Álfheiður Ingadóttir (born 1 May 1951) is an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic politician, a former member of the

Althing The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Parliament, national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ('Thing (assembly), thing ...

for the

Left-Green Movement The Left-Green Movement (, ), also known by its short-form name Vinstri græn (VG), is an eco-socialist political party in Iceland. Since the 2024 Icelandic parliamentary election, the party has had no members in the Althing. The party chairper ...

, Deputy Speaker, and Minister of Health.

Early life and education

Álfheiður was born in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

; 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 College) is collegein Iceland. It is located in Reykjavík. The school traces its origin to 1056, when a school was established in Skálholt, and it remains one of the oldest ...

and earned a B.Sc. in biology from the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( ) 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' school to a modern co ...

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 university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

in 1976–1977.

Career

After teaching biology while a student, Álfheiður began her post-graduate career as a journalist at ''

Þjóðviljinn :''Þjóðviljinn (1887-1915), Þjóðviljinn was also the name of a magazine published by Skúli Thoroddsen between 1887 and 1915.'' ''Þjóðviljinn'' () was an Icelandic daily newspaper founded on 31 October 1936. It had close ties with the Com ...

'', where she worked until 1987 and rose to news director. She then became manager of a salmon farm in Straumsvík. 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 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and for the Reykjavík North constituency in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. 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 chairperson 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

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