Navigation

Newsletter

Subscribe to the latest news from the Nordic Labour Journal by e-mail. The newsletter is issued 9 times a year. Subscription is free of charge.

(Required)
You are here: Home i Articles i Portrait i Portrait 2013 i Iceland’s Minister of Social Affairs: The importance of writing off debts

Iceland’s Minister of Social Affairs: The importance of writing off debts

Eygló Harðardóttir is the Minister of Social Affairs in Iceland’s new government. The low number of female ministers and women in parliamentary committees has created heated debate. Most committees have an uneven gender distribution, which goes against the law. But the new minister is not particularly worried. She reckons the number of women will rise soon.
Up one level

This folder has no visible items. To add content, press the add button, or paste content from another location.

Document Actions

1 minute interview

What book are you currently reading?

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie. It is so easy to read  Agatha Christie’s books. They have a beginning, a middle and an ending, and the mystery is always solved in the end. When you work on various projects which don’t necessarily work in that way, you might want to read a book like that. 

Which work tool do you appreciate the most in your office?

My mobile. I have my diary, email, contacts and kindle on my mobile.

What is your hidden talent?

I am a fast reader. That’s a plus in my line of work. I can read through a document by scanning the page, but it could be that I discover a chapter which I cannot recall having seen if I reread the text later. 

As a child, what did you want to become when you grew up?

Vigdís. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. And I wanted to be a doctor. When I think back now I think it only shows how important it is for children to have role models.

Eygló Harðardóttir

Eygló Harðardóttir is 41 and married with two daughters. She studied art history at Stockholm University and has studied economy at the University of Iceland.

Eygló Harðardóttir has been an active member of the centre-right Progressive Party (Framsóknarflokkurinn) since 2003, at first on a municipal level. She has been an MP since 2008 and Minister of Social Affairs since 2013. 

Eygló Harðardóttir is a skilled and conscientious person who always works hard. She has a strong sense of justice, is very determined and doesn’t let others push her around – but she is fair, according to husband Sigurður E. Vilhelmsson. 

Eygló’s main interests are politics and social issues. She is into food and cooking and loves tasting new dishes while travelling abroad. She is good at crafts and happily knits one or two jumpers over the Christmas holidays.

Newsletter

Receive Nordic Labour Journal's newsletter nine times a year. It's free.

(Required)
h
This is themeComment