2009 Icelandic Financial Crisis Protests

2009 Icelandic Financial Crisis Protests

The 2009–2011 Icelandic financial crisis protests, also referred to as the Kitchenware Revolution (Icelandic: Búsáhaldabyltingin) or Icelandic Revolution (Icelandic: Íslenska byltingin) occurred in the wake of the Icelandic financial crisis. There had been sporadic protests since October 2008 against the Icelandic government's handling of the financial crisis. The protests intensified on 20 January 2009 with thousands of people showing up to protest at the parliament (Althing) in Reykjavík.

Protesters were calling for the resignation of government officials, and for new elections to be held. The protests stopped for the most part with the resignation of the old government led by the right-wing Independence Party. A new left-wing government was formed after elections in late April 2009. It was supportive of the protestors, and initiated a reform process that included the judicial prosecution before the Landsdómur of the former Prime Minister Geir Haarde.

Also, there were held several referenda to ask the citizens about paying or not the Icesave debt of their banks and, finally, a complex and unique process in which 25 common people of no political party were to be elected to form an Icelandic Constitutional Assembly that would write a new Constitution of Iceland. After some legal problems, a Constitutional Council that included those people presented a Constitution Draft to the Iceland Parliament on 29 July 2011.