Þórólfur Árnason

Þórólfur Árnason took over as the mayor of Reykjavík on 1 February 2003 after the Left Greens and the Progressive Party had demanded that Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, which was mayor next before Þórólfur, would either resign, or decide not to pursue a career in national politics.

His appointment as mayor was a compromise of the three parties that formed the majority of the council. Having never been involved in politics before, but a well-known executive for some of Iceland's largest companies, Þórólfur was considered a "mayor-for-hire" by the City Counsel - a manager of day-to-day city affairs rather than a political leader or policymaker.

He resigned on 30 November 2004 after controversy regarding some of the Icelandic oil companies and their breach of the competition law, but Þórólfur once held a managerial position in one of those companies.

After Þórólfur's time as mayor he became chief executive of Icelandic Group in May 2005.^[1]

References