The Citizens' Party () was a

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishm ...

political party in Iceland which was formed in a split from the Independence Party in 1987. It disintegrated slowly until it ceased to exist in 1994. Albert Guðmundsson was a minister for the Independence Party. However, after being implicated in a large financial lawsuit concerning the defunct shipping company Hafskip, he was deemed to be unsuitable to continue holding such office by his fellow party members. In protest, he resigned from the party to form the Citizens' Party and with him went a significant number of other members. 1987 was an election year and The Citizen's Party managed a remarkable feat, having 7 members elected to the

Alþingi The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at (' thing fields' or 'assembly fields'), about east of what la ...

. In 1989, Albert resigned as chairman and was appointed as Iceland's

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to France. Two of the Members of Parliament then formed their own party (and later merged back into the Independence Party). The remaining Members of Parliament joined the government on 10 September 1989 in a coalition with

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

, People's Alliance and Progressive Party under the leadership of

Steingrímur Hermannsson Steingrímur Hermannsson (pronounced ; 22 June 1928 – 1 February 2010) was an Icelandic politician who served as prime minister of Iceland from 1983 to 1987, and again from 1988 to 1991. He was the chairman for the Progressive Party from 197 ...

. This coalition lasted until 30 April 1991. The Citizen's Party was entrusted with the offices of

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and Minister of the Environment during their only stay in power. In the 1991 elections, the Citizen's Party had fragmented so much that it did not enter.

Members of Parliament

The following members represented the Citizens' Party on

between 1987 and 1991. It was a total of seven seats between 1987 and 1989, and five between 1989 and 1991 as two members formed their own party in 1989 and later merged into the Independence Party. * Aðalheiður Bjarnfreðsdóttir * Albert Guðmundsson * Ásgeir Hannes Eiríksson * Benedikt Bogason * Guðmundur Ágústsson * Guttormur Einarsson * Hreggviður Jónsson (split 1989) * Hulda Jensdóttir * Ingi Björn Albertsson (split 1989) * Júlíus Sólnes (Minister of the Environment) * Kolbrún Jónsdóttir * Ólafur Granz * Óli Þ. Guðbjartsson (Minister of Justice)

References

{{Defunct political parties in Iceland Defunct political parties in Iceland 1987 establishments in Iceland Political parties established in 1987 1994 disestablishments in Iceland Political parties disestablished in 1994 Independence Party (Iceland) Right-wing populist parties