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Guðrún Ögmundsdóttir (19 October 1950 – 31 December 2019) was an Icelandic politician for 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 ...
and then 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 ...
who was an elected 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 ...
representing the Reykjavík North constituency from 1999 to 2007. She also twice served on
Reykjavík City Council The Reykjavík City Council ( Icelandic: ''Borgarstjórn Reykjavíkur'') is the local council for Reykjavík, the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is composed of 23 members elected by proportional representation for a 4-year term The Cou ...
and was a board member and later chair of UNICEF Iceland between 2016 and 2018. Guðrún had a biography on her written by Halla Gunnarsdóttir that was published in 2010 and she received the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Falcon nine years later.


Biography

On 19 October 1950, Guðrún was born 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 ...
. She was adopted at birth by the Chief Foreman of the Lighthouse and Harbor Authority Ögmundur Jónsson and the housewife Jóhanna J. Guðjónsdóttir from her birth mother Hulda Valdimarsdóttir. Guðrún worked as a supervisor for Þjóðviljan's equality page from 1978 to 1979 and as a reporter at the
Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...
in 1982. She graduated from
Roskilde University Roskilde University (, abbreviated RUC or RU) is a Danish public university founded in 1972 and located in Trekroner in the Eastern part of Roskilde. The university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD degrees in a wide variet ...
in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and social work. She would later complete her postgraduate studies at the same institution and earn a master's degree () in media studies in 1985. While studying in Denmark, Guðrún became involved in social work in Iceland and served on the board of the Student Association in Copenhagen and later on the board of the Icelandic Association for overseas students from 1985 to 1988. She was editor of ''Icelandic Students' Magazine Abroad'' between 1985 and 1987 and was on the editorial board of ''Veru'' in 1986. She was a senior social worker in the gynaecology ward of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at
Landspítali The Landspítali – The National University Hospital of Iceland () offers a wide range of clinical services in outpatient clinics, day patient units, inpatient wards, clinical laboratories and other divisions. Landspítalinn also operates the psy ...
between 1988 and 1994 and briefly worked at the Faculty of Medicine as well as the Faculty of Social Sciences 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 ...
as a part-time lecturer. Guðrún was long involved in politics and was elected Deputy Mayor of
Reykjavík City Council The Reykjavík City Council ( Icelandic: ''Borgarstjórn Reykjavíkur'') is the local council for Reykjavík, the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is composed of 23 members elected by proportional representation for a 4-year term The Cou ...
in 1990 and served in the position until 1992. During the same time period, she was on the Social Affairs Council as an alternate member and was on the board of the
Borgarspítalinn Borgarspítalinn (English: City Hospital) was an Icelandic hospital located in Fossvogur, Reykjavík from 1967 until 1996 when it merged with St. Jósefsspítali to form Reykjavík Hospital. Reykjavík Hospital then merged with Landspítali in 200 ...
. Guðrún was a primary representative of Reykjavík City Council from 1992 to 1998 and was a member of the Reykjavík City Council as the Reykjavík List's City Representative and Vice President and Chairman of the Social Affairs Council between 1994 and early 1998. She also held a multitude of confidential positions on behalf of Reykjavík City Council. From 1998 to 1999, Guðrún was head of department at the Ministry of Social Affairs. At the
1999 Icelandic parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 8 May 1999.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p962 The Independence Party remained the largest party in the Althing, winning 26 of the 63 seats.Nohlen ...
, she was elected to serve in 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 ...
as a member of 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 ...
(later 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 ...
) in the Reykjavík North constituency. While serving in the Althing, Guðrún was a member of the , the and the Health and Social Security Committee. She sat in ten legislatures and conducted work in the Nordic for Parliament. In 2003, Guðrún asked for a report on people cohabiting and it found same-sex couples did not have the same rights as heterosexual couples. She helped to come up with legislation that gave same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual people to adopt and to receive assisted insemination treatment from 27 June 2006. Guðrún also lobbied for women's freedom, women's rights and the rights of minorities. From 2003 to 2007, she represented the Iceland Division of the
West Nordic Council The West Nordic Council (, , , ) is a cooperative forum for the parliaments and governments of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland. It was initially founded in 1985 as the West Nordic Parliamentarian Council of Cooperation but the name was ch ...
. Guðrún was employed by the Ministry of Justice from 20 September 2010 to work as a liaison between the state and those who were put into public housing when they were children and adolescents and subjected to harsh treatment. From 2011 to 2018, she was a board member and later between 2016 and 2018 chair of UNICEF Iceland. Guðrún gained re-election to Reykjavík City Council in 2017. A biography of Guðrún, ''Hjartað ræður för'', was authored by Halla Gunnarsdóttir and published in 2010.


Personal life

Guðrún was married to the Marine Research Institute specialist Gísli Arnór Víkingsson. The couple were the parents of two children. She was appointed Knight's Cross of the Order of the Falcon in June 2019 for her "contribution to humanity and the struggle for equality of gay people". On the morning of 31 December 2019, Guðrún died of cancer in the emergency department of the
Landspítali The Landspítali – The National University Hospital of Iceland () offers a wide range of clinical services in outpatient clinics, day patient units, inpatient wards, clinical laboratories and other divisions. Landspítalinn also operates the psy ...
in
Kópavogur Kópavogur () is a town in Iceland that is the country's second-largest municipality by population. It lies immediately south of Reykjavík and is part of the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital Region. The name literally means ''seal pup inlet''. ...
.


Legacy

In September 2019, she was honoured by the NGO
Samtökin '78 Samtökin '78, officially The National Queer Organization in English, is the national queer organization of Iceland and non-governmental organization dedicated to the interest and rights of Queer individuals in Iceland. The organization provides e ...
with its badge of honour "for her fight for the increased rights of gay people." A total of 11,430 signatures supporting a child violence prevention campaign were received by the Minister of Social Affairs and Children
Ásmundur Einar Daðason Ásmundur Einar Daðason (born 29 October 1982) is an Icelandic politician. He served as a member of the Althing for the Northwest Constituency from 2009 to 2016, initially representing the Left-Green Movement (VG) and later the centrist Progre ...
on behalf of Guðrún's legacy.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogmundsdottir, Gudrun 1950 births 2019 deaths Adoptees Gudrún Ogmundsdóttir Gudrún Ogmundsdóttir Gudrún Ogmundsdóttir Gudrún Ogmundsdóttir Gudrún Ogmundsdóttir Roskilde University alumni Gudrún Ogmundsdóttir Gudrún Ogmundsdóttir Gudrún Ogmundsdóttir Gudrún Ogmundsdóttir Gudrún Ogmundsdóttir UNICEF people Knights of the Order of the Falcon Deaths from cancer in Iceland