Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir
Encyclopedia
Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir (sometimes anglicised to Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir) (born 4 October 1965) is an Iceland
ic politician and former vice-chairman of the Independence Party
2005–2010. She was the Minister of Education, Science and Culture from 31 December 2003 to 1 February 2009 and has been a member of the Althing
(Iceland's parliament) since 1999. After the Icelandic economic Crash in 2008, Þorgerður was defacto Depudy Prime Minister in Geir Haarde's abcens for he had cancer. Although euro-scepticism is traditionally part of the Independence party platform she has said publicly that due to the 2008 financial crises Iceland has no other choice than to join the EU.
Her father is Gunnar H. Eyjólfsson, an actor. Her husband is Kristján Arason
, he was CEO of Retail Banking at Icelandic Kaupthing Bank
and previously one of Iceland's most successful handball
players. Þorgerður Katrín and Kristján have three children, Gunnar Ari (1995), Gísli Þorgeir (1999) and Katrín Erla (2003). Her husband owed Kaupthing bank just under 900 million ISK he’d borrowed to purchase shares in the bank. The debt was never paid back as the board of Kaupthing allowed their staff to transfer the loans and shares asset into private holding companies few months before the bank was taken over by the Icelandic authorities.
Þorgerður was an officer in Orator, the Law Students' Society at the University of Iceland
, an officer in Stefnir, the local Independence Party youth society in Hafnarfjörður
, and also the Vice-President of the Executive Committee for the Board of Representatives of the Independence Party in Hafnarfjörður. Þorgerður is educated as a lawyer from the University of Iceland and graduated in 1993. That year she begin career as a lawyer in the firm Attorneys at Höfðabakki. From 1997 to 1999 she was director of the Social and Current Affairs Department at the National Broadcasting Service.
She is a member of parliament, from 1999 to 2003 for the constituency
of Reykjanes
and from 2003 for the Southwest constituency. She has served on various committees in the parliament: on the General Committee 1999–2003 as chairman, Education Committee 1999–2003, Transport and Communications Committee 1999–2003, Special Committee on Constitutional Affairs 2000–2003, Industry Committee 2003, Credentials Committee 2003, and the Icelandic delegation to the Committee of Members of Parliament of the EFTA countries 1999–2003 (chairman 2003).
In late summer 2008 and during the late build-up of the Icelandic financial crisis Þorgerður snapped back during an interview with the Icelandic state news program about Richard Thomas quote, Richard an analyst at investment bank Merrill Lynch had said that the Icelandic government and their lack of action would drive the Icelandic banks to solvency and that the aim would be to nationalise them. She said "I think these are remarkable statements form such a respectable investment bank and it dwelled on me for a while what cruel intentions are behind them because there are no arguments supporting this. I must also ask as the Minister of Education if this man doesn’t need a re-education?"
She was then the acting Prime Minister, Minister of Education in Geir Haarde's government and the Independent Party's vice chairman.
Þorgerður Katrín resigned as vice-chairman of the Independence Party
on 17 April 2010 after being criticized about the debts of her and Kristján Arason, her husband, former manager in Kaupthing Bank, which collapsed in the bank collapse in October 2008. She decided to take a leave of absence from parliament work and think about her political future after the resignation.
is the letter
thorn
, which in Icelandic
represents a voiceless dental fricative
, as in th in the English word "thick."
ð
is the letter
edh
, which in Icelandic
represents a voiced dental fricative
, as in th in the English word "them."
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic politician and former vice-chairman of the Independence Party
Independence Party (Iceland)
The Independence Party is a centre-right political party in Iceland. Liberal conservative and Eurosceptic, it is the second-largest party in the Althing, with sixteen seats. The chairman of the party is Bjarni Benediktsson and vice chairman is Ólöf Nordal....
2005–2010. She was the Minister of Education, Science and Culture from 31 December 2003 to 1 February 2009 and has been a member of the Althing
Althing
The Alþingi, anglicised variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national parliament of Iceland. The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant...
(Iceland's parliament) since 1999. After the Icelandic economic Crash in 2008, Þorgerður was defacto Depudy Prime Minister in Geir Haarde's abcens for he had cancer. Although euro-scepticism is traditionally part of the Independence party platform she has said publicly that due to the 2008 financial crises Iceland has no other choice than to join the EU.
Her father is Gunnar H. Eyjólfsson, an actor. Her husband is Kristján Arason
Kristján Arason
Kristján Arason is a former member of Icelandic national handball team. He is the husband of Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, a well known figure in Icelandic politics. He ranked fourth in IHF's list of the world's best handball players in the year 1989. He is considered among the best defenders in...
, he was CEO of Retail Banking at Icelandic Kaupthing Bank
Kaupthing Bank
Kaupthing Bank was an international Icelandic bank, headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was formed by the merger of Kaupthing and Búnaðarbanki Íslands in 2003 and was the largest bank in Iceland....
and previously one of Iceland's most successful handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
players. Þorgerður Katrín and Kristján have three children, Gunnar Ari (1995), Gísli Þorgeir (1999) and Katrín Erla (2003). Her husband owed Kaupthing bank just under 900 million ISK he’d borrowed to purchase shares in the bank. The debt was never paid back as the board of Kaupthing allowed their staff to transfer the loans and shares asset into private holding companies few months before the bank was taken over by the Icelandic authorities.
Þorgerður was an officer in Orator, the Law Students' Society at the University of Iceland
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 comprehensive university, providing instruction for about...
, an officer in Stefnir, the local Independence Party youth society in Hafnarfjörður
Hafnarfjörður
Hafnarfjörður is a port town and municipality located on the south-west coast of Iceland, about 10 km south of Reykjavík....
, and also the Vice-President of the Executive Committee for the Board of Representatives of the Independence Party in Hafnarfjörður. Þorgerður is educated as a lawyer from the University of Iceland and graduated in 1993. That year she begin career as a lawyer in the firm Attorneys at Höfðabakki. From 1997 to 1999 she was director of the Social and Current Affairs Department at the National Broadcasting Service.
She is a member of parliament, from 1999 to 2003 for the constituency
Constituencies of Iceland
Iceland is divided into 6 constituencies for the purpose of selecting representatives to the Alþingi .-History:The current division was established by a 1999 constitution amendment and was an attempt to balance the weight of different districts of the country whereby voters in the rural districts...
of Reykjanes
Reykjanes
Reykjanes or Reykjanesskagi is a peninsula and a volcanic system situated at the south-western end of Iceland, near the capital of Reykjavík....
and from 2003 for the Southwest constituency. She has served on various committees in the parliament: on the General Committee 1999–2003 as chairman, Education Committee 1999–2003, Transport and Communications Committee 1999–2003, Special Committee on Constitutional Affairs 2000–2003, Industry Committee 2003, Credentials Committee 2003, and the Icelandic delegation to the Committee of Members of Parliament of the EFTA countries 1999–2003 (chairman 2003).
In late summer 2008 and during the late build-up of the Icelandic financial crisis Þorgerður snapped back during an interview with the Icelandic state news program about Richard Thomas quote, Richard an analyst at investment bank Merrill Lynch had said that the Icelandic government and their lack of action would drive the Icelandic banks to solvency and that the aim would be to nationalise them. She said "I think these are remarkable statements form such a respectable investment bank and it dwelled on me for a while what cruel intentions are behind them because there are no arguments supporting this. I must also ask as the Minister of Education if this man doesn’t need a re-education?"
She was then the acting Prime Minister, Minister of Education in Geir Haarde's government and the Independent Party's vice chairman.
Þorgerður Katrín resigned as vice-chairman of the Independence Party
Independence Party (Iceland)
The Independence Party is a centre-right political party in Iceland. Liberal conservative and Eurosceptic, it is the second-largest party in the Althing, with sixteen seats. The chairman of the party is Bjarni Benediktsson and vice chairman is Ólöf Nordal....
on 17 April 2010 after being criticized about the debts of her and Kristján Arason, her husband, former manager in Kaupthing Bank, which collapsed in the bank collapse in October 2008. She decided to take a leave of absence from parliament work and think about her political future after the resignation.
Note on pronunciation
ÞThorn (letter)
Thorn or þorn , is a letter in the Old English, Old Norse, and Icelandic alphabets, as well as some dialects of Middle English. It was also used in medieval Scandinavia, but was later replaced with the digraph th. The letter originated from the rune in the Elder Fuþark, called thorn in the...
is the letter
Icelandic alphabet
The modern Icelandic alphabet consists of the following 32 letters:It is a Latin alphabet with diacritics, in addition it includes the character eth Ðð and the runic letter thorn Þþ...
thorn
Thorn (letter)
Thorn or þorn , is a letter in the Old English, Old Norse, and Icelandic alphabets, as well as some dialects of Middle English. It was also used in medieval Scandinavia, but was later replaced with the digraph th. The letter originated from the rune in the Elder Fuþark, called thorn in the...
, which in Icelandic
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
represents a voiceless dental fricative
Voiceless dental fricative
The voiceless dental non-sibilant fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. It is familiar to English speakers as the 'th' in thing. Though rather rare as a phoneme in the world's inventory of languages, it is encountered in some of the most widespread and influential...
, as in th in the English word "thick."
ð
Eth
Eth is a letter used in Old English, Icelandic, Faroese , and Elfdalian. It was also used in Scandinavia during the Middle Ages, but was subsequently replaced with dh and later d. The capital eth resembles a D with a line through the vertical stroke...
is the letter
Icelandic alphabet
The modern Icelandic alphabet consists of the following 32 letters:It is a Latin alphabet with diacritics, in addition it includes the character eth Ðð and the runic letter thorn Þþ...
edh
Eth
Eth is a letter used in Old English, Icelandic, Faroese , and Elfdalian. It was also used in Scandinavia during the Middle Ages, but was subsequently replaced with dh and later d. The capital eth resembles a D with a line through the vertical stroke...
, which in Icelandic
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
represents a voiced dental fricative
Voiced dental fricative
The voiced dental non-sibilant fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound, eth, is . The symbol was taken from the Old English letter eth, which could stand for either a voiced or unvoiced...
, as in th in the English word "them."