Liberal Party

The Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Iceland. Its main issue was fisheries policy and it drew its main support from coastal villages. The Liberal Party was founded by former Independence Party MP Sverrir Hermannsson in 1998. It was founded primarily in opposition to the fishing quota, and became a protest vote. In the following year's election, the party won two seats out of 63. This climbed to four in 2003: a level that was maintained at the 2007 election. However, the party lost all its parliamentary representation in 2009, after a financial crisis hit the country. The party was a strong supporter of the free market, against subsidies and monopolies, and in favour of civil liberties. It was oriented particularly towards the fishing industry and campaigns for the coastal electorate. It advocated the redistribution of fishing rights, as few big fishing companies had bought up around 70% of all quotas. While Reykjavík-based large-scale fisheries became rich, some coastal villages that were dependent on draught became impoverished. The party decided in March 2012 to merge with the newly formed Dawn. History The Liberal Party was founded by Sverrir Hermannsson, a former MP of the Independence Party and CEO of Landsbanki, in November 1998. Sverrir had been a member of Independence-led governments from 1983 to 1988 before he went into the private sector. He turned his back to the Independence Party in disappointment over their turn to neoliberal policies.