Svein Harald Øygard
Svein Harald Øygard | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 29, 1960 Norway |
| Occupation | Economist |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Known for | Interim President of the Central Bank of Iceland |
Svein Harald Øygard (born 29 June 1960) is a Norwegian economist who previously held the position of Interim President at the Central Bank of Iceland (Seðlabanki Íslands).
Early life and education
In 1985, Øygard earned his cand.oecon degree from the University of Oslo, specializing in macroeconomics.
Career
In 2009, Øygard assumed leadership of the Central Bank of Iceland, taking over from Davíð Oddsson and serving from February until August. He authored In the Combat Zone of Finance in 2019, a detailed examination of the 2008 financial crisis through the lens of Iceland’s economic expansion, collapse, and recovery. This work is published in Norwegian, Icelandic, English, and will soon be available in Chinese (Citic Press).
Prior to his tenure at the central bank, Øygard was a director at McKinsey & Company from 1995 to 2016. His consultancy assignments spanned sectors such as energy, industry, finance, and public administration, engaging clients across Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Between 2005 and 2007, he served as McKinsey Norway’s director and subsequently oversaw global research in oil & gas as well as McKinsey’s oil & gas initiatives in Latin America. In 2017, he co-established DBO Energy.
Earlier in his career, Øygard occupied significant roles within Norwegian public finance. From 1983 to 1990, he worked at the Ministry of Finance and Parliament with a focus on inflation trends and wage-price relations; he also had a brief period at Norges Bank. Between 1990 and 1994, he was State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance during the third Brundtland cabinet. His responsibilities included macroeconomic policy, regulation of the financial sector, monetary policy coordination, and taxation matters. He played a role in addressing Norway’s banking and currency crisis in 1992 and led an evaluation of tax legislation alongside an economic assessment related to EU membership. Up until 2000, he participated in the Economic Council for the Norwegian Labour Party.
In June 2021, Øygard was named chairman of Norwegian Airlines’ board.