Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir
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Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir (born 4October 1965) is an Icelandic politician, who has been chairwoman of
Viðreisn Viðreisn (), officially known in English as the Liberal Reform Party, is a Liberalism, liberal political party political parties in Iceland, in Iceland positioned on the Centrism, centre to Centre-right politics, centre-right of the political spe ...
since 2017. Þorgerður was deputy chairwoman of the Independence Party from 2005 to 2010. She was the Minister of Education, Science and Culture from 31 December 2003 to 1 February 2009. From 2006, Þorgerður served as acting Prime Minister in the absence of
Geir Haarde Geir Hilmar Haarde (; born 8 April 1951) is an Icelandic politician who served as prime minister of Iceland from 15 June 2006 to 1 February 2009, and as president of the Nordic Council in 1995. Geir was chairman of the Icelandic Independence Par ...
, including during his 2009 cancer treatment. She left the Independence Party in 2016 and joined the newly founded
Viðreisn Viðreisn (), officially known in English as the Liberal Reform Party, is a Liberalism, liberal political party political parties in Iceland, in Iceland positioned on the Centrism, centre to Centre-right politics, centre-right of the political spe ...
and became its chairman the following year. She was Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture in 2017.


Education

Þorgerður Katrín took
stúdentspróf In Iceland, the ''Stúdentspróf'' () is an educational diploma that counts as a qualification for university matriculation. Students aiming to earn the Stúdentspróf generally take three years, and most students earn their Stúdentspróf at age ...
from Menntaskólanum við Sund in Reykjavík 1985. In her final year she was elected Chairman (Ármaður) of the School Association as the second woman to serve in this position. She subsequently studied law 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 ...
and served as a board member in Orator, the Law Students' Society.


Business career

After graduating with a Master of Law degree in 1993 Þorgerður Katrín began her career as a solicitor in a law firm at Höfðabakki. From 1997 to 1999 she was director of the Social and Current Affairs Department at the National Broadcasting Service. She worked for the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce during her break from politics 2013 to 2016.


Political career

During her time at university she served as a board member in Stefnir, the local Independence Party youth organization in
Hafnarfjörður Hafnarfjörður, officially Hafnarfjarðarkaupstaður, is a port town and municipality in Iceland, located about south of Reykjavík. The municipality consists of two non-contiguous areas in the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital Region, on the s ...
, and vice-president of the executive committee of the Board of Representatives of the Independence Party in Hafnarfjörður. She was elected to the Althing in 1999 for the
constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
of
Reykjanes Reykjanes () is a small headland on the south-western end of the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, giving the main peninsula its name. Volcanic action is responsible for forming the entire peninsula. The nearest town is Keflavik. The name, , trans ...
and from 2003 (when the Reykjanes constituency was abolished) for the
Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...
constituency. Þorgerður Katrín was Minister of Education in Geir Haarde's government from 2003 to 2009 and functioned as de facto Prime Minister during the crash due to his illness. She served as deputy chairman of the Independence Party 2005 to 2010. Þorgerður Katrín resigned as deputy chairman on 17 April 2010 after being criticised for the handling of her and her husband Kristján Arason's debts in Kaupthing Bank, which collapsed in October 2008. She subsequently took leave of absence from parliament and chose not to run for reelection in the 2013 election. She joined Viðreisn shortly after it was founded in 2016 and was elected to the Althing for them in the 2016 election. Þorgerður Katrín subsequently became Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture in the short-lived government of Bjarni Benediksson. During the 2017 election campaign her party fell below the threshold in multiple polls and its founder
Benedikt Jóhannesson Benedikt Jóhannesson (born 4 May 1955) is an Icelandic publisher, businessman and politician. He is the founder and former chairman of Viðreisn and served as Iceland's Minister of Finance from 11 January 2017 to 30 November 2017. Benedikt is t ...
therefore decided to step down as chairman in favour of Þorgerður.


Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Following the 2024 snap election, her party formed a government with the
Social Democratic Alliance The Social Democratic Alliance (, ) is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Iceland, political party in Iceland. The party is positioned on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum and their ...
and the People's Party, in which she was appointed minister for foreign affairs.


Personal life

Þorgerður's father was Gunnar Eyjólfsson, an actor, who was born on 24 February 1926 and died on 21 November 2016. Her husband is Kristján Arason who was CEO of Retail Banking at
Kaupthing Bank Kaupthing Bank (, ) was a major international Icelandic bank, headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was taken over by the Icelandic government during the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis and the domestic Icelandic-based operations were ...
and previously one of Iceland's most successful
handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...
players. Þorgerður Katrín and Kristján have three children, Gunnar Ari (1995), Gísli Þorgeir (1999) and Katrín Erla (2003). At the time of the Icelandic financial crisis her husband owed Kaupthing bank just under 900 million ISK which he had borrowed to purchase shares in the bank. The debt was never repaid, as the board of Kaupthing allowed their executives to transfer their loans and shares into private
holding companies A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own stock of other companies ...
a few months before the bank was taken over by the Icelandic authorities. These companies subsequently defaulted. Þorgerður played
handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...
in the 1980s, first with ÍR and later with FH where she won the Icelandic Cup in 1984. She later played for
VfL Gummersbach VfL Gummersbach is a professional handball club from the German city of Gummersbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. Currently, VfL Gummersbach competes in the Handball-Bundesliga and the DHB-Pokal. The club has seen great success, especially from the ...
in Germany. Following her playing career, she became a handball referee. In November 1993, she became the first female referee to referee a match in the Icelandic top-tier women's league. In February 1994, she became the first woman to referee in the Icelandic top-tier men's league.


References


External links


Biography
at Althingi {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir 1965 births Education ministers of Iceland FH women's handball players Handball referees Icelandic female handball players ÍR women's handball players Independence Party (Iceland) politicians Living people Members of the Althing 1999–2003 Members of the Althing 2003–2007 Members of the Althing 2007–2009 Members of the Althing 2009–2013 Members of the Althing 2016–2017 Members of the Althing 2017–2021 Members of the Althing 2021–2024 Members of the Althing 2024–2028 Politicians from Reykjavík University of Iceland alumni Viðreisn politicians Women government ministers of Iceland Women members of the Althing VfL Gummersbach players