Ásgeir Jónsson Appointed Governor of Central Bank

Ásgeir Jónsson, PhD, has been appointed governor of the Central Bank of Iceland. He replaces Már Guðmundsson, who has held the post for ten years and is now retiring.  Ásgeir was appointed to the position yesterday by Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir for a five-year term, beginning August 20.

He received a PhD degree in economics from Indiana University, the US, in 2001, with international finance, monetary economics, and economic history as major subjects. His dissertation was on the short-term stabilization of economic cycles in a small open economy.

Since 2004, Ásgeir has been a member of the University of Iceland faculty of economics, first as a lecturer and then as an associate professor. He has been dean of the faculty of economics since 2015.

Along with his work at the university, Ásgeir has been the economic consultant of the finance companies Virðing and Gamma. He chaired a task force on the review of Iceland’s monetary policy framework. From 2004-2011, he was chief economist and head of the research department at Kaupthing Bank (later Arion Bank). In 2000-2004 he was employed as a specialist at the University of Iceland Institute of Economic Affairs and as part-time instructor at the university.

There were 16 applicants for the position, two of whom withdrew their application, mbl.is reports. Ásgeir is the 19^th person to be appointed to the position of governor since the Central Bank was founded in 1961.