1. Geir Haarde initially led a coalition between his party and the Progressive Party.
12 Facts About Geir Haarde
1. 2.
In September 2010, Geir Haarde became the first Icelandic minister to be indicted for misconduct in office, and stood trial before the Landsdomur, a special court for such cases.
3.
Geir Haarde was convicted on one count, but acquitted of the most serious violations.
4.
Geir Haarde is the brother of Bernhard Haarde, former leader of the Icelandic branch of the World Union of National Socialists.
5.
Geir Haarde served as Minister of Finance from April 1998 to September 2005 and then as Minister for Foreign Affairs from September 2005 to June 2006.
6.
On 26 January 2009, Geir Haarde announced that he and the Social Democrats would not continue in the coalition government.
7.
Geir Haarde was strongly criticised in the April 2010 report of the Special Investigative Commission into the financial collapse, being accused of "negligence" along with three other ministers of his government.
8.
Geir Haarde was to stand trial before the Landsdomur, a special tribunal to hear cases alleging misconduct in government office: it was the first time Landsdomur has convened since it was established in the 1905 Constitution.
9.
On 3 October 2011, in response to a motion by the defence team to dismiss the case, Landsdomur voted to drop the two first charges against Geir Haarde, concerning "gross negligence" and "failure to have the financial risks assessed," but to continue with the case based on three remaining and lesser charges.
10.
The convention declared its unequivocal support for Mr Geir Haarde while noting the serious precedent the parliament had set with its decision to prosecute.
11.
Geir Haarde was found guilty on one of four charges on 23 April 2012, for not addressing the problems that Icelandic banks were facing or their potential consequences for Iceland's economy at cabinet meetings.
12.
Geir Haarde decided, as a matter of principle, to refer the whole case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg; in November 2017, the court ruled against him.