dr. vésteinn ólason was appointed director of the institute of icelandic studies on september 12, 2006. vésteinn had been the director of the árni magnússon institute from may 1, 1999 until september 1, 2006, after which it was merged with four other institutes to create the árni magnússon institute for icelandic studies. professor guðrún nordal took over as director of the institute on march 1, 2009, appointed for a period of five years.