Sigríður Á. Andersen

Sigríður Ásthildur Andersen (born 21 November 1971) is an Icelandic politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of Justice of Iceland from 2017–2019.[1][2][3] She resigned as minister of justice after the European Court of Human Rights found her appointments of judges to the Icelandic court of appeals to be illegal.[4][5]

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is a family name, but this person is referred to by the given name Sigríður.
Sigríður Á. Andersen
Minister of Justice
In office
11 January 2017 – 14 March 2019
Prime MinisterBjarni Benediktsson
Katrín Jakobsdóttir
Preceded byÓlöf Nordal (Minister of the Interior)
Succeeded byÞórdís Gylfadóttir
Personal details
Born (1971-11-21) 21 November 1971
Reykjavík, Iceland
Political partyIndependence Party
SpouseGlúmur Jón Björnsson
Alma materUniversity of Iceland

She has been a member of the Icelandic parliament (Althing) for the Independence Party since 2015.[6][7]

Education and career

Sigríður graduated from Reykjavik Junior College in 1991, studied law at the University of Iceland, and became an attorney in 2001.[8] From 1999–2005 she worked as a lawyer at the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce, sat on the Council of District Courts from 2004–2009, and then worked at a private law firm from 2007–2015.[8]

She was a deputy member of parliament for the Independence Party for a short while in 2008 and for a few months in 2012–2015.[8] She then became an elected member of parliament in 2015.[8]

Controversies

Sigríður has been a controversial figure during her tenure as the minister of justice.[9] She played a pivotal role in the controversy surrounding the restored honour of a convicted child sex offender which led to the dissolution of the Cabinet of Iceland under prime minister Bjarni Benediktsson in 2017.[10][11]

In 2017, she did not follow the recommendations of a special committee list of the most qualified judges for the newly formed Icelandic court of appeals and instead hand-picked 4 of them, including the wife of fellow Independence Party parliamentarian Brynjar Níelsson.[12] On 12 March 2019 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the appointments had been made illegally.[13] On 13 March 2019, in the aftermath of the ruling, Sigríður announced that she would resign as minister of justice.[4]

References
  1. "Sigríður Á. Andersen verður áfram dómsmálaráðherra". Kvennabladid. March 23, 2018.
  2. "Rúmlega sjö af hverjum tíu vilja að Sigríður Á. Andersen segi af sér". Kjarninn. February 23, 2018.
  3. "Um Sigríði – Sigríður Á. Andersen". Sigríður Á. Andersen (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  4. Birgir Olgeirsson (13 March 2019). "Sigríður Andersen stígur til hliðar". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  5. "European Court Of Human Rights Declares Icelandic Judge Appointments Illegal". Grapevine. March 12, 2019.
  6. "Sigríður Á. Andersen". Alþingi (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  7. "Sigríður Andersen hafnar ásökunum um þöggun: "Ég frábið mér þennan málflutning"". Pressan. September 19, 2017.
  8. "Sigríður Á. Andersen – Short biographies of members of parliament". Alþingi. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  9. "Vast Majority Of Icelanders Want Justice Minister To Resign". Grapevine. February 23, 2018.
  10. "Ótrúlegur ráðherraferill Sigríðar Andersen: Lögbrot, leyndarhyggja og harka gagnvart hælisleitendum". Stundin. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  11. "PM's Father Endorsed "Restored Honour" For Convicted Paedophile". Grapevine. September 14, 2017.
  12. "Sigríður Andersen braut lög þegar hún handvaldi dómara í Landsrétt". Stundin. September 15, 2017.
  13. "MDE segir Landsrétt ólöglega skipaðan". RÚV. 12 March 2019.
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