According to Morgunbladid, the former Prime Minister and Progressive Party chairman Halldór Ásgrímsson will quit the Icelandic parliament, Althingi, after the Progressive Party convention to be held this fall.
When asked Halldór denied that he planned to become a governor at the Central Bank of Iceland. The three governor positions at the Central Bank have long been seen as sinecures for senior outgoing politicians, and one of the three slots was vacated when the Progressive Jón Sigurdsson became Minister of Trade and Industry. The current chairman of the board of governors of the Central Bank, Davíd Oddsson, is a former Prime Minister and a former chairman of the Independence Party. When his appointment was announced, the sometime poet, author and playwright Davíd Oddsson famously commented that he would have “more time for writing” in his new job.
According to TV-station NFS, Halldór has earned monthly pension benefits of ISK 700 thousand regardless of whether or not he takes up another position in the public sector.
