Brandeis has seen countless alumni pursue political careers in different branches of government around the world. Eli Segal '64 served as the assistant to the president following his time at Brandeis, and Sidney Blumenthal '69 went on to become an adviser to President Bill Clinton. In 2006, Geir Haarde '73 was elected as Iceland's 23rd prime minister, becoming the only Brandeis alumnus to hold a political position on the European island.

Although Haarde had originally planned to attend the University of Iceland in his native city of Reykjavík, after receiving an offer that he said he could not refuse, he chose to study at Brandeis. Haarde was awarded a Wien Scholarship, which provides funding for foreign students to study in the United States. The scholarship has allowed over 800 students from over 100 countries to study at Brandeis. Deciding it was an opportunity he couldn't turn down, Haarde chose to leave Iceland for Waltham, a decision he "has never regretted," he said in an interview with the Justice.

Leaving his family and life in Iceland to travel alone to America for his education, Haarde began his Brandeis career as a junior because of the overlap in the Icelandic and American university systems.

Though he chose to study Economics due to the stature of the University's Economics department, Haarde took advantage of the fact that he could choose elective courses in the American educational system. He therefore spent time exploring courses outside his major during his time at the University.

"Of course the American system was different than ours, so I had to adjust to that," Haarde said. Having studied English in Iceland when he was younger, Haarde had no trouble adjusting to the language when arriving to the U.S. His communication skills did improve, however, which provided "an added benefit for professional purposes," he said.

After graduating from Brandeis, Haarde attended graduate school at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. and received a Master of International Relations. From there, he made his way to the University of Minnesota for a Master of Economics.

Following the completion of his education, Haarde decided not to stay in the United States despite job offers he had.

"Small countries have a special pull. If you had been to Iceland, I think you would understand," he said of his choice to return. "I did have some opportunities to stay in the States but I wanted to come back so I could be useful in [Iceland]."

Upon his return to Iceland, Haarde worked for the Central Bank of Iceland for six years before deciding to pursue a career in politics. "I had always been interested in socioeconomic issues in general and doing what I could to improve society, improve living conditions, improve the standard of living ... to make Iceland a better place to live in. That is the ambition I think everybody should have, everyone who wants to go into politics," he said.

Beginning his political career as a candidate in the parliamentary elections of 1983, Haarde served as an adviser to the minister of finance. He then served as the minister of finance and minister of foreign affairs, and in June 2006 he won the election to become the prime minister of Iceland, a position he held until 2009.

"It's the top job in the political system here. It presented enormous challenges, particularly in 2008 during the financial crisis, which was a difficult period to go through. But I liked my colleagues and the job I was doing. I had the right background to do this," Haarde said.

He described Iceland's financial crisis as the biggest challenge he faced during his term as prime minister and realized that many people did not share his views and decisions during the time.

"I am not saying that everybody agrees with me. Some people blame me, some people totally disagree with my analysis of things, but we are a democracy, so that's life," he said.

On Oct. 6, 2008, he announced on national television that the banks of Iceland were declining and has since been criticized for negligence during his time in office.

"The formal indictment against Mr. Haarde, delivered by a sharply divided Parliament, charges him with ‘violations committed from February 2008 through the beginning of October of the same year, by intent or gross neglect, mostly violations against the laws of ministerial responsibility,'" according to a Sept. 4 New York Times article.

"Mr. Haarde, 60, said he had committed no crime, that the events that led to the crash were far too complicated to be distilled to a crude political prosecution of a single person," according to the article.

Ultimately leaving his political in 2009, Haarde stays busy lecturing and consulting, despite not having "a nine-to-five job," as he described it. Many of his speeches explain the financial situations in Iceland, specifically to the foreign media.

Haarde returns to the U.S. several times a year and has been back to Brandeis at least three times since graduating.

He returned to the University 15 years after graduating for the 30th anniversary of the Wien Scholarship Program in 1988, and again in 2008 for the 50th anniversary of the program, for which he was the keynote speaker. Haarde also served on the Conservative Committee at the Brandeis International Business School.

He maintains his connection with Brandeis by remaining in contact with many of the people he met during his time at the University, which he described as an experience he "would not have liked to miss."