Tómas Ingi Olrich (born 13 February 1943) is an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic politician and former minister and

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Early life and education

Tómas was born in

Akureyri Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner. Nicknamed ...

and educated at the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) 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' s ...

, where he studied French and history, and the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest univ ...

, where he earned a licentiate and a master's degree in modern languages.

Career

He taught at

Akureyri Junior College The Akureyri Junior College ( is, Menntaskólinn á Akureyri , regionally also ; la, Schola Akureyrensis) is an Icelandic gymnasium (academic secondary school). It is one of the oldest educational institutions in Iceland. The Menntaskólinn ...

from 1970 to 1991, including ten years as assistant schoolmaster. During some of that time he was also manager of the Hotel Edda in Akureyri (1971–1973) and editor of the website of the

Independence Party Independence Party may refer to: Active parties Outside United States * Independence Party (Egypt) * Estonian Independence Party * Independence Party (Finland) * Independence Party (Iceland) * Independence Party (Mauritius) * Independence Part ...

, ''Íslendingur'' (1984–1985). He served in the Icelandic parliament,

Alþingi The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembly ...

, from 1991 to 2003 representing

Northeastern 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—each se ...

and in 2003 representing the new constituency of

Northeast 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—each se ...

, for the Independence Party. During this time he was twice part of the Icelandic delegation to the

NATO Parliamentary Assembly Founded in 1955, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) serves as the consultative interparliamentary organisation for the North Atlantic Alliance. Its current President is Gerald E. Connolly from the United States, elected in 2019. Its curre ...

, in 1991–1993 and, as chairman, in 1999–2002, chaired the Icelandic delegation to the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

in 1993–1995, and was Iceland's representative to the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

in 1995. He then served as Minister of Education from 2 March 2002 to 31 December 2003. After resigning his parliamentary seat, he became ambassador to France, serving from 2005 until the end of 2009. Among his other positions, Tómas chaired the planning committee for the

University of Akureyri The University of Akureyri ( is, Háskólinn á Akureyri , regionally also ) was founded in 1987 in the town of Akureyri in the northeastern part of Iceland. It is today a school of health sciences, humanities and social science, and a school of b ...

from 1985 to 1987 and was on the board of governors from 1988 to 1990, and from 1999 to 2002 was on the permanent committee of the

Arctic Council The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic. At present, eight countries exercise sovereignty over the lands within the Arctic Circle, ...

. He was vice president of the Icelandic Tourist Board from 1993 to 1999 and then became its chairman.

Private life

Tómas has been married twice, to Hjördís Daníelsdóttir in 1964 and to Nína Þórðardóttir in 1981. He has two daughters from his first marriage, and Nína has two daughters from a previous marriage.

References

External links

Biography of Tómas Ingi Olrich
at

1943 births Living people Education ministers of Iceland Government ministers of Iceland Members of the Althing {{Iceland-politician-stub