Auður Auðuns (18 February 1911 – 19 October 1999) was 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 lawyer and politician from the

Independence Party Independence Party may refer to: Active parties Outside United States * Independence Party (Egypt) * Estonian Independence Party * Independence Party (Finland) * Independence Party (Iceland) * Independence Party (Mauritius) * Independence Part ...

. She set several records as she became the first Icelandic woman to obtain a law degree, the first female

Mayor of Reykjavík The post of Mayor of Reykjavík ( is, Borgarstjóri Reykjavíkur) was created in 1907 and advertised in 1908. Páll Einarsson and Knud Zimsen applied for the job and Páll got the position for a period of six years, at the end of which he did not w ...

and the first female cabinet member in Iceland when she became Minister of Justice and Church in the short-lived cabinet of

Jóhann Hafstein Jóhann Hafstein (Akureyri, 19 September 1915 – 15 May 1980) was elected to the Althingi for Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaf ...

1970–71. Auður grew up in Isafjördur in the remote

Westfjords The Westfjords or West Fjords ( is, Vestfirðir , ISO 3166-2:IS: IS-4) is a large peninsula in northwestern Iceland and an administrative district, the least populous administrative district. It lies on the Denmark Strait, facing the east coas ...

in North-Western Iceland as the daughter of Margrét Guðrún Jónsdóttir and Jón Auðunn Jónsson, an MP for first the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and from 1929 onwards for its successor the Independence Party. At 14 she went to live with relatives in Reykjavík in order to pursue an academic education. Auður graduated from the prestigious

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 ...

in 1929 and got a law degree 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 1935. She then spent a year studying Icelandic rhetoric and speech patterns in her hometown before she married high court attorney Hermann Jónsson, with whom she had four children Jón (1939), Einar (1942), Margrét (1949), and Árni (1954). She worked for twenty years as a lawyer for the Single Mothers Assistance Committee in Reykjavík 1940–60, was a leading member of the Icelandic Women's Rights Association and acted as an advisor to the government on a number of topics related to

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage ...

, children and women's issues. Auður was a city councillor in Reykjavík for 24 years between 1946 and 1970 and chaired the City Council 1954–59 and 1960–70. From 19 November 1959 to 5 October 1960 she was Co-Mayor with future

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Geir Hallgrímsson Geir Hallgrímsson (16 December 1925 – 1 September 1990) was the prime minister of Iceland for the Independence Party from 28 August 1974 to 1 September 1978. Before that he had been mayor of Reykjavík and a member of the Icelandic parliamen ...

and acted as his

mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

. He subsequently became the sole Mayor 1960–74. She was elected to the Althing from the

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 ...

constituency 1959–74 having previously been a substitute member 1947–48. She served on the Public Broadcasting Board 1975–78. Auður was a delegate at the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Cur ...

in 1967 and chaired the Icelandic delegation at the UN Women's Conference in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

in 1975.

External links

Non auto-biography of Auður Auðuns on the parliament website
1911 births 1999 deaths Women mayors of places in Iceland Justice ministers of Iceland Women government ministers of Iceland Female interior ministers 20th-century Icelandic women politicians 20th-century Icelandic politicians Female justice ministers {{Iceland-politician-stub