Ambassador

Curriculum Vitae

Svavar Gestsson

• Ambassador of Iceland to Denmark from 22 November 2005; to Tunisia from June 2006 to March 2007; to Turkey from June 2006; to Israel from July 2006; to Rumania from September 2006. Furthermore the Embassy in Copenhagen is accredited to Slovenia.
• Ambassador of Iceland to Sweden from August 2001 to October 2005; also ambassador to Bulgaria from February 2002, to the Federal Republic of Serbia and Montenegro from February 2002, to the Republic of Albania from October 2002, to the People´s Republic of Bangladesh from January 2003 and to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka from August 2003.
  
• Consul General of Iceland and Special Envoy for Millennium Affairs, Winnipeg, MB, Canada 1999 - 2001.
  
• Appointed Ambassador in the Icelandic Foreign Service on March 6th 1999.

• Date of Birth: June 26th, 1944, Iceland.
  
• Married: Guðrún Ágústsdóttir, former President of the City Council of Reykjavík

• Editor in Chief of the Reykjavik daily newspaper, Thjodviljinn, 1971-1978.
• Member of the Icelandic Parliament 1978-1999.
• Minister of Commerce and International Trade, 1978-1979.
• Minister of Health, 1980-1983.
• Minister of Social Affairs, 1980-1983.
• Minister of Culture and Education, 1988-1991.
• Chm. of the People´s Alliance Party, 1980-1987.
• Chm. of the Parliamentary group of the Party the People´s Alliance, 1995-1999.
• Chm. of EFTA ministers ( EFTA: The European Free Trade Association), January 1979 - June 1979.
• Attended WHO and ILO General Assemblies in Geneva, 1980, 1981 & 1982 as Minister of Health and of Social Affairs.
• Attended the General Assembly of the UN, 1976, 1987, 1988, and 1995.
• Mb. of the Board of Directors of the National Power Company in Iceland 1995 – 1997.
• Member of the Board of Directors of The State University Hospital of Iceland 1991 - 1994.
• President of the Nordic Cultural Fund 1996 – 1997.
• Member of the IPU Icelandic delegation in Togo, 1985 and in India, 1993.
• Member of the Parliamentarian Council of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands 1995-1999; President 1997 - 1998.

Writings:

Articles in all Icelandic newspapers and many Nordic papers.

Book: Sjónarrönd (Horizon), A book of political Affairs 1995