Guðmundur Árni Stefánsson (born 31 October 1955) is an Icelandic politician and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. He 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 1993 to 2005, was Minister of Health and Social Security and Minister of Social Affairs, and has served as Iceland's ambassador to several countries.

Early life and education

Guðmundur was born 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 ...

, where he finished school at . He studied political science 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 ...

from 1978 to 1980. His father, Stefán Gunnlaugsson, his brother Gunnlaugur Stefánsson, and his half-brother Finnur Torfi Stefánsson were all also members of the Althing.

Non-political career

From 1975 to 1986, except for four years as a police officer 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 ...

, he worked as a journalist in newspapers and broadcasting, including as editor of ''

Alþýðublaðið ''Alþýðublaðið'' (Anglicised to ''Althydubladid'') was a newspaper of the Social Democratic Party (Iceland). It was published between 29 October 1919 and 2 October 1998. The paper was originally published six times a week, but ceased as a dail ...

'' from 1982 to 1985.

Political and diplomatic career

He was a representative for Hafnarfjörður from 1982 to 1994 and from 1986 to 1993 mayor of Hafnarfjörður. He was elected a deputy member of the Althing for in October 1991 and January 1993, then in 1993 as a full member for

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 ...

from the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

. He continued to serve until 2005, later as a member of the joint parliamentary group formed by the Social Democrats and the National Awakening and then of 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 ...

, from 2003 representing 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— ...

. He was named Minister of Health and Social Security in June 1993 and was Minister of Social Affairs from June to November 1994; in 1995–1999 he was fourth vice-president of the Althing and in 1999–2005, first vice president. From 1995 to 1997, Guðmundur was a member of the Icelandic delegation to the

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomo ...

, then from 1997 to 2005, of the Icelandic delegation to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

; he served as chairman in 2005. Since leaving the Althing and being appointed Ambassador to Sweden in November 2005, Guðmundur has served as the Ambassador of Iceland to multiple countries: * Ambassador of Iceland to

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

from 28 June 2007 to 21 November 2013. * Ambassador of Iceland to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

from 23 October 2013 * Ambassador of Iceland to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

* Ambassador of Iceland to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

from 4 September 2007 to 11 January 2012. * Ambassador of Iceland to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

from September 2018 to April 2020. * Ambassador of Iceland to

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

from 16 January 2008 * Ambassador of Iceland to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

* Ambassador of Iceland to

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

from 18 May 2007 to 22 June 2011. * Ambassador of Iceland to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

from 1 February 2019 * Ambassador of Iceland to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

from 30 November 2005 to 28 October 2011. * Ambassador of Iceland to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

from 4 December 2007 * Ambassador of Iceland to the United States from 1 October 2011 to 23 February 2015. In April 2020 he was named

Consul General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

of Iceland in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Canada.

Personal life

Guðmundur married Jóna Dóra Karlsdóttir in 1977. They have four children; their two eldest sons died in childhood in a house fire in 1985.

References

External links

Ambassador Guðmundur Árni Stefánsson
curriculum vitae at

Cabinet of Iceland The Cabinet of Iceland () is the collective decision-making body of the government of Iceland, composed of the Prime Minister of Iceland, Prime Minister and the Minister (government), cabinet ministers. History The Cabinet of Iceland is conside ...

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