Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir (born 4 November 1987) 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 lawyerTim Moore (8 March 2017)
Iceland’s tourism boom — and backlash
''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

''. and politician of the Independence Party. She most recently served as the minister of foreign affairs in 2024, having previously held the portfolio from 2021 to 2023. She also served as finance minister from 2023 to 2024 and tourism and industry minister from 2017 to 2021. She is currentl
Special Envoy of Council of Europe Secretary General on the situation of children of Ukraine appointed

Political career

Þórdís has been 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 ...

(Iceland's parliament) for the

Northwest Constituency Northwest () is one of the six multi-member constituencies of the Althing, the national legislature of Iceland. The constituency was established in 2003 following the re-organisation of constituencies across Iceland when the Northwestern constit ...

since 2016, as a representative of the Independence Party. From 2018 to 2025, she was the party's vice-chair. At the 2025 party convention, she was succeeded by Jens Garðar Helgason. Þórdís has previously held the positions of

Minister for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Innovation, and

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. At the age of 29, she became the youngest woman to become an Icelandic Minister. During her time as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Þórdís held the rotating chairmanship of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

Committee of Ministers The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe ( French: ''Comité des ministres du Conseil de l'Europe'') or Committee of Ministers ( French: ''Comité des ministres'') is the Council of Europe's decision-making body. It comprises the Fo ...

from November 2022 to May 2023. In July 2023, she announced that Iceland would suspend its embassy in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

due to not meeting the priorities of the country's foreign service in its current state. She added that the suspension did not mean they would be cutting diplomatic relations with Russia. On 14 October 2023, she was appointed Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs in a minor reshuffle following Bjarni Benediktsson's resignation. On 9 April 2024, she was reappointed as Minister for Foreign Affairs after Bjarni Benediktsson succeeded

Katrín Jakobsdóttir Katrín Jakobsdóttir (; born 1 February 1976) is an Icelandic former politician who served as the prime minister of Iceland from December 2017 to April 2024 and was a member of the Althing for the Reykjavík North constituency from 2007 to 202 ...

when the latter decided to run in the

2024 presidential election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. *2024 United Nations Security Council election *2024 national electoral calendar *2024 local electoral ...

. She and her Nordic counterparts signed a joint letter in late October condemning Israel's planned bill that would seek to ban the

UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA, pronounced ) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians who fl ...

from operating in the country and in effect the Palestinian areas. Furthermore, they urged the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

to reconsider passing the bill.

Recognition

In 2023 Þórdís received the Cross of Good Neighbourhood from

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Sviatlana Hieorhiyeuna Tsikhanouskaya (; born 11 September 1982) is a Belarusian political activist. After standing as a candidate in the 2020 presidential election against the president Alexander Lukashenko, she has led the political opposit ...

. The distinction is awarded by the Belarusian United Transitional Cabinet to outstanding individuals who have significantly helped the cause of

Belarusians Belarusians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Belarus. They natively speak Belarusian language, Belarusian, an East Slavic language. More than 9 million people proclaim Belarusian ethnicity worldwide. Nearly 7.99&n ...

References

External links