Álfheiður Ingadóttir (born 1 May 1951) is an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic politician, a former member of the

Althing The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at (" thing fields" or "assemb ...

for the

Left-Green Movement The Left-Green Movement ( is, Vinstrihreyfingin – grænt framboð), officially the Left Movement – Green Candidature and also known by its short-form name ''Vinstri græn'' (VG), is an eco-socialist political party in Iceland. The Left-Gree ...

, Deputy Speaker, and Minister of Health.

Early life and education

Álfheiður was born in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

; her parents were Ingi R. Helgason, a lawyer of the Icelandic Supreme Court, and Ása Guðmundsdóttir. She was educated at

Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík (MR; official name in English: Reykjavik Junior College) is a junior college in Iceland. It is located in Reykjavík. The school traces its origin to 1056, when a school was established in Skálholt, and it remains o ...

and earned a B.Sc. in biology from the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...

in 1975, then studied German language and media at the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

in 1976–1977.

Career

After teaching biology while a student, Álfheiður began her post-graduate career as a journalist at '' Þjóðviljinn'', where she worked until 1987 and rose to news director. She then became manager of a salmon farm in

Straumsvík Straumsvík (, "stream cove") is a harbour on the northern shore of the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparse ...

. From 1989 to 1991 she worked on patent and trademark applications, and then returned to journalism free-lance until 1996. 1987–1989. Worked on patent applications and trademark registration 1989–1991. Freelance journalist 1991–1996. In 1994–1995 she was also the information officer of the Samtök um kvennaathvarf, a federation of

women's shelter A women's shelter, also known as a women's refuge and battered women's shelter, is a place of temporary protection and support for women escaping domestic violence and intimate partner violence of all forms. The term is also frequently used to ...

s, and secretary general of the conference on women's shelters in the Nordic countries that was held in Iceland in November 1995. She was director of publishing for the from 1996 to 2007 and editor of ''Náttúrufræðingurinn'', the magazine of the , from 1996 to 2006.

Political career

Álfheiður was elected as a Member of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing, for the Reykjavík South constituency in 2007 and for the Reykjavík North constituency in 2009. She was Deputy Speaker of the Althing in 2009 and 2010–2012. Since losing her seat in the 2013 election, she has continued to serve as a deputy member for her party. She served as Minister of Health from October 2009 to September 2010. She played a role in the founding of the Left-Green Movement in 1998 and was vice-chairman of its parliamentary group in 2009–2010 and 2011–2012, and chairman from 2012 to 2013.

Personal life

She is married to Sigurmar Kristján Albertsson, a lawyer of the Icelandic Supreme Court; they have a son.

References

Living people 1951 births Alfheidur Ingadottir Alfheidur Ingadottir Alfheidur Ingadottir {{Iceland-politician-stub