Salome Þorkelsdóttir, sometimes transliterated as Salome Thorkelsdottir, (born 3 July 1927) is a retired Icelandic politician and first woman to be Speaker of the unicameral Althing. Before that she had been Speaker of the Upper House of the Althing. She was of 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 ...

Biography

Salome Þorkelsdóttir was born on 3 July 1927, in Reykjavik, Iceland to Þorkell Sigurðsson and Anna Þorbjörg Sigurðardóttir. She attended the Reykjavik Women's Gymnasium graduating in 1945. In 1947, she married Jóel Kristinn Jóelsson (2 January 1921–16 June 2007) and subsequently, they had three children. After raising her children, Þorkelsdóttir, served on the council of the Mosfellshrepps (Moss District) from 1966-1982. During this same period, she served as Chairwoman of the Federation of Municipalities in

Reykjanesbær Reykjanesbær () is a municipality on the Southern Peninsula (''Suðurnes'') in Iceland, though the name is also used by locals to refer to the suburban region of Keflavík and Njarðvík which have grown together over the years. The municipality ...

from 1975 to 1979 and was Chairwoman of the Independence Party's Representatives for the County of Kjósarsýsla (which is now Reykjavík) between 1972 and 1980. She was elected to the

Alþingi 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 "assembly ...

as a Member of Parliament representing Reyknesinga in 1979 and served until 1983, when she was re-elected as an

candidate. With her reelection in 1983, she became Speaker of the Upper House of the Althing. She served as the first Vice President of the United Assembly from 1988 to 1991 and in 1991, Þorkelsdóttir became the first woman to be Speaker of the unicameral Althing, serving in that capacity until 1995. During her time as speaker, she oversaw discussions concerning the formalization of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

in 1993 as well as the reorganization and procedural realignments of the Alþingi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorkelsdottir, Salome Salome Thorkelsdottir Salome Thorkelsdottir Salome Thorkelsdottir Salome Thorkelsdottir Salome Thorkelsdottir 1927 births Living people