Freyja Haraldsdóttir
Member of the Althing
In office
2013–2015
ConstituencySouthwest
Personal details
Born (1986-06-27) 27 June 1986
Reykjavík, Iceland
Political partyBright Future

Freyja Haraldsdóttir (born 27 June 1986) is an Icelandic politician and a disability rights activist. She was elected to the Icelandic Constitutional Assembly in 2010 and chosen to become a deputy Member of Parliament of the Althing in 2013.

Early life and education

Freyja was born on 27 June 1986 in Reykjavík, Iceland[1] with osteogenesis imperfecta. In 1997, Haraldsdóttir and her family moved to Nelson, New Zealand where she went to school in the neighbouring town of Richmond, New Zealand.[2] Freyja graduated from the University of Iceland with a Bachelor of Arts in social pedagogy.[3] She continued her studies at the University of Iceland by completing a gender studies thesis for a Master of Arts degree.[4]

Career

Before going into politics, Freyja was an advocate in support of providing people with disabilities with personal assistants. She was convinced to enter politics after meeting with former Bright Future party member Gudmundur Steingrimsson who was leading a committee that aligned with her career. In 2010, Freyja was elected onto the Icelandic Constitutional Assembly. During her term, she was selected to become Steingrimsson's deputy Member of Parliament for the Althing in 2013.[2] Her tenure of vice president for Southwest Constituency lasted from 2013 until 2015.[5] Outside of her political career, Freyja worked at Independent Living Centre from 2010 to 2014 as a director. After leaving the ILC, she co-founded the company Tabú whose goal is to create safe spaces for women with disabilities in Iceland.[6] In 2018, after her political career ended, she was subject to insults and reportedly "seal noises" by Members of Parliament who were recorded in a bar.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Freyja 2017, p. 10.
  2. 1 2 Kidson, Sally (21 August 2013). "Icelandic woman changes mindsets". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  3. ↑ Freyja Haraldsdóttir (2013). "Simply Children". In Curran, Tillie; Runswick-Cole, Katherine (eds.). Disabled Children's Childhood Studies: Critical Approaches in a Global Context. Springer. p. 13. ISBN 9781137008220.
  4. ↑ Freyja 2017, p. 3.
  5. ↑ "Freyja Haraldsdóttir". Alþingi (in Icelandic). Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  6. ↑ Freyja Haraldsdóttir (February 2017). I am discriminated against because I exist (PDF) (MA). University of Iceland. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  7. ↑ Iceland Monitor, "MP's in recorded bar conversation also made fun of disabled MP"
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