Ólína Kjerúlf Þorvarðardóttir (born 8 September 1958) is an Icelandic writer, scholar and former journalist and politician. She was a 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 ...
from 2009 to 2016, representing the
Social Democratic Alliance for the
Northwest Constituency.
Life and career
Ólína was born in Reykjavík but moved to
Ísafjörður
Ísafjörður (pronounced , meaning ''ice fjord'', literally ''fjord of ices'') is a town in the northwest of Iceland.
The oldest part of Ísafjörður with the town centre is located on a spit of sand, or ''eyri'', in Skutulsfjörður, a fjord ...
at the age of 14 when her father was hired as the local District Commissioner. She studied at
Menntaskólinn á Ísafirði where she met her future husband, Sigurður Pétursson with whom she has had five children.
Ólína has been an active scholar in social Sciences, Icelandic litterature and folklore. Since 2022 she has been a dean and a professor at
Bifröst University in Iceland. Before that she was member of the Icelandic Parliament Alþingi Íslendinga 2009-2016 where she was chairman of the parliamentary committees on industry, the environment and transport. Ólína was a principal of the Junior College of Ísafjörður (
Menntaskólinn á Ísafirði) from 2001 to 2006; and lecturer at 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 ...
(Folklore, Icelandic literature) from 1992 to 2000. Before participating in politics, Ólína worked as a journalist, reporter and TV-anchor at the State Broadcasting Station (
RÚV
Ríkisútvarpið (, ; abbr. RÚV ) is Iceland's national public broadcasting, public-service broadcasting organization.
Founded in 1930, it operates from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional centres around the count ...
) from 1987 to 1990.
She has published several books and articles on political and social matters as well as Icelandic folklore and litterature. Her docotoral thesis Brennuöldin. Galdur og galdratrú í málskjölum og munnmælum (Háskólaútgáfan 2000, second edition Forlagið 2023) is about the witch persecutions in 17th century Iceland.
Parliamentary Committees
* Member of the Committee on the Environment (2009–2016; also chairman 2010–2016).
* Vice-chairman of the Committee on Fisheries and Agriculture (2009–2016; also vice-chairman 2009–2016).
* Member of the Committee on Transport and Communications (2010–2016).
* Chairman of the Icelandic delegation to the West Nordic Council (2009–2016).
* Chairman of The West Nordic Council (2010–2016).
* Member of the Committee on Social Affairs and Social Security (2009–2010).
SAR
Ólína is a volunteer member of the
Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue (ICE-SAR)] where she specializes in training and working with rescue dogs. In January 2020, she was part of an around 200 SAR members who rescued 49 people at the base of
Langjökull glacier.
Published books
References
https://skald.is/skaldatal/253-olina-kjerulf-thorvardardottir
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorvardardottir, Olina
Living people
1958 births
Olina Thorvardardottir
Olina Thorvardardottir
Olina Thorvardardottir
Olina Thorvardardottir
Olina Thorvardardottir
Olina Thorvardardottir
Olina Thorvardardottir