Kristín Halldórsdóttir (20 October 1939 – 14 July 2016) was an Icelandic

Women's List The Women's List or Women's Alliance (), also called Kvennalistinn and abbreviated KL, was a feminist political party in Iceland that took part in national politics from 1983 to 1999. The party held three seats in the parliament elected in 1983, ...

politician, journalist and schoolteacher who served two separate terms 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 ...

from 1983 to her resignation in 1989 and again between 1995 and 1999. She taught at 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''. ...

for two winters between 1964 and 1966 and she worked was a journalist at ''

Tíminn ''Tíminn'' () was an Icelandic daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspape ...

'' and editor of the weekly newspaper ''Vikuna'' from 1974 to 1979. Halldórsdóttir was the first vice-president of the Lower House of Althing from 1986 to 1987 and was a substitute member of the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up of ...

for Women's List between 1987 and 1990.

Biography

Kristín was born in

Varmahlíð Varmahlíð () is a small village in Skagafjörður, northern 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 E ...

on 20 October 1939. She was the daughter of the carpenter and lighthouse worker Halldór Víglundsson and his wife Halldóra Sigurjónsdóttir, a housewife who was the principal of the Housewives' School in

Laugar Laugar is a hamlet in the Northeastern Region Iceland, on the Reykjadalsá river, a left tributary of the Laxá í Aðaldal river. Route 1 runs through the village between Akureyri and Reykjahlíð. It is largest village in the municipality of ...

. Kristín worked as a saleswoman and maid in Varmahlíð, in the forestry in

Vaglaskógur Vaglaskógur () is a 300-hectare forest in Fnjóskadalur, 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 ...

and at a cold store and worked on a herring farm in

Siglufjörður Siglufjörður () is a small fishing town in a narrow fjord with the same name on the northern coast of Iceland. The population in 2011 was 1,206; the town has been shrinking in size since the 1950s when the town reached its peak of 3,000 inhabit ...

during her teenage and schooling years. In 1960, she graduated from the

Akureyri Junior College The Akureyri Junior College ( , regionally also ; ) is an Icelandic gymnasium (academic secondary school). It is one of the oldest educational institutions in Iceland. The Menntaskólinn á Akureyri traces its roots to the ancient school in H ...

, when she passed the examination. The following year, Kristín passed the examination to become a teacher while studying at the Iceland College of Education. She worked as a journalist at ''

'' from 1961 to 1964, and then a became a teacher at in

for two winters between 1964 and 1966. From 1972 to 1974, Kristín was a journalist at ''Vikuna'' and served as editor of the weekly newspaper from 1974 to 1979. She was one of the founding members of the

political party in March 1983. At the

1983 Icelandic parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 23 April 1983.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p962 The Independence Party remained the largest party in the Lower House of the Althing, winning 15 o ...

, Kristín was elected to sit in the

as a representative of the

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 ...

constituency. She gained reelection at the

1987 Icelandic parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 25 April 1987.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p962 The Independence Party remained the largest party in the Lower House of the Althing, winning 12 o ...

before resigning her seat per Parliament rules in 1989. During her first term in Parliament, Kristín served as chair of the parliamentary party of the Association for Women's List between 1984 and 1985 and was the first vice-president of the Lower House of Althing from 1986 to 1987. When she was not in Parliament, she served as chair of the Tourism Council from 1989 to 1993. Between 4 May 1987 and 1 January 1990, Kristín was an substitute of the

for Women's List. In 1995, she gained re-election to the Althing and remained in Parliament until 1999 when the Women's List political party was abolished. From 1996 to 1999 Kristín served a second term as chair of the parliamentary party of the Association for Women's List. She joined the

Left-Green Movement The Left-Green Movement (, ), also known by its short-form name Vinstri græn (VG), is an eco-socialist political party in Iceland. Since the 2024 Icelandic parliamentary election, the party has had no members in the Althing. The party chairper ...

political party in 2001 and served as its secretary general from 2001 to 2005. Kristín focused on environment and nature conservation and she was active in working for the Friends of the Environment, which presented 45,000 signatures to protect Eyjabök when the 21st century commenced. She was on the Budget Committee, the Environment Committee and sat on 11 legislatures in total. After retiring from politics, she was dedicated to horsemanship.

Personal life

Kristín was married to the editor and journalist

Jónas Kristjánsson Jónas Kristjánsson (10 April 1924 – 7 June 2014) was an Icelandic scholar and novelist, and one-time director of the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies. In this position, he played a crucial role in the return of Icelandic manus ...

. The couple were the parents of four children. On the morning of 14 July 2016, she died at Mörk nursing home following a serious illness. Kristín received a memorial service at the Medical Museum in

Seltjarnarnes Seltjarnarnes () is a town and municipality in the Capital Region of Iceland. The municipality is located on a peninsula, bordered only by Reykjavík to the east. It is also the most densely populated municipality in Iceland. It took on its curr ...

on the afternoon of 26 July.

References