Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir

Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir (pronounced [ˈiɲcɪpjœrk ˈsoulrun ˈcistlaˌtouʰtɪr̥]; born 31 December 1954) is an Icelandic politician from the Social Democratic Alliance who has served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (2007–2009) and leader of the Alliance (2005–2009). She served as representative of UN Women in Afghanistan from 2012-2014 and later in Turkey as designated Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.[1]

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Ingibjörg Sólrún.
Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir
Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir on 31 October 2007
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office
24 May 2007 – 1 February 2009
Prime MinisterGeir Haarde
Preceded byValgerður Sverrisdóttir
Succeeded byÖssur Skarphéðinsson
Mayor of Reykjavík
In office
13 June 1994 – 1 February 2003
Preceded byÁrni Sigfússon
Succeeded byÞórólfur Árnason
Director of OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
In office
19 July 2017 – 2020
Preceded byMichael Georg Link
Succeeded byMatteo Mecacci
Personal details
Born (1954-12-31) 31 December 1954
Reykjavík, Iceland
Political partySocial Democratic Alliance (since 2000)
Women's List (until 2000)
SpouseHjörleifur Sveinbjörnsson
ChildrenTwo sons (b. 1983, 1985)
Alma materUniversity of Iceland
University of Copenhagen

Education

Sólrún received her bachelor's degree in history and literature from the University of Iceland in 1979. Then she went to Denmark to study as a guest student of the post -graduate studies in history at the University of Copenhagen (1979-1981). In 1981 she came back to Iceland where she graduated as a cand.mag. in history from University of Iceland in 1983.

In addition to her Icelandic, Sólrún speaks English, French and Danish.

Political career

Sólrún started her political career in the Women's List (Samtök um kvennalista), a party she had co-founded in 1982 and later represented in Reykjavík's City Council from 1982 to 1988. She also represented the party in Parliament from 1991 to 1994.

Sólrún became Mayor of Reykjavík in 1994 when she led a coalition of four political parties called Reykjavíkurlistinn, winning the elections. She was the city's Mayor until 2003.

In 2004 Sólrún took a brief leave from politics and instead attended the European Institute, London School of Economics (LSE) as a visiting scholar.

In 2005 Sólrún became the leader of the Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin), then the second largest political party in the Althing (Iceland's parliament), after a sharply contested election between her and the previous party leader Össur Skarphéðinsson. She has served in this position until 2009.

On 24 May 2007, Sólrún was appointed foreign minister and served in the office until 1 February 2009.

Later career

On 19 July 2017, Sólrún began her mandate as the Director of OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, where she succeeded Michael Georg Link.[2] In June 2020, the governments of Tajikistan and Turkey blocked the renewal of Ingibjörg Sólrún's mandate.[3] She subsequently led the OSCE's Observation Mission in the 2020 Ukrainian local elections.[4][5]

In 2021, Sólrún was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as his new Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs and Electoral Assistance of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), under the leadership of Special Representative Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.[6]

In August 2022, Guterres appointed Sólrún to the United Nations fact-finding mission regarding the Olenivka prison massacre, led by Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz.[7]

Other activities
  • Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF), Member of the International Advisory Board[8]
  • Nordic Women Mediators (NWM), Member[9]

Personal life

Sólrún was born in Reykjavík on 31 December 1954. She is married to Hjörleifur Sveinbjörnsson, lecturer and translator of Chinese language. They have two sons.

References
  1. "UN Women: Turkey can be regional model for women's rights". 9 March 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  2. "Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir | OSCE". osce.org. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  3. Alexandra Brzozowski (20 July 2020), OSCE facing leadership crisis Euractiv.
  4. Secretary-General Appoints Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir of Iceland Deputy Special Representative for Iraq United Nations, press release of January 15, 2021.
  5. ODIHR opens election observation mission in Ukraine OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, press release of September 23, 2020.
  6. Secretary-General Appoints Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir of Iceland Deputy Special Representative for Iraq United Nations, press release of January 15, 2021.
  7. [https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/personnel-appointments/2022-08-22/members-of-fact-finding%C2%A0mission-regarding-incident-olenivka-ukraine-29-july-2022%C2%A0 Members of Fact-finding Mission regarding Incident at Olenivka, Ukraine, on 29 July 2022 United Nations, press release of 22 August 2022.
  8. International Advisory Board Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF).
  9. Secretary-General Appoints Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir of Iceland Deputy Special Representative for Iraq United Nations, press release of January 15, 2021.
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