“We can never talk about that he is doing it for his fri­end,” said Gunnar Bergmann, a for­mer chairman of the Minke Whalers’ Association, in a secret video recording. Gunnar was describing plans that his father Jón Gunn­ars­son, a mem­ber of parli­ament for the Independence Party, allegedly made with the party’s chairman, Bjarni Bene­dikts­son, to grant a whaling licence to his fri­end Kristján Loftsson, CEO and principal owner of Hvalur hf.

A secret recording of Gunnar’s conversation with a per­son who posed as an investor revealed political horse-tra­d­ing to ensure that the controversial practice of hunt­ing whales would continue in Iceland, even if political parties that oppose it were to come to power.

The recordings, reportedly made by the pri­vate intelligence agency Black Cube for an international environ­mental organisation, were meticulously planned, time-consuming, and costly. They reached journalists at Heim­ildin who first reported on them on 11 November.

A few days ear­lier, Jón Gunn­ars­son had been appointed as a special envoy of Prime Minister Bjarni Bene­dikts­son in the Ministry of Fis­heries and Agriculture. The same day, Jón accepted the fifth place on the Independence Party’s list of candidates in the Southwest constituency, a spot that nearly guaranteed that he would lose his seat in Alþingi, Iceland’s parli­ament. 

The position of special envoy did not grant Jón the aut­hority to issue the whaling license him­self, but according to Bjarni, Jón was tasked with advancing the matter and ass­ist­ing him in decision-mak­ing.

In the recordings, made without the knowledge of Jón’s son and business partner, Gunnar Bergmann, he described the agreement between Bjarni and Jón. Among other things, he explained in detail how the license would be granted, add­ing that Bjarni had pressed his father to take a place on the list. “In the end, he said, ‘Okay, I'm ready to take the fifth seat. But you have to do somet­hing for me,’” Gunnar is heard say­ing about his father. “Because I know that he is lea­v­ing . So we actually don't care about anyt­hing else right now. […] This would be quite good legacy to leave.”

Gunnar noted that his father would not need to worry about retirem­ent and mentioned that he could even take on a manager­ial position at Hvalur hf. if he wished.

Whaling Licenses Granted Following Election

In the 30 November elections, the govern­ment coalition parties lost their majority in parli­ament. Bjarni Bene­dikts­son has since ser­ved as Prime Minister and Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Fis­heries in a caretaker cabinet until a new govern­ment coalition could be for­med.

Despite the revelations from the secret recordings hav­ing been publ­is­hed, Bjarn announced on 5 December that he had issued whaling licenses. One license was indeed granted to Hvalur hf., which allows the company to hunt fin whales for a per­iod of five years. Another license was granted to the company Tjald­tangi ehf. and allows them to hunt minke whales with their vessel Halldór Sig­urðs­son ÍS.

Only fin whales and minke whales are permitted to be hunted off the coast of Iceland, while other whale populations are protected. The licenses are issued in accordance with the provisions of the Whaling Act from 1949, after receiving comments from the Directorate of Fis­heries and the Marine Research Institute. "The licenses are granted for five years, as in 2009, 2014 and 2019, and thus some predictability in the industry is ensured,” a statem­ent from the Ministry read.

The mana­gement of the exploitation of liv­ing mar­ine resources in Iceland is under strict control and the total allowable catch of fin whales and minke whales should follow the fis­hing advice of the Marine Research Institute, which is based on susta­ina­ble exploitation and a precautionary approach.

Bjarni’s decision was criticised by environ­mental organisations, who argued that Bjarni was not in a position to act on the controversial issue of whaling as he is serv­ing as caretaker Minister until a new coalition govern­ment can be for­med. Talks are ongoing between the Social Democratic Alliance, the Liberal Reform Party, and the People’s Party to form a coalition which would exclude Bjarni’s Independence Party from power for the first time since 2013.

Land­vernd, the Icelandic Environ­ment Association, and Young Environ­menta­lists expressed their sur­prise and disapp­roval of the issuance of whaling permits. They argued that the decision was undemocratic due to Bjarni’s caretaker status and that it goes aga­inst the inter­ests of the climate, nat­ure and animal welfare. 

Open Letter From Jane Goodall

English conservationist and UN Messen­ger of Peace Jane Goodall wrote an open letter to Mr Bene­dikts­son and Pres­ident of Iceland Halla Tóm­as­dóttir, publ­is­hed by Vísir on 25 November. “Years of research confirmed that whales are large brained, very intelli­g­ent and very social mammals with complex means of communicating, including over very long distances,” she wrote. “They form unique cultures and lasting and very strong bonds between family mem­bers and the indi­vi­du­als mak­ing up a group or pod. Moreover, indi­vi­dual pods have their own cultures. In addition, of course, they play a vital role in main­ta­in­ing a healthy mar­ine ecosystem.”

She emp­has­ised that new research had revealed the intelligence and emotions of several animal species, including whales. This raises ethical concerns about their treat­ment. “When whales are hunted, they are killed by fir­ing a harpoon with a tip, which explodes on enter­ing the whale. This certainly doesn't guarantee a quick death, and indeed, many of those not killed immedi­ately, suffer slow and agonizing deaths,” she wrote.

“Today, only a few countries permit whaling and public opinion has changed considerably as awareness of the cruelty of this practice increases,” Goodall added. “And this, of course, as you know, includes many people in your own country. I've been to Iceland and I was captivated by its beauty. So I'm truly sadd­ened by the num­ber of people who've told me they will never go to Iceland because of the whaling. So they're depri­v­ing themselves of beauty and depri­v­ing the govern­ment of revenue. I should add that whale watching is a growing attraction for tourists, and this can also bring in significant revenue for the govern­ment. For these rea­sons, I beg that you will use your positions to help end whaling practices in Iceland.”

Anti-Whaling Initiative

As previously mentioned, video recordings that app­ear to have been made during two meetings between Gunnar and a man he beli­eved to be a for­eign investor pursu­ing billion-dollar business opportunities in Iceland reached Heim­ildin. During discussions about Gunnar’s invol­vem­ent in such projects, the conversation tur­ned to his political connections through his father, and from there to whaling and the fri­ends­hip between Jón Gunn­ars­son and Kristján Loftsson, the man who The Guardian nicknamed “Iceland’s last whale hunter”.

It seems the pur­pose of those behind the recordings was to investigate the political connections of Kristján, particularly how his ties to mem­bers of parli­ament and Mini­sters from the Independence Party influence decisions made by Icelandic aut­horities—especially those of Jón and Bjarni.

Both have direct and indirect connections to Hvalur hf. For example, Bjarni’s uncles have been sharehold­ers and ser­ved as chairmen of Hvalur hf. Jón, for his part, has been associated with the industry for years, both as a spokesper­son for organizations advocating for whaling and through his son Gunnar, who operated a minke whaling boat for several years.

The Whaler and the Investor

For many years, Gunnar enga­ged in minke whaling through three companies directly or indirectly owned by him. When Jón chaired the Parli­ament­ary Economic Affairs Committee in 2015 and was one of the most vocal advocates for whaling, his son’s operation was the only one enga­ged in minke whaling in Iceland. Jón was accused of a conflict of inter­est in discussions and coverage of whaling but firmly rejected the claim:

“I don’t see myself as conflicted. If anyt­hing, it could be argued that I should change my opinions on these issues. But I repres­ented grassroots organizations invol­ved in this field long before I entered parli­ament—back when my son was just in high school—and my stance hasn’t changed,” Jón responded.

The father and son duo have also collaborated in business and invest­ments while Jón was serv­ing as a mem­ber of parli­ament and later as a Minister. Most recently, this collaboration has invol­ved controversial land purchases and construction plans in the town of Garðabær.

The Fake Real Estate Buyer

In late Sept­em­ber, a for­eign indi­vi­dual contacted Gunnar, pres­ent­ing him­self as a repres­enta­tive of a Swiss real estate fund explor­ing invest­ments in the Icelandic property market. The man claimed the proposed transactions were worth up to five billion ISK, or 35 million Euros, and requested Gunnar's potential assistance and collaboration in the project.

However, it was all a deception. The “investor” was, in rea­lity, a repres­enta­tive of a company that offers investigative and information-gather­ing services, often for parties invol­ved in legal disp­utes or courtroom batt­les. The company ass­erts that it only uses met­hods that comply with the laws of the countries in which it operates, including in its investigation of Iceland’s whaling politics.

The pur­pose of the company repres­enta­tive's interactions was to gather information on the inner workings of Iceland’s hig­hly controversial whaling industry at the request of anti-whaling activists.

The real estate deal­ings ser­ved as a cover to esta­bl­ish contact and arrange meetings, during which the conversation quickly tur­ned to political connections and whaling. Gunnar outlined a picture of political horse-tra­d­ing, exploitation of positions, and special inter­est favouritism.

The fake investor and Gunnar had two meetings in October, both secretly recorded without Gunnar's knowledge. The first meeting took place via video call on 1 October, and the second at a restaur­ant in Reykja­vík on 31 October.

In the first conversation, the discussion gradu­ally shifted to Gunnar and his connections to Icelandic politics and whaling.

“There are actually one company [Hvalur hf] that is hunt­ing a little bit big­ger animals. The fin whale,” Gunnar is heard say­ing in the recording, drawing on his considerable experience in whaling. “The fin whale you have to take on the side of the ship and take it into shore and cut it there. But the minke whale, you can take it on board the big ship. So, yeah, I will show you this and everyt­hing around this when you visit Iceland.”

Gunnar also described Kristján Loftsson as one of Iceland's richest men, capable of susta­in­ing whaling operations on his own. “That company is controlled by one of the richest men in Iceland, so he doesn't need the bank.” he said.

Dinner in Reykjavík

Almost a month later, on the even­ing of October 31, the second meeting took place. Gunnar met the man who had pres­ented him­self as a for­eign investor at a restaur­ant in Reykja­vík.

The conversation quickly tur­ned to recent develop­ments, changes in politics, and the govern­ment’s stance on whaling following the October collapse of the coalition govern­ment led by the Independence Party.

Ten days before this meeting, Gunnar’s father Jón had lost the second-place spot on the Independence Party’s list. At a meeting at party headquarters, where the candidate rank­ings were announced, Jón walked out in significant frustration as soon as it became clear he had lost his position, lea­v­ing before the meeting concluded. He expressed his dissatisfaction, stating that he would not accept a lower place on the list and planned to step away from politics.

However, five days later, Jón was announced as a special envoy for Prime Minister Bjarni in the Ministry of Fis­heries and Agriculture, which at the time had no Minister. Jón stated that he would take on responsi­bilities there and also agreed to take the fifth place on the party’s list, which was led by Bjarni, the party chairman.

At the meeting in late October, Gunnar provided explanations for his father Jón’s changed stance and his new appoint­ment as an assistant.

“The vice-chairman of the party, a lady, wanted to take the second place of my father,” Gunnar is heard expla­in­ing. “Because it was so close to the election that it didn't have time to choose people rightly on the way. So they, She went aga­inst them. […] And she won him. And he walked out of the meeting.”

The woman Gunnar refer­red to is Þórdís Kolbrún Reyk­fjörð Gylfa­dóttir, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who occupied the second spot on the Independence Party’s list in the Southwest constituency for the 30 November elections.

“You Have to Do Something for Me”

The reaction of Jón Gunn­ars­son to the decision by the Independence Party's constituency council in the Southwest District caused significant tur­moil, according to his son Gunnar on the recording.

Jón had not planned to take a place on the list and had, in fact, intended to retire, as Gunnar describes. Bjarni Bene­dikts­son had to persu­ade Jón to accept a position on the list to avoid further complications and a potential split within the party.

Bjarni mana­ged to get Jón to take the fifth place on the list in exchange for “doing somet­hing for” Jón; ensuring him “some kind of position.” That position would be in the Ministry of Fis­heries and Agriculture, where Jón intended to grant favors while also attempt­ing to regain the supp­ort of many who seemed to have stopped backing the party.

Gunnar recounted Bjarni’s words to his father: “You have to take a seat on the list”

“But the only seat was left was the fifth one. So he said ‘Okay.’ And he took a few days. So in the end, he said, ‘Okay, I'm ready to take the fifth seat. But you have to do somet­hing for me. I need some plat­form.’ My father said to him [Bjarni Bene­dikts­son], ‘Okay, if I'm going to take the fifth place, I'm going to be your man in this.’”

Gunnar then explained Jón’s role:

“Not going to be a mini­ster, but as his guy because he knew a lot about this. And also because we are at a situation right now where no whaling company has a permission to whale because the Left Party had that administration and they had just ruin it. So the first thing that he [Gunn­ars­son] did was to go inside and say that he was going to…” Gunnar said before the fake investor interr­upted:

“To take care of it?”

“Yeah,” Gunnar replied.

“And the Prime Minister agreed, I supp­ose?” the fake investor asked.

“Yeah he did that. So now he is working in the Govern­ment... And doing everyt­hing crazy.”

“Everyone Else Will Be Furious”

Gunnar explained that the left-wing parties in Iceland were enra­ged over Jón’s appoint­ment. “the left parties, they are just, they are crazy that Jón is going to pro-whaling or give them a license for the next five years. And he is going to do that,” he said.

The fake investor then directly asked Gunnar about Jón’s goals: “What you're say­ing is, that if I und­er­stand correctly, that he took this job because it allows him to issue the licenses before the elections?”

“Yeah,” replied Gunnar. “And many other things. So he will put his name into the news, into the media, aggressi­vely doing things that he knows that the Left Party and will not like and they will come strong aga­inst it. And he beli­eves that that will only help our party to grow.”

“But we can never talk about that he is doing it for his fri­end,” Gunnar added.

The fake investor assured Gunnar not to worry, promis­ing not to tell anyone and then asked, “But between you and me?”

Gunnar didn’t answer directly but said, “He will make it. If it is his last things to do in the political area, he will make it.”

In the recording, Gunnar also explained to the fake investor that two other applications were pend­ing in the Ministry from companies seeking to hunt minke whales, the same kind Gunnar him­self once hunted. The intention was to ensure the issuance of licenses for all three applicants. “Yeah. Before the election.,” Gunnar was heard say­ing, emphasizing that he was confident it would happen. “But the outcome will be somet­hing, we don’t know. But I don't think it will harm our party. Everybody else will be crazy about this. But a lot of people that have left our party will come back to us.”

Longstanding Support for Whaling

Jón Gunn­ars­son’s supp­ort for whaling, the operations of Hvalur hf., and its owner, Kristján Loftsson, has never been concealed—nor has their long-stand­ing fri­ends­hip. The two are, for instance, mem­bers of a group called the Icelandic Lumpfish Society.

In 2018, Jón posted a photo of him­self at the society’s annual meeting alongside Kristján Loftsson and Kristján Þór Júl­í­us­son, who was then a Minister. Eleven days later, Kristján Loftsson submitted a request to the Minister, ask­ing for and obta­in­ing a reg­ul­atory amend­ment tail­ored to benefit Hvalur hf.

Another photo of Jón Gunn­ars­son and Kristján Loftsson also garn­ered attention. It was taken at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in New York this Sept­em­ber. Jón shared the photo, although he was neither part of Iceland’s official delegation nor a repres­enta­tive of any stakeholder group. He was mer­ely a mem­ber of Iceland’s parli­ament.

“I snuck into the photo with them, even though I’m not in the delegation,” Jón wrote on Facebook, add­ing that he had asked Bjarkey Olsen, then Minister of Fis­heries, for permission to attend the meeting as part of the delegation, but that his request was denied. For some rea­son, Jón felt compelled to clarify:

“I am per­sonally covering all the expenses for the trip.”

Kristján Loftsson, however, was part of the official delegation, as has been since Iceland rejoined the IWC in 2002. This wasn’t Jón Gunn­ars­son’s first time attend­ing such meetings either; he participated in 2003 and 2008 as a repres­enta­tive of the organization Sjáv­ar­nytjar, a reg­istered advocacy group promot­ing the utilization of mar­ine animals, founded in 1995.

In the October restaur­ant meeting, Gunnar Bergmann provided a differ­ent account of his father’s trip to the IWC meeting this year. He described the close fri­ends­hip and exceptional trust between Jón and Kristján. According to Gunnar, Kristján ini­ti­ated Jón’s trip to New York. Gunnar’s account of who paid for the trip significantly differs from Jón’s.

Gunnar described how close a fri­end Kristján is to Jón. “You don't go and meet him and becomes a good fri­end with him over the first or two meetings. It takes, it took many years for them [Gunn­ars­son and Loftsson] to be good fri­ends, but when you are inside, you are def­ini­tely inside,” he explained.

„He [Loftsson] was going to the international whaling meeting and he asked my father ‘Jón, are you doing somet­hing those days?’ ‘Why are you ask­ing?’ ‘Do you want me to come with you?’ ‘ If you can, if you can come.’ So he came and of course my father paid the flights to New York, the rest of the trip was not paid by him!” Gunnar revealed.

Lost the Election

On Sunday, October 20, the Independence Party’s constituency council in the Southwest District held a vote. Jón Gunn­ars­son lost his seat in the election, and Þórdís Kolbrún Reyk­fjörð Gylfa­dóttir moved into the second place on the party’s list in his stead.

Jón did not hide his dissatisfaction with Þórdís’s decision to move into his constituency and challenge him. He was particularly upset that Þórdís had not infor­med him of her plans before mak­ing them public. When it became clear that Jón had lost the election, and the results were announced at party headquarters, Jón walked out of the meeting. He later told Morg­un­blaðið that he did not intend to offer his services for any lower position on the list after this outcome.

However, Jón’s stance changed over the next three days, as did his pro­fessional circumstances. At the same time, continued whaling—somet­hing Jón had fought for over many years—became a central issue in his new position.

According to information from the Ministry of Fis­heries and Agriculture, Hvalur hf. submitted an application for a whaling license on October 23rd—one day before it was announced that Jón Gunn­ars­son had accepted the fifth position on the Independence Party's candidate list in the Southwest District for the then upcoming elections. This application app­e­ars to have been submitted unusu­ally early in the year. For instance, previous applications from Hvalur hf. were not reported in the news until January, and those licenses were typically not app­roved until shortly before the whaling sea­son began, which usu­ally runs from mid-June to the end of the month. This timeline differs from prior years.

On the even­ing of 24 October, Jón Gunn­ars­son stated in an interview with Morg­un­blaðið that he would take the fifth spot on the Independence Party’s list in the Southwest District. Early the next morn­ing, 25 October, it was announced that Jón would also serve as a “special repres­enta­tive” of Prime Minister Bjarni Bene­dikts­son in the Ministry of Fis­heries and Agriculture.

In an interview with Bylgjan that same morn­ing, Jón emp­has­ised whaling in connection to his new role in the Ministry and the processing of license applications related to it.

“If an application is submitted, there is a legal obligation, a statu­tory obligation, for the Minister to process that application. That is simply the law. It’s like app­lying for a dri­ver’s license—no Minister can arbitr­ar­ily decide you shouldn’t get one,” Jón said in the interview. He added that he did not know whether any whaling license applications were pend­ing at the Ministry but stated that it was the Minister’s duty to process them according to the law.

However, the application had alr­eady been submitted by that point. Within two hours, Prime Minister Bjarni Bene­dikts­son confirmed in an interview following a Cabinet meeting that a whaling license application had been received and was awaiting processing.

In a later interview with Stöð 2, Bjarni explained Jón’s position, not­ing that Jón could not make decisions him­self but was in the Ministry to ass­ist with “prepar­ing matt­ers and mak­ing decisions reg­ar­ding them.”

In the recording, Gunnar stated that Jón’s time in politics was effectively over but that this whaling issue will be his legacy.

“Probably not going to the Parli­ament again. He will be, you know, some side player,” Gunnar is heard say­ing, and then agreeing with the “investor” about this being his fathers legacy. “I think it is a good way to leave.”

Gunnar says the Left-Green party, that resigned from the caretaker govern­ment, is responsi­ble for the mak­ing room for his father. “It's not the first time that some govern­ment explodes, you know. Then you're always the Prime Minister need to talk to the Pres­ident and ask his permission to leave this and go to election. But, you know, somebody has to run the country in the meanwhile. So the Pres­ident does always ask the same mini­sters to stay in their position, just let the country float­ing, you know, not doing anyt­hing. Not deciding anyt­hing. The Parli­ament is not working, so there can be no law without the parli­ament. So there are not changing anyt­hing but the license for the whales.”

No Obstacles

A few days later, Bjarni Bene­dikts­son echoed Jón Gunn­ars­son’s position, stating that there were no obstacles to processing applications for whaling licenses. “I don’t see why it should matter whether we are in a caretaker govern­ment or not, just as it doesn’t affect the processing of other licenses or the hand­ling of other administrative matt­ers submitted to the govern­ment,” Bjarni told RÚV following a cabinet meeting.

However, issu­ing whaling licenses for the next sea­son did not app­ear to be a straightforward or guaranteed matter for the caretaker govern­ment, according to Willum Þór Þórsson of the Progressive Party, a Minister in the coalition govern­ment. He said the issue had not been discussed within the cabinet and was unlikely to be addressed.

“I don’t expect that decision—or any decision on the matter—to come before us during the weeks that the caretaker govern­ment will remain in office,” Willum said.

Bjarni’s Connections Not a Problem

Prime Minister Bjarni Bene­dikts­son has famil­ial ties to the shareholder group of Hvalur hf. through his uncles, Einar and Ingimund Sveins­son. Because of this, Gunnar sug­ge­sted that Bjarni would find it difficult to sign the whaling license him­self as Minister of Fis­heries and Agriculture. However, this was not seen as an issue, as another Minister from the party could be assigned to sign it instead.

“But then comes up one more problem. He cannot do it him­self,” Gunnar is heard say­ing, referr­ing to Bjarni Bene­dikts­son. “Because he has some connection within the family, in the ownership of the big company, that Kristján Loftsson owns. You know, there are maybe 80, 90 sharehold­ers of this company, and somebody in the Prime Minister, we live in a such a small country. He cannot sign it him­self because then he is related to Kristján [Loftsson].”

The fake investor then asked: “So who will sign it?”

“The Foreign Affairs Minister,” replied Gunnar, referr­ing to Þórdís Kolbrún Reyk­fjörð Gylfa­dóttir. He noted that she is not a fri­end of Kristján Loftsson but is in the same party. “So we need to rely on that. Or somebody else.”

“Well we still have time after the election to do it. because it always takes at least one month, two months after the elections, to form [a new govern­ment]. But he wants to do it before the election, not after the election,” Gunnar explained. Not everyone was in agreement, however. “But some, especially the women and the girls in his party does not agree with him [Gunn­ars­son]. But I think he will succeed with that.”

“Tomorrow, we have one month. The Saturday 30th of November, the election. Will he fin­ish this job? I'm hop­ing that he will do it. Because I know that he is lea­v­ing, so we actually don't care about anyt­hing else right now,” Gunnar said, add­ing: “This would be quite good legacy to leave.”

“Not Worth Answering,” Jón Said

Heim­ildin contacted both Gunnar Bergmann and Jón Gunn­ars­son before publ­is­hing the story. Gunnar told a journalist that he had been exag­ger­at­ing, as he put it, for some­one he beli­eved to be a for­eign investor. He did not answer whether he had lied but admitted it could have been the case. He declined to comment further on the content of his statem­ents, claiming he had been the victim of a bait­ing operation.

Jón Gunn­ars­son responded in writing to Heim­ildin, stating that the questions posed to him were not worth answering.

“The insinuations contained in your questions are not worth address­ing, as they have no basis in rea­lity,” Jón stated in his written response. “I regret that you and Heim­ildin have stooped so low as to drag my innocent son into your attempts to inflict political damage on me. I doubt that it is possi­ble to sink lower under the guise of journalism.”

Prime Minister Bjarni Bene­dikts­son, in a written response, denied mak­ing an agreement with Jón like the one Gunnar Bergmann described in the recording. He stated that such agreements would be neither proper nor feasi­ble.

“No, I did not make such an agreement. Those who make such claims must take responsi­bility for their words and substanti­ate them,” Bjarni stated in his response.

“Jón Gunn­ars­son works in the Ministry as an assistant and per­forms a vari­ety of tasks there. As is clearly stated in the law, assistants have no aut­hority to make administrative decisions, such as issu­ing licenses for whaling.”

When asked whether he had made promises to advocate for continued whaling, such as through the issuance of new licenses, Bjarni stated that he never makes promises reg­ar­ding the outcome of administrative matt­ers. “What I emphasize is that they are handled properly in accordance with the law,” he said.

When asked if he intended to push for continued whaling, Bjarni replied: “Applications for whaling licenses are in the normal administrative process. I will not advocate for anyt­hing other than their lawful and proper processing.”

On Thursday 5 December, within a week after the election that saw the Independence Party lose two seats in parli­ament and face the possi­bility of a term in opposition, Bjarni granted two whaling licenses. One of them was to Kristján Loftsson’s Hvalur hf. to hunt fin whales, the other to Tjald­tangi ehf. to hunt minke whales. Both licenses are for a per­iod of five years, whereas the next election must take place within four years.

Losses from Whaling

Kristján Loftsson is the CEO and largest owner of Hvalur hf., the only company in Iceland that hunts large whales. However, his wealth was primarily built through other ventures. Hvalur hf. was a major shareholder in fis­heries giant HB Grandi, now known as Brim. Kristján ser­ved as chairman of the company until Hvalur’s 34% stake was sold in 2018 for 21.7 billion ISK, just below 150 million Euros.

Hvalur hf. first received a license to hunt whales in Iceland in 1949. The company was founded by Kristján’s father, Loftur Bjarna­son, and Vil­hjálmur Árnason the year prior. Today, their descendants own the company. Many indicators sug­gest that whaling ceased to be profita­ble for the company a long time ago.

According to financial statem­ents, whaling operations have resulted in losses of 1.2 billion ISK, or 8 million Euros, in recent years. These losses have been subsi­dised by profits from other assets owned by the company. Additionally, export­ing whale products has proven difficult, as there is little to no domestic market for them in Iceland.

In an interview with Stundin in 2016, Ingi­björg Björns­dóttir, the sur­vi­v­ing wife of Árni Vil­hjálms­son, who was Kristján’s business partner at Hvalur hf. for decades, confirmed that the whaling operations were not financially viable. “No, no, it doesn’t pay for itself at all. This is supp­orted by the other companies the firm owns,” she said.

Inconsistent Whaling History

Although there has been significant debate over the issuance of whaling licenses, Iceland’s whaling history has been inconsistent. In 2006, then-Minister of Fis­heries Einar K. Guð­finns­son aut­horised commercial whaling, but little hunt­ing occurred. Prior to that, whaling had been banned for 26 years. When the first fin whale was hunted under the new license in 2006, Einar K. cheerfully attended to witness the animal being brought ashore in Hval­fjörður.

When the govern­ment he was a part of collapsed during the financial crisis, Einar decided to issue a five-year license the day after the govern­ment fell apart.

In 2023, however, the Ministry of Fis­heries and Agriculture was taken over by a new party, the Left-Green Movement. The decision on whether to issue a new license fell to Svandís Svav­ars­dóttir, the party leader and a known opponent of whaling, like others in the Left-Green Movement. In June of last year, she announced a tempor­ary halt to whaling based on animal welfare concerns. The announcement came one day before the whaling sea­son was due to begin. However, the decision was later deemed unlawful by the Parli­ament­ary Ombudsman.

Following Katrín Jak­obs­dóttir’s resignation as Prime Minister to run for pres­ident, the govern­ment was res­huffled. Svandís was moved out of the Ministry of Fis­heries and Agriculture, and Bjarkey Olsen Gunn­ars­dóttir, also of the Left-Green Movement, took her place. Bjarkey decided to issue a one-year tempor­ary whaling license, stating that while the decision did not align with her per­sonal views on whaling, it was necessary.

Jón Gunn­ars­son, who had stepped down from govern­ment to make way for Guðrún Haf­steins­dóttir, the Independence Party’s lead candidate in the South District, did not hold back his criticism of Svandís in connection with the issue. Jón argued that the state could potenti­ally be liable for compensation to Kristján Loftsson and Hvalur hf., claiming the delays in issu­ing whaling licenses had caused billions in damages.

“If He Wants To”

Gunnar speculated about his father Jón’s fut­ure with the fake investor. “When my father retires, only Parli­ament will just make him the mana­ger of the company [Hvalur hf]? I don’t know,” Gunnar said, prompt­ing the question: “So your father might retire from and go to manage this company [Hvalur hf.]?”

“I don’t know,” Gunnar replied, add­ing with a smile: “If he wants to.”