2003 (when the Reykjanes constituency was abolished) for the Southwest constituency. Þorgerður Katrín was Minister of Education in Geir Haarde's government from 2003 to 2009 and functioned as de facto Prime Minister during the crash due to his illness. She served as deputy chairman of the Independence Party 2005 to 2010. Þorgerður Katrín resigned as deputy chairman on 17 April 2010 after being criticised for the handling of her and her husband Kristján Arason's debts in Kaupthing Bank, which collapsed in October 2008. She subsequently took leave of absence from parliament and chose not to run for reelection in the 2013 election. She joined the Reform Party shortly after it was founded in 2016 and was elected to the Althing for them in the 2016 election. Þorgerður Katrín subsequently became Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture in the short-lived government of Bjarni Benediksson. During the 2017 election campaign her party fell below the threshold in multiple polls and its founder Benedikt Jóhannesson therefore decided to step down as chairman in favour of Þorgerður. References External links A biography at Althingi Thorgerour Katrin Gunnarsdottir Thorgerour Katrin Gunnarsdottir 1965 births Living people Thorgerour Katrin Gunnarsdottir Thorgerour Katrin Gunnarsdottir Thorgerour Katrin Gunnarsdottir Thorgerour Katrin Gunnarsdottir