Ögmundur Jónasson

Ögmundur Jónasson
Ögmundur Jónasson in November 2016.
Minister of the Interior
In office 1 January 2011 – 2013
Prime Minister	Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir
Minister of Health
In office 1 February 2009 – 30 September 2009
Prime Minister	Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
Preceded by	Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson
Succeeded by	Álfheiður Ingadóttir
Personal details
Born	(1948-07-17) 17 July 1948 (age 68) Reykjavík, Iceland
Political party	Left-Green Movement
Spouse(s)	Valgerður Andrésdóttir
Children	Three children (b. 1974, 1979, 1981)
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh

Ögmundur Jónasson (born 17 July 1948) is an Icelandic politician who has served as a member of Althingi, the Icelandic Parliament, since 1995. He is currently the Chairman of the Parliament’s Constitutional and Supervisory Committee and is a representative to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He is the former Minister of the Interior (2011-2013); Minister of Justice and Human Rights and Minister of Transport, Communications and Local Government (2010-2011); and Minister of Health and Social Security (2009).

Apart from his political career, Ögmundur Jónasson has been a journalist and a trade union leader. He has been active in various grass-root activities, a prolific commentator and public speaker. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh with degrees in History and Political Science and was for a number of years a part-time Lecturer at the University of Iceland. When he entered Parliament, he first represented the People's Alliance and Non-Aligned and later the Left-Green Movement. He was a radio broadcaster and TV reporter at RÚV, the Icelandic Public Broadcasting Service (1978-1988) and the Chairman of BSRB, the Confederation of State and Municipal Employees of Iceland (1988-2009). He has served on several international trade union boards, such as the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), Public Services International (PSI), the Council of Nordic Trade Unions (NFS) and the Council of Nordic Municipal Employees (NTR).

Ögmundur Jónasson became Iceland's Minister of Health in February 2009, but resigned at the end of September in connection with the Icesave dispute. He returned to the government in September 2010 and from January 2011 he headed the newly created Ministry of the Interior and stayed as minister until a new government came to power in 2013.