The Embassy of the United Kingdom 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 ...

is the chief

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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 ...

. The embassy is located on Laufásvegur street in the Miðborg district of the city. Since the 1990s, the building has been shared with the German Embassy. The current British Ambassador to Iceland is Bryony Mathew.

History

Britain's first representative to Iceland, Charles Smith, was appointed on 8 May 1940 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He arrived accompanying the British troops who occupied Iceland. Until then, Iceland had been a dependency of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The home of the first British Embassy was

Höfði Höfði () is a house in Reykjavík, Iceland, built in 1909, and best known as the location for the 1986 Reykjavík Summit meeting of President Ronald Reagan of the United States and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Ge ...

(best known as the location for the 1986

Reykjavík Summit The Reykjavík Summit was a Summit (meeting), summit meeting between President of the United States, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, held in Reykjavík, Iceland, on ...

meeting of

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

and

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

). In the 1950s the embassy was moved to its current location on Laufásvegur street. In 1968, the British Government bought Laufásvegur 31 and the old farmhouse which was there was donated to the Reykjavik Museum and moved to the heritage site at

Árbæjarsafn Árbæjarsafn () is the historical museum of the city of Reykjavík as well as an open-air museum and a regional museum. Its purpose is to give the public an insight into the living conditions, work and recreational activities of the people of Rey ...

. When the embassy was redeveloped in the 1990s, it was decided that the location was too large for Britain's needs and so it looked for another partner to share it with. At the same time the German government was also looking for a new location and so agreed to share building and facilities at Laufásvegur 31. It is thought to be the first time a building was constructed to house two embassies. It was opened on 2 June 1996, in the presence of

Malcolm Rifkind Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind (born 21 June 1946) is a British politician who served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1986 to 1997, and most recently as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament from 2 ...

Werner Hoyer Werner Hoyer (born 17 November 1951) is a German economist and politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) who served as President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) between 2012 and 2023. Education and early career Hoyer graduated as an e ...

, and

Halldór Ásgrímsson Halldór Ásgrímsson (pronounced ; 8 September 1947 – 18 May 2015) was an Icelandic politician, who served as prime minister of Iceland from 15 September 2004 to 15 June 2006 and was the leader of the Progressive Party from 1994 to 2006. Ed ...

. A plaque inside reads "the first purpose built co-located British-German chancery building in Europe".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Embassy of the United Kingdom, Reykjavik Reykjavik

Buildings and structures in Reykjavík Iceland–United Kingdom relations Germany–United Kingdom relations

History

See also

References