Haukur Hilmarsson

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Haukur.

Haukur Hilmarsson (22 July 1986 – 24 February 2018) was an Icelandic political activist.^[1][2] He played a crucial role in initiating a movement for the rights of refugees in Iceland.^[3] He rose to prominence during the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests after climbing to the roof of the house of the Icelandic parliament, Alþingishúsið, and hoisting the flag of the Bónus supermarket chain on the building's flagpole.^[4][5] His arrest two weeks later^[6][7] resulted in an attempt by a crowd of protesters to storm the Icelandic Police headquarters in downtown Reykjavík where Haukur was held and from where he was subsequently released.^[8][9][10]

Haukur Hilmarsson
Birth name	Haukur Hilmarsson
Other name(s)	Sahin Hosseini
Born	(1986-07-22)22 July 1986 Iceland
Died	24 February 2018(2018-02-24) (aged 31) Afrin, Syria
Cause of death	Turkish airstrike
Allegiance	Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
Branch	International Freedom Battalion
Years of service	2017–2018
Unit	RUIS
Known for	Political activism, fighting with YPG
Battles / wars	Syrian Civil War Raqqa campaign (2016–2017) Operation Olive Branch †
Relations	Mother: Eva Hauksdóttir

The Bónus flag, raised by Haukur, hanging over the Icelandic parliament building.

Death

Haukur traveled to Syria in 2017 and joined an anarchist unit of the International Freedom Battalion called Revolutionary Union for Internationalist Solidarity (RUIS) alongside the YPG. He participated in the liberation of Raqqa that same year.^[11] On 6 March 2018 Turkish media reported that Haukur had been killed in a Turkish airstrike in Afrin on 24 February.^[12][13][14] As of February 2021, his body had not been retrieved.^[15]

Personal life

Haukur was the son of Icelandic activist and writer Eva Hauksdóttir.^[4][16]