Þórunn Jónassen, also Þórunn Hafstein Pétursdóttir (1850–1922) was an Icelandic feminist, the first chair of Thorvaldsensfélagið (Thorvaldsen's Society), Iceland's oldest women's association, a post she maintained for 47 years. She was also one of four pioneering women who were elected to Reykjavík's city council in 1908.

Biography

Born in Ketilsstaðir á Völlum near

Vallanes Vallanes () is a village in the east of Iceland close to Egilsstaðir. References

Populated places in Eastern Region (Iceland) {{iceland-geo-stub ...

in eastern Iceland, Þórunn Jónassen was the daughter of Pétur Havstein, a magistrate, and Guðrún Hannesdóttir Stephensen. Following her mother's death when she was only 10 months old, she was raised by foster parents and relatives. She completed her education in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

at Natalie Zahle's School where she was introduced to the importance of fighting for

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

and education. On returning to Iceland, in 1871 she married Jónasi Jónassen, a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

at Reykjavík's hospital. They had one daughter, Soffía, born in 1873. In 1875, Þórunn was elected the first chair of Thorvaldsensfélagið, a women's association dedicated to promoting public health and to assisting those in difficulty. She remained in the post until she died 47 years later. She also served as secretary of the National Health Insurance Board and was elected to the city council of Reykjavík in 1908. Þórunn Jónassen died in Reykjavík on 18 April 1922.

References

1850 births 1922 deaths Thorunn Jonassen Thorunn Jonassen Thorunn Jonassen Thorunn Jonassen Thorunn Jonassen Thorunn Jonassen Thorunn Jonassen Thorunn Jonassen {{Iceland-bio-stub