2008 in Iceland

Map of the 2008 Iceland earthquake

← 2007 2006 2005 2008 in Iceland → 2009 2010 2011
Decades:	1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2008 Timeline of Icelandic history

The following lists events that happened in 2008 in Iceland .

Incumbents

• President – Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
• Prime Minister – Geir Haarde

Events

May

• May 29 – A strong earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale strikes Iceland near the town of Selfoss.

September

• September 29 – The government of Iceland takes control of the country's number three bank, the struggling Glitnir Bank. ^[1]

October

• October 8 – Iceland's Financial Supervisory Authority takes control of troubled Landsbanki Bank. ^[2]
• October 9 – Kaupthing Bank, Iceland's largest bank, is nationalized by the country's Financial Supervisory Authority.
• October 21 – Iceland's Kaupthing Bank fails to pay interest to its 50-billion-yen (US$493 million) bondholders in Japan.
• October 29 – Danish-based low-cost carrier Sterling Airlines files for bankruptcy and stops all passenger flights after its cash-strapped Icelandic investors were unable keep the company afloat.

November

• November 19 – The International Monetary Fund approves a US$2.1 billion rescue package for Iceland following its financial crisis.

Deaths

• 28 August – Sigurbjörn Einarsson, the tenth Bishop of Iceland, served in office in 1959-1981 (b. 1911)
• 9 June – Ólafur Skúlason, the twelfth Bishop of Iceland, served in office in 1989-1997 (b. 1929) ^[3]

References

1. "The Government of Iceland provides Glitnir with new equity". Central Bank of Iceland. 29 September 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
2. "The Landsbanki Freezing Order 2008" (PDF). HMSO. 8 October 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
3. Kjartansdóttir, Karen (2010-08-20). "Biskup: Æðri dómstólar fara yfir mál séra Ólafs - Vísir". visir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2025-11-08.