MP says Landsvirkjun board appointments resemble a family business

A Centre Party MP criticised the process for appointing board members to Landsvirkjun and other state-owned companies, saying it resembled a family business more than a company owned by the public. The comments were reported by mbl.is.

Nanna Margrét Gunnlaugsdóttir made the remarks in parliament on Tuesday, as opposition MPs called on Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Daði Már Kristófersson to answer questions about Landsvirkjun chief executive Hörður Arnarson’s resignation.

Daði introduced a new process for selecting board members at state-owned companies in early 2025. It was intended to ensure appointees had appropriate qualifications, education and experience. Under the process, the minister nominated board members from names put forward by a selection committee.

Gunnlaugsdóttir said qualified board members should put the company’s interests first, but argued that the minister should not select every board member. She said accountability also required board members to come from different backgrounds, and criticised replacing the entire board at once. She questioned whether Viðreisn’s changes had created an arrangement in which civil servants were not accountable to voters.

She added that appointments to state company boards were inherently political while the state owned the companies, and said the process should not move decision-making as far as possible from voters.