Eiríkur Björn Björgvinsson (pictured) has been hired as Mayor of Akureyri, north Iceland’s largest town, for the next four years. Meanwhile, Lúdvík Geirsson resigned as Mayor of Hafnarfjördur, a neighboring town of Reykjavík, with Gudmundur Rúnar Árnason taking his place.
In a declaration, Geirsson said he had decided to step down due opposition from other political parties following the results of the municipal elections in May, visir.is reports. He does not want to weaken the position of the majority coalition in the town council or create instability in the community, he explained.
In Akureyri, the new mayor is not a politician but was hired on professional grounds. The L-Party, which was able to form a clear majority in the town council after the municipal elections, hired Capacent to oversee the application process.
Chairman of the Akureyri town council, Geir Kristinn Adalsteinsson, said in a statement that he is satisfied with the conclusion. “I believe we have hired a very competent person to serve as mayor for the next four years and he comes from a large group of presentable applicants.”
A total of 64 people applied for the position as mayor, 11 of whom withdrew their application after they realized that the names of applicants would be made public.
Capacent selected 20 individuals out of the remaining 53 applicants and then three applicants from that group as possible mayoral candidates.
During the application process, the L-Party was also consulted by a five-person independent consultancy committee.
Björgvinsson was born in Reykjavík in 1966. He is educated as a sports teacher and manager and has worked for both Egilsstadir and Akureyri in that field. From 2002 to 2010, Björgvinsson served as mayor of the municipality Fljótsdalshérad in east Iceland.
Click here and here to read more about the outcome of the elections in Akureyri and Hafnarfjördur.
