Guðrún Karls Helgudóttir

Guðrún Karls Helgudóttir (born April 27, 1969), is an Icelandic priest. Guðrún won in the second round of the 2024 Bishop of Iceland election and received over 52% of the votes. She was inaugurated on September 1, 2024.

Family and education Guðrún Karls Helgudóttir was born in Reykjavík to parents Karl Magnús Kristjánsson and Helga Einarsdóttir. She completed her secondary education, graduating from Fjölbrautarskólan in Breiðholt in 1992. She pursued higher education at the University of Iceland, where she obtained a bachelor's degree in theology in the autumn of 1998. She continued her theological studies at the same university, completing them in 2000. From 1999 to 2000, she worked with children at a church in Árbær and with young people in the parishes of Akranes and Grafarvogur.

Priesthood Guðrún Karls Helgudóttir gained varied experience in the capital region, holding positions in churches such as Hjallakirkja in Kópavogur and in Seltjarnarnes. She also supervised confirmation classes for children in Skálholt and Gothenburg. After studying at the seminary in Lund and completing professional training and a course in Swedish canon law, she was ordained on January 11, 2004. The ordination took place in the Gustavus Adolphus Cathedral, conducted by Bishop Carl Axel Aurelius.

Personal life Guðrún Karls Helgudóttir is married to Einar Ernur Sveinbjörnsson, a professor at the Department of Physics at the University of Iceland. She has two daughters, a son-in-law, and two granddaughters. Bishop Guðrún Karls Helgudóttir is an amateur long-distance runner.