graduating with a degree in Economics, then went on to earn two Master's degrees – in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies of The Johns Hopkins University and in economics from the University of Minnesota.

Prior to entering the Althing (the Icelandic Parliament), Geir was an economist at the Central Bank of Iceland from 1977 to 1983 and was a political adviser to the Icelandic Minister of Finance from 1983 to 1987. He has been a member of the Althing since 1987. Geir was Chairman of the Independence Party Parliamentary Group from 1991 to 1998 and a member of the Althing's Foreign Affairs Committee from 1991 to 1998; he was Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee from 1995 to 1998. He served as Minister of Finance from April 1998 to September 2005 and then as Minister for Foreign Affairs from September 2005 to June 2006. He was elected Chairman of the Independence Party in an uncontested election in October 2005, following the departure of Davíð Oddsson.

Following the announcement of Halldór Ásgrímsson's resignation as Prime Minister on 5 June 2006, [BBC News (2006). [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5050768.stm Icelandic prime minister resigns] . Retrieved June 7, 2006.] Geir succeeded him as Prime Minister on 15 June.

Note on the name

In Iceland, Geir is usually referred to as "Geir H. Haarde", or simply as "Geir" according to the Icelandic custom of using given names primarily (both when addressing someone and when referring to that person). Geir is among the rather few Icelanders whose last name is a surname rather than a patronymic (i.e., the father's name with a "-son" or "-dóttir" suffix). "Haarde" is a Norwegian name meaning "the rough one", of the same origin as the English word "hard" and Icelandic "Harði".

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.althingi.is/cv_en.php4?ksfaerslunr=31 Alþingi biography]