Sóley Tómasdóttir (born 12 May 1974) is an Icelandic gender and diversity advocate and a former politician. She was the leader of 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 ...

in the

Reykjavík City Council The City Council is the governing body of the City of Reykjavík, composed of representatives elected by the inhabitants of the city. The council Municipality is responsible for enforcing the issues which that the State has delegated to local aut ...

from 2009 to 2016 and the President of the City Council from 2014 to 2016.

Biography

Sóley grew up mostly in

Kópavogur Kópavogur () is a town in Iceland that is the country's second largest municipality by population. It lies immediately south of Reykjavík and is part of the Capital Region. The name literally means ''seal pup inlet''. The town seal contains t ...

but moved to

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 ...

in adolescence. She is a graduate of

Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð ( en, Hamrahlíð College, and usually referred to as MH) is a public gymnasium located in Hlíðahverfi, Reykjavík, Iceland. The school was founded in 1966 by the Icelandic Ministry of Education; with the first ...

, holds a

BA degree Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in educational science and MSc degree in pedagogy, gender and diversity from

Radboud University Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, nl, Radboud Universiteit , formerly ''Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen'') is a public research university located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The university bears the name of Saint Radboud, a 9th century D ...

. Sóley has worked at 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 ...

Institute of Social Sciences, the White House, the Creator's Advertising Agency and the sports and leisure area of the city of Reykjavík. Sóley is married to Aart Schalk and has two children.

Political career

Sóley was a vice City councillor from the spring of 2006, but served as a city representative when Svandís Svavarsdóttir was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

to 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 ...

in the spring of 2009. She was elected back in City Council 2010 and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

as a representative of

. Sóley was the secretary of the Left-Green Movement from 2007 to 2015. She has been in the city's most professional councils, but became president of the city council when four groups of the

Social Democratic Alliance The Social Democratic Alliance ( is, Samfylkingin - jafnaðarflokkur Íslands), officially The Alliance – Iceland's Social Democratic Party, is a social democratic, and pro-European political party in Iceland. The Social Democratic Alliance w ...

, Bright Future, Left Green and Pirate Party took office on 16 June 2014. Sóley asked for a resolution in a meeting of the City Council on 20 September 2016 moved to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

with her husband and family.

Gender and diversity advocate

In 2018, Sóley started JUST Consulting, which offers advice and trainings on gender and diversity management to organizations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomasdottir, Soley 1974 births Living people Socialist feminists Soley Tomasdottir Soley Tomasdottir