Auður Auðuns

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Auður Auðuns (February 18, 1911 – October 19, 1999) was an Icelandic lawyer and politician with the Independence Party. She was the first Icelandic woman to earn a law degree, the first woman mayor of Reykjavík, and the first woman to serve in Iceland’s cabinet as Minister of Justice and Church (in 1970–71).

She grew up in Isafjörður in the Westfjords, the daughter of Margrét Guðrún Jónsdóttir and Jón Auðunn Jónsson, who later became a member of parliament for the Conservative Party and then the Independence Party. At 14, she moved to Reykjavík to continue her education, finishing Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík in 1929 and earning a law degree from the University of Iceland in 1935. After a year studying Icelandic rhetoric back home, she married high court lawyer Hermann Jónsson, and they had four children: Jón, Einar, Margrét and Árni.

From 1940 to 1960 she worked as a lawyer for the Single Mothers Assistance Committee, was a leading member of the Icelandic Women’s Rights Association, and advised the government on family law and women’s issues. She served as Reykjavík city councillor for 24 years (1946–1970), chairing the City Council twice (1954–59 and 1960–70). She was co-mayor with Geir Hallgrímsson from 1959 to 1960, after which he became the sole mayor (1960–1974).

Auður was elected to the Althing (the Icelandic parliament) from Reykjavík (1959–1974), after previously being a substitute member (1947–48). She also served on the Public Broadcasting Board (1975–1978) and represented Iceland at the United Nations, including a 1967 General Assembly delegation and leading the Icelandic delegation to the UN Women’s Conference in Mexico City in 1975.