Map of countries by external debt based on 2005 CIA factbook figures

Map of countries by external debt as a percentage of GDP

External debt (or foreign debt) is that part of the total debt in a country that is owed to creditors outside the country. The debtors can be the government, corporations or private households. The debt includes money owed to private commercial banks, other governments, or international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Note that the use of gross liability figures greatly distorts the ratio for countries which contain major money centers, e.g. United Kingdom, because of London's role as a major money centre. Contrast Net international investment position

Definition[link]

PEP defines it as "Gross external debt, at any given time, is the outstanding amount of those actual current, and not contingent, liabilities that require payment(s) of principal and/or interest by the debtor at some point(s) in the future and that are owed to nonresidents by residents of an economy".^[1]

In this definition, IMF defines the key elements as follows:

Outstanding and Actual Current Liabilities

For this purpose, the decisive consideration is whether a creditor owns a claim on the debtor. Here debt liabilities include arrears of both principal and interest.

Principal and Interest

When this cost is paid periodically, as commonly occurs, it is known as an interest payment. All other payments of economic value by the debtor to the creditor that reduce the principal amount outstanding are known as principal payments. However, the definition of external debt does not distinguish between whether the payments that are required are principal or interest, or both. Also, the definition does not specify that the timing of the future payments of principal and/or interest need be known for a liability to be classified as debt.

Residence

To qualify as external debt, the debt liabilities must be owed by a resident to a nonresident. Residence is determined by where the debtor and creditor have their centers of economic interest—typically, where they are ordinarily located—and not by their nationality.

Current and Not Contingent

Contingent liabilities are not included in the definition of external debt. These are defined as arrangements under which one or more conditions must be fulfilled before a financial transaction takes place. However, from the viewpoint of understanding vulnerability, there is analytical interest in the potential impact of contingent liabilities on an economy and on particular institutional sectors, such as government.

Generally external debt is classified into four heads: (1) public and publicly guaranteed debt; (2) private non-guaranteed credits; (3) central bank deposits; and (4) loans due to the IMF. However the exact treatment varies from country to country. For example, while Egypt maintains this four head classification,^[2] in India it is classified in seven heads: (a) multilateral, (b) bilateral, (c) IMF loans, (d) Trade Credit, (e) Commercial Borrowings, (f) NRI Deposits,and (g) Rupee Debt, and (h) NPR Debt.

External debt sustainability[link]

Sustainable debt is the level of debt which allows a debtor country to meet its current and future debt service obligations in full, without recourse to further debt relief or rescheduling, avoiding accumulation of arrears, while allowing an acceptable level of economic growth. (UNCTAD/UNDP, 1996)

External-debt-sustainability analysis is generally conducted in the context of medium-term scenarios. These scenarios are numerical evaluations that take account of expectations of the behavior of economic variables and other factors to determine the conditions under which debt and other indicators would stabilize at reasonable levels, the major risks to the economy, and the need and scope for policy adjustment. In these analysis, macroeconomic uncertainties, such as the outlook for the current account, and policy uncertainties, such as for fiscal policy, tend to dominate the medium-term outlook. [IMF, Debt- and Reserve-Related Indicators of External Vulnerability, Policy Paper, 2000]

World Bank and IMF hold that "a country can be said to achieve external debt sustainability if it can meet its current and future external debt service obligations in full, without recourse to debt rescheduling or the accumulation of arrears and without compromising growth". According to these two institutions, "bringing the net present value (NPV) of external public debt down to about 150 percent of a country's exports or 250 percent of a country's revenues" would help eliminating this "critical barrier to longer-term debt sustainability".^[3] High external debt is believed to have harmful effects on an economy.^[4]

Indicators of external debt sustainability[link]

There are various indicators for determining a sustainable level of external debt. While each has its own advantage and peculiarity to deal with particular situations, there is no unanimous opinion amongst economists as to one sole indicator. These indicators are primarily in the nature of ratios i.e. comparison between two heads and the relation thereon and thus facilitate the policy makers in their external debt management exercise. These indicators can be thought of as measures of the country’s “solvency” in that they consider the stock of debt at certain time in relation to the country’s ability to generate resources to repay the outstanding balance.

Foreign currency reserves and gold minus external debt based on 2010 data from CIA Factbook

Examples of debt burden indicators include the (a) debt to GDP ratio, (b) foreign debt to exports ratio, (c) government debt to current fiscal revenue ratio etc. This set of indicators also covers the structure of the outstanding debt including the (d) share of foreign debt, (e) short-term debt, and (f) concessional debt in the total debt stock.^[5]

A second set of indicators focuses on the short-term liquidity requirements of the country with respect to its debt service obligations. These indicators are not only useful early-warning signs of debt service problems, but also highlight the impact of the inter-temporal trade-offs arising from past borrowing decisions. Examples of liquidity monitoring indicators include the (a) debt service to GDP ratio, (b) foreign debt service to exports ratio, (c) government debt service to current fiscal revenue ratio etc. The final indicators are more forward looking as they point out how the debt burden will evolve over time, given the current stock of data and average interest rate. The dynamic ratios show how the debt burden ratios would change in the absence of repayments or new disbursements, indicating the stability of the debt burden. An example of a dynamic ratio is the ratio of the average interest rate on outstanding debt to the growth rate of nominal GDP.^[6][5][7][8]

See also[link]

• List of countries by external debt
• Third-world debt
• Odious debt
• Eurodad
• Jubilee Debt Campaign
• Net international investment position
• Internal debt
• Sovereign default

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• IMF National Summary Data Pages (see "External Debt" under "External Sector")
• IMF World Economic Outlook (WEO)-- September 2003 -- Public Debt in Emerging Markets
• External debt list in CIA World Factbook
• IMF Guide to understanding External Debt
• US - External Debt viz Savings rate Comparing External debt viz Savings rate - since 1995 (which are two of the components that finances the Fiscal Policy)
• European Network on Debt and Development reports, news and links on external debt.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2010)

The Basics
The Basics at the Oxford Art Factory, 2010
Background information
Origin	Melbourne, Australia
Genres	Rock
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Independent, Albert Records
Associated acts	Gotye, Down Hills Home, Dog With Wheels, Blood Red Bird
Website	The Basics Official Website
Members
Wally De Backer Kris Schroeder Tim Heath
Past members
Michael Hubbard
Notable instruments
Lead guitar, drums, bass guitar.

The Basics ( /ˈbæzɪtʃ/ BAZZ-ich) are a three-piece band from Melbourne, Australia, formed by Wally De Backer and Kris Schroeder in 2002. Their style has been described as anything from 'indie-pop' to 'rock'n'roll' to 'pop-rock', though their records show they span a wide range of genres, including reggae, ska, country, and electro-pop. They are "recognised as one of Australia's hardest-working bands".^[1]

With close to 1000 shows in their ten-year career, their live performances are well-known for their sense of humour and energy.^[2]

Formation[link]

The Basics were formed after Kris met Wally at a party in Melbourne.^[3] The event was to see off the young aspiring producer, who was about to depart for Los Angeles, and together with a number of musician friends, the two jammed on some blues-rock standards. Later that night, they bonded over a mutual love of The Beatles, 70s and 80s cartoon theme songs and old Sierra adventure games.

Initially, they played around Melbourne as an acoustic guitar/drums combo, starting at The Opposition in Frankston and the House of Fools in Footscray, where in late 2002 they met Michael Hubbard and later invited him to join them on electric guitar.^[4] Though lacking any real experience with the instrument, Kris willingly purchased his first bass guitar, and the trio was born. During this time, the group start performing songs with more complicated three-part harmony.

During late 2002 and early 2003, The Basics recorded and released an album called Get Back through MGM Distribution. They began what was to become regular tours of the East and West coasts of Australia.

2004-2005: Current lineup[link]

Tim Heath joined the group in June 2004, after Michael decided to pursue his solo career, which has included being one half of Down Hills Home.^[4] Tim was reportedly the only person to reply to an advertisement in Melbourne's Beat Magazine looking for a new guitarist. Tim apparently answered the advertisement - which said the applicant "must have a love of 50s and 60s rock'n'roll" - thinking that he would be meeting "a couple of old guys to play with on the weekends over some beers". They soon recorded For Girls Like You.

The Basics in 2005 continued to tour and play small festivals, and after releasing For Girls Like You through MGM Distribution, they departed for a national tour of Australia, which lasted for two months and took them to every Australian state and territory. Stuart Padbury, a young Melbourne sound engineer, joined them on much of this tour. On returning, the band began demonstrating songs for a new album.

2006-2009: Touring and soundtracks[link]

In 2006, The Basics began recording what was to become known as Stand Out/Fit In. Taking several months, it was not completed until the end of the year, despite intentions to have it released in June. Instead, they held a successful 'album preview', where each of the tracks was demonstrated in 'rough form' accompanied by a music video for each (produced by Melbourne photographic artist James Bryans). The band also talked about the origins of the songs. This event brought a lot of attention to the band for the idea's originality. They pre-released a radio single 'Just Hold On' from the album. The band were invited to play the hugely popular Homebake Festival in Sydney, where they received a great response, after being introduced onto the stage by a short stocky Asian guy with big calves ("one of the highlights" wrote The Daily Telegraph).

In 2007, the band departed on a tri-state residency which saw them play Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane every week for the month of April - a bold move which brought further attention to the band for its original idea.^[5] Riding on the wave of this tour, Schroeder, De Backer and Heath departed on their first overseas tour which saw them performing 26 shows around Japan, Norway and the United Kingdom.^[6] They also toured twice more up the East Coast, one of which was with popular Japanese band The Bawdies. Their song 'Rattle My Chain' was used in a series of commercials for Volvo Australia. The song 'Hey There!' featured in the British film The Bank Job - starring Jason Statham - and was used as the backing for a February 2007 short film directed by Tim Longhurst called The Rip. Their song 'Better' was featured in a surfing documentary about the invention of the shortboard in 1967.

In 2008, the band appeared on Australia's Channel 9 for Australia Day celebrations, performing two of their songs - 'Just Hold On' and 'Hey There!' - to an estimated audience of 2 million. Securing an Australian Government grant, they embarked on a two-month tour of Australia, specifically targeting "culturally underprivileged groups" in rural and regional schoolchildren and Indigenous communities. The programme had them holding masterclasses and performing alongside Indigenous groups in the remote Northern Territory and Queensland.^[7][8] Their initiative also had them raising money for the charity Lifeline^{[disambiguation needed ]}, their contribution to which was recognised with a plaque at the end of the tour. Season two of Californication starring David Duchovny featured their cover of the classic 'Have Love, Will Travel', most famously covered by 'The Sonics'.

In 2009, The Basics for the first time enjoyed the support of Australian radio network Triple J, which had reportedly snubbed the band's previous material.^[9] The singles 'With This Ship' and 'Like A Brother' were added to the station's playlist, and momentum carried The Basics overseas for a second tour of the United Kingdom and Norway, and also a series of shows in Dublin, Ireland. They were joined by the longtime front-of-house engineer Stuart Padbury, who had been mixing them since 2005. The band was often seen in the Grafton Street Mall in Dublin, busking to promote their concerts there. Their second show in Oslo, Norway, saw the band perform with Hot Tub, one of the members of the Norwegian boy band "Boyzvoice", in his first performance for several years. Season Eight of Scrubs featured the song 'Lookin' Over My Shoulder'.

Despite all this promise, the band's album Keep Your Friends Close - produced and part-recorded by Peter Cobbin at London's Abbey Road Studios - though enjoying many favourable reviews,^{[10][11][12][13]} failed to impress Richard Kingsmill, music director of Triple J. This effectively ended the band's apparent upward spiral and the resulting album launch tour was reportedly "trying".

2010: Hiatus and live album[link]

In 2010, following the band's fourth stint at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, and the recording of a yet-unreleased live album, an indefinite hiatus was announced on the band's websites. This was in part due to the impending release of a new album produced by Wally for his Gotye project, and also to reported tensions within the band following the previous year's disappointments.

However, this hiatus was soon broken with a two-month residency at the Northcote Social Club in Melbourne, which saw an apparent return to form.^[14] The band's EP "Wait For You" enjoys airplay on Triple J.^[15] The Basics also played a one-off show at Sydney's Oxford Art Factory.^[16]

On 20 August 2010, The Basics released their fourth LP /ðəˈbæzɪtʃ/, available free and exclusively from their website for digital download^[17]. The band had reportedly moved to expand their listenership through this free giveaway, though 300 "Deluxe" CD/vinyl versions have been printed. /ðəˈbæzɪtʃ/ was recorded at the Northcote Social Club on 6 February, "in front of a live studio audience", and like the previous record, was mixed by Peter Cobbin at Abbey Road Studios. Technically a self-titled album, the phonetics spell out the accurate pronunciation of the band’s name. Kris Schroeder: "For years we’ve worked at bringing our live energy into the studio and thus far it’s been a bit hit-and-miss. Our trick this time was to pull a switcheroo and bring the studio to us instead; the result is the best and closest to us we’ve sounded yet."

Melbourne thespian and Dog With Wheels bassist David Bramble - friends with Heath from university days - has occasionally joined the band on tour, playing keys, often while sporting a large moustache. Other guests have included Jake Mason (saxophone), also of Cookin' on 3 Burners and The Bamboos^{[disambiguation needed ]}, Gideon Brazil (saxophone, flute), Simon Imrei (guitar and vocals) and Monty MacKenzie (saxophone).

Covers have often made an appearance from various sources: to date, some of the bands covered have been Cream, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, New Kids on the Block, Richard Berry, Sonny Curtis and The Crickets, JJ Cale, Harry Nilsson, Bill Scott, Ryan Adams and The Coasters (via The Beatles for their cover of Three Cool Cats).

Members[link]

Current

• Wally De Backer - drums, vocals (2002-present)
• Kris Schroeder - bass, vocals (2002-present)
• Tim Heath - guitar, vocals (2004-present)

Former

• Michael Hubbard - guitar, vocals (2002-2004)

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Get Back (15 January 2004)
• Stand Out/Fit In (5 May 2007)
• Keep Your Friends Close (25 September 2009)
• /ðəˈbæzɪtʃ/ (20 August 2010)

EP[link]

• For Girls Like You (11 July 2005)
• Lookin' Over My Shoulder (10 February 2007)
• Like A Brother (5 June 2009)
• Wait For You (21 May 2010)

Singles[link]

• Call It Rhythm & Blues (20 August 2004)
• Just Hold On
• With This Ship (22 February 2009)

Upcoming projects[link]

The band is taking a three year hiatus, with an announced return to the stage together in early 2014. Wally De Backer launched Making Mirrors under his Gotye act in August 2011, Tim Heath will be touring and recording with Blood Red Bird, and Kris Schroeder recorded a solo EP titled, Patience in the Face of Control, before leaving Australia to work with the Red Cross in Kenya for a two year sabbatical.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Myspace Website

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009)

Davíð Oddsson
Prime Minister of Iceland
In office 30 April 1991 – 15 September 2004
President	Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (until 1996) Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (from 1996)
Preceded by	Steingrímur Hermannsson
Succeeded by	Halldór Ásgrímsson
Mayor of Reykjavík
In office 27 May 1982 – 16 July 1991
Preceded by	Egill Skúli Ingibergsson
Succeeded by	Markús Örn Antonsson
Personal details
Born	(1948-01-17) 17 January 1948 (age 64) Reykjavík, Iceland
Political party	Independence Party

Davíð Oddsson (pronounced [ˈtaːvið ˈɔtːsɔn]; born 17 January 1948) is an Icelandic politician and the longest-serving Prime Minister of Iceland, holding office from 1991 to 2004. He also served as Foreign Minister from 2004 to 2005. Previously, he was Mayor of Reykjavík from 1982 to 1991, and he chaired the board of governors of the Central Bank of Iceland from 2005 to 2009. The collapse of Iceland's banking system led to vocal demands for his resignation both by members of the Icelandic public and by the new Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, which resulted in him being replaced as head of the Central Bank in March 2009. In September 2009 he was hired as the editor of Morgunblaðið, one of Iceland's largest newspapers, a decision that caused nationwide controversy and was followed by resignations and widespread terminated subscriptions.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Davíð Oddsson was born in Reykjavík. His father was a medical doctor, and his mother a secretary. His parents were not married, and he was brought up in his maternal grandfather’s home in Selfoss, a small town in the south of Iceland, until his grandfather died. He then moved with his mother and grandmother to Reykjavík. He took an early interest in acting and attended an acting school for a while. He also attended the gymnasium Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík where he graduated in the spring of 1970. Davíð married Ástríður Thorarensen, a nurse; they have one son, Þorsteinn who is a judge at the district court at Akureyri. The next six years, Davíð read law at the University of Iceland, working almost full-time as well. He was assistant to the director of a small theatre (now the Borgarleikhúsið) for a while, and produced, with two friends (Þórarinn Eldjárn and Hrafn Gunnlaugsson), a popular radio comedy show for two years; he was for a while a political commentator at the newspaper Morgunblaðið, and the director of publication of Almenna bókafélagið, a conservative publishing house. He had been elected to the Municipal Council in Reykjavík in 1974, for the Independence Party.

Mayor of Reykjavík (1982–1991)[link]

Davíð Oddsson was a member of a group of young conservative-libertarians within the Independence Party who felt that the party should support more strongly attempts to extend economic freedom in the heavily regulated Icelandic economy. The group included Þorsteinn Pálsson, Geir H. Haarde, Jón Steinar Gunnlaugsson, Kjartan Gunnarsson, Magnús Gunnarsson, Brynjólfur Bjarnason and Hannes Hólmsteinn Gissurarson, and they published the magazine Eimreiðin from 1972 to 1975; in the following years they followed with interest what was happening in the United Kingdom under Margaret Thatcher and in the United States under Ronald Reagan; they also read books and articles by and about Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek and James M. Buchanan, who all visited Iceland in the early 1980s and whose messages of limited governments, privatisation, and liberalisation of the economy had a wide impact. Davíð got a chance to further his ideals when, in 1982, the Independence Party, under his leadership, regained the majority in the Reykjavík Municipal Council which it had lost four years earlier to three left-wing parties. Davíð swiftly reduced the number of Council members from 21 to 15, and merged the largest fishing firm in Reykjavik which belonged to the municipality and had been a huge burden, with a private fishing firm and then sold off the municipality’s assets in the new firm, Grandi, now one of the biggest fishing firms in Iceland. Incidentally, the director of Grandi, Brynjólfur Bjarnason, who oversaw what was Davíð’s first privatisation, later became the director of the Icelandic Telephone Company which turned out to be Davíð’s last privatisation in government (2005). As Mayor of Reykjavík, Davíð was behind the building of Reykjavík City Hall by The Pond in Reykjavík, and of Perlan, a revolving restaurant over the old water tanks in Öskjuhlíð. Despite his libertarian leanings, Davíð also supported the Reykjavik City Theatre, in particular the building of a new theatre house which was opened in 1989. In the nine years when Davíð was Mayor of Reykjavík, a new district, Grafarvogur, was built and a new shopping area around the shopping mall Kringlan. A forceful and uncompromising Mayor of Reykjavík, Davíð was much-criticized by the left-wing opposition in the Municipal Council.^{[citation needed]}

Alliance with the Social Democrats (1991–1995)[link]

In 1983, Davíð Oddsson’s old friend and ally, Þorsteinn Pálsson, had been elected leader of the Independence Party, and in 1989 Davíð had been elected deputy leader, or Vice-Chairman of the Party. After Þorsteinn Pálsson had to resign as Prime Minister in 1988, after falling out with the leaders of his two coalition parties, there was a widespread feeling in the party that its leadership should be changed, and much pressure on Davíð to stand against Þorsteinn. This he did in 1991, and became leader of the Independence Party. Under Davíð Oddsson’s leadership, in the parliamentary elections of 1991, the Independence Party regained most of the support it had lost in 1987 when it had been severely weakened because of a split in its ranks. In record time, Davíð formed a coalition government with the social democrats, Alþýðuflokkurinn, whose leader, Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson, became Minister of Foreign Affairs. Jón Baldvin and Davíð jointly decided that Iceland should become the first state to recognise the reinstatement of the sovereignty and independence of the three Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, after the fall of Soviet Union.^{[citation needed]}

Davíð’s government inherited a huge budget deficit and a burden of unproductive investments; much money had been spent on fish farming for example, with little result. Inflationary pressures were also building up, while some fish stocks in the Icelandic waters were being depleted. The budget deficit was turned into a surplus in 1996, not least because of the close cooperation between Davíð and Friðrik Sophusson, the Minister of Finance, who had also been a prominent young libertarian.^{[citation needed]} There was a surplus almost continuously since then, which has been used to reduce the public debt, and also to reform the pension system, which is now almost wholly self-supporting, while some small companies were privatised. Monetary constraints were imposed by making the Central Bank largely independent of any political pressures.^{[citation needed]} It also helped the Davíð Oddsson government that there was a consensus between the labour unions and the employers that the rampant inflation of the 1980s, with huge, but largely meaningless, nominal wage increases, could not go on; therefore, in 1990, the unions and the employers had signed a “National Accord”, whereby wage increased would be moderate, and government would be assisted in bringing down inflation. From 1991, inflation in Iceland was on a level with the neighbouring countries.^{[citation needed]}

Alliance with the Progressive Party (1995–1999)[link]

Davíð Oddsson at a birthday party 19 February 2003 with Kjartan Gunnarsson, the executive director of the Independence Party, and one of Davíð’s closest friends and advisers

In 1994, the Social Democratic Party split, and as a result they suffered a huge loss in the 1995 parliamentary elections. While in theory the coalition government maintained its majority, it only consisted of one seat. Davíð Oddsson therefore decided to form a coalition with the Progressive Party. The leader of the Progressive Party, Halldór Ásgrímsson, became Minister of Foreign Affairs. In the new government, privatisation was continued on a much greater scale than before: a big and important chain of fish processing plants was sold; part-public or public investment funds were merged and sold as a private investment bank; the two commercial banks under government control were sold in a few stages; The two coalition parties accepted the loud demand by many people that a charge would be imposed on the holders of fishing quotas.

Davíð’s two governments were staunch allies of the United States and strongly in support of NATO, of which Iceland is a founding member. He firmly supported the actions undertaken by the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan and Iraq, taking much criticism from the Icelandic Left.^{[citation needed]} Since the fall of the Soviet Union, there has been some uncertainty about whether the United States defence force could or should remain in Iceland, having been invited there in 1951, at the height of the Cold War. Davíð has not been enthusiastic about joining the European Union.

The latter Davíð Oddsson government (1995–2004) (under the influence of Milton Friedman's neoliberal ideas^[1])embarked on a course of tax cuts. It cut the corporate income tax to 18%; it abolished the net wealth tax; it lowered the personal income tax and inheritance tax. This combination of opening up of the economy, fiscal and monetary stabilisation created an entrepreneurial climate in Iceland that spurred record economic growth in the country, with the real average income of individual households increasing by more than 17%, but was also a factor that resulted in the 2008–2012 Icelandic financial crisis.^[2][3]

Alliance with Progressive Party (1999–2004)[link]

Davíð Oddsson with George W. Bush in the White House, 6 July 2004

As a young man, Davíð Oddsson authored or co-authored several plays for the stage and for television. During his days as political leader, he pursued his literary interests as well, and in 1997, he published a collection of short stories, Nokkrir góðir dagar án Guðnýjar, which became a best-seller in Iceland.^{[citation needed]} Davíð celebrated his 50th birthday at a huge reception in Perlan, paid for by the Independence Party, and his friends published a festschrift of more than 500 pages where many Icelandic writers, scholars and politicians contributed papers.^{[citation needed]} In the 1999 parliamentary elections, Davíð’s Independence Party retained strong support, despite the attempt by a former government minister of the Party, Sverrir Hermannsson, to establish a splinter party: the minister had been made director of the National Bank of Iceland and had had to resign because of financial irregularities. In 2002, Davíð published another collection of short stories, Stolið frá höfundi stafrófsins, which was also well-received.^{[citation needed]}

However, in that same year, 2002, there began a controversy in Iceland about the company Baugur, owned by the entrepreneurs Jóhannes Jónsson and his son, Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson. A giant on the Icelandic scene, Baugur controlled the majority of the retailing business in Iceland: in parliament, the then-leader of the social democratic party Össur Skarphéðinsson called for a closer supervision on possible monopoly pricing, specifically mentioning this company. Davíð concurred. In the summer of 2002, the Icelandic police raided the headquarters of Baugur, after a disgruntled former employee in their American operations had produced what he claimed was evidence of financial irregularities. The two main owners of Baugur did not take kindly to this and accused Davíð of orchestrating a campaign against them. They bought a newspaper, Fréttablaðið, which is sent free of charge into every household in Iceland. The paper opposed Davíð in the bitterly fought 2003 parliamentary election when there was talk of corruption, bribery and abuse of the police. In a speech on 9 February 2003, the main spokesperson of the Social Democratic Alliance, Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, suggested that Davíð might be responsible for the tax investigation of businessman Jón Ólafsson, then owner of a private television station, and also for the police raid on Baugur. Paraphrasing Shakespeare, she asked: "Are you a friend of the Prime Minister or are you not; that is the question".^{[citation needed]}

Foreign Minister (2004–2005)[link]

Davíð Oddsson with Professor Ragnar Árnason, a leading free market economist in Iceland, at a Mont Pelerin Society meeting in Iceland 20 August 2005

After the 2003 elections, Davíð Oddsson and the leader of his coalition party, Halldór Ásgrímsson, Minister of Foreign Affairs, agreed that Davíð should remain Prime Minister until 15 September 2004, at which time Halldór would become Prime Minister, and that the Independence Party would, in exchange for relinquishing the Prime Minister’s post, gain an additional ministry in the government from its partner. In 2004 the Davíð Oddsson government became embroiled in controversy, as Davíð introduced a bill which would have made it impossible for large private companies to own more than 15% in any one media, and under which newspapers and television stations could not be owned by the same companies. Davíð argued that this was to prevent concentration of the media in the hands a few people, and to enable the media to remain independent and critical not only towards politicians, but also towards financial moguls. His critics maintained, however, that the proposal was directly aimed at Baugur which Davíð was, they said, obviously regarding as a political enemy. By then, Baugur had bought another newspaper, the television station from Jón Ólafsson and a few radio stations, and controlled more than half of the media market. In a much-softened version, parliament passed the media bill proposed by the government. But then, for the first time in the history of the Icelandic Republic, in the summer of 2004, the president, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, refused to sign the bill into law. Davíð criticized this, pointing out that the director of the television station formerly owned by Jón Ólafsson and recently bought by Baugur, Sigurður G. Guðjónsson, had been Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson’s campaign manager in his first presidential campaign, and that Ólafur’s daughter was employed by Baugur. However, Baugur enjoys considerable goodwill in Iceland because their shops offer lower prices than are to be found elsewhere, while their owners are seen as an embodiment of an Icelandic dream of rags-to-riches;^{[citation needed]} many also agreed that the media bill seemed to be a part of a political duel rather than an attempt to make general law. The conclusion of a long struggle was that Davíð Oddsson withdrew the bill instead of holding a national referendum on it, as required by the Icelandic constitution if the president refuses to sign a bill into law.

During his almost 14 years as Prime Minister, Davíð became acquainted with, or friend of, many Western leaders, including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Václav Klaus and Silvio Berlusconi.^{[citation needed]} He has occasionally attended the meetings of the Bilderberg Group, and he has read a paper to the Mont Pelerin Society. But he only served as Minister of Foreign Affairs for one year. In the autumn of 2005, Davíð announced that he would leave politics. He said that he felt that the time had come for a new generation to take over. His close ally over many years, Geir H. Haarde, replaced him, both as leader of the Independence Party and Minister of Foreign Affairs. A probable contribution to this decision was a short, but dramatic, bout with cancer, soon after the crisis over the failure of the media bill. He was, however, fully cured.^{[citation needed]}

Central Bank Governor (2005–2009)[link]

In October 2005, Davíð was appointed the Governor of the Central Bank of Iceland. Following the collapse of the Icelandic banking system in the autumn of 2008, Iceland was forced to ask for financial help from the International Monetary Fund and friendly nations. Some blamed the collapse on the economic policies pursued by the Independence Party under Davíð’s leadership, such as market liberalisation and privatisation.^[4][5] Consequently, there were public calls for Davíð’s dismissal. Following protests outside the Central Bank, the new Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir requested that Davíð and his two fellow governors resign. He refused this request.^[6] On 26 February 2009, following changes to the laws concerning the Central Bank, Davíð was ousted from the bank and replaced by Norwegian economist Svein Harald Øygard.

In April 2009, Davíð stated that Iceland needs to investigate the “unusual and unconventional loans” given by the banks to senior politicians during the years before the crisis.^[7]

[edit] Editor of Morgunblaðið (2009–present)

On 24 September 2009, the new owners of Morgunblaðið announced that Davíð Oddsson and Haraldur Johannessen, former editor of business paper Viðskiptablaðið, had been hired as editors of the paper.^[8] The decision was announced in the wake of much speculation and rumours about who would be the new editor after the dismissal of the previous editor, Ólafur Þ. Stephensen.^[9] Since Davíð took over as editor-in-chief a third of Morgunbladid's subscribers have cancelled their subscriptions.^[10] In 2009, the paper lost 667 million ISK.^[11] In the report of the Icelandic parliament's Special Investigation Commission, published in April 2010, the appointment of Davíð Oddsson to editor-in-chief of Morgunblaðið and the firing of many experienced journalists from the newspaper is mentioned as an example of how the owners of media in Iceland often don't hesitate to manipulate them. "Their objective seems to be to run an opinion journalism and protect special interests rather than ensure a professional and fair reporting."^[12]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Davíð Oddsson

• May 2000 profile of Davíð Oddsson in the London Spectator, by Kristján Guy Burgess
• April 2001 profile of Davíð Oddsson in the Charlemagne column of The Economist
• December 2008 article from the Economist that mentions Davíð Oddsson [1]
• Independent article on resignation of Geir Haarde, mentions that Davíð Oddsson is real target of Icelandic protest [2]* Transcript of Davíð Oddsson's meeting with US President George W. Bush
• Privatisation during the Davíð Oddsson governments
• Article on Icelandic economic miracle by H.H.Gissurarson in Wall Street Journal 2004
• Davíð Oddsson’s address on the Icelandic economy at the AEI in Washington DC 14 June 2004
• Davíð Oddsson’s paper on Iceland and the EU at Linacre College, Oxford, 27 April 2004
• Summary of media coverage on Davíð Oddsson and Baugur in England
• Article on the Special Investigation Commission's report charging Davíð Oddsson with gross negligence in the 2008 banking collapse