Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir

Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir (born 4 November 1987) is an Icelandic lawyer and politician of the Independence Party. She most recently served as the minister of foreign affairs in 2024, having previously held the portfolio from 2021 to 2023. She also served as finance minister from 2023 to 2024 and tourism and industry minister from 2017 to 2021. She is currently Special Envoy of Council of Europe Secretary General on the situation of children of Ukraine appointed.

Political career Þórdís has been a member of the Althing (Iceland's parliament) for the Northwest Constituency since 2016, as a representative of the Independence Party. From 2018 to 2025, she was the party's vice-chair. At the 2025 party convention, she was succeeded by Jens Garðar Helgason.

Þórdís has previously held the positions of Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Innovation, At the age of 29, she became the youngest woman to become an Icelandic Minister.

During her time as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Þórdís held the rotating chairmanship of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers from November 2022 to May 2023. In July 2023, she announced that Iceland would suspend its embassy in Moscow due to not meeting the priorities of the country's foreign service in its current state. She added that the suspension did not mean they would be cutting diplomatic relations with Russia.

On 14 October 2023, she was appointed Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs in a minor reshuffle following Bjarni Benediktsson's resignation.

On 9 April 2024, she was reappointed Minister for Foreign Affairs after Bjarni Benediktsson succeeded Katrín Jakobsdóttir when the latter decided to run in the 2024 presidential election.

She and her Nordic counterparts signed a joint letter in late October condemning Israel's planned bill that would seek to ban the UNRWA from operating in the country and in effect the Palestinian areas. Furthermore, they urged the Knesset to reconsider passing the bill.

Recognition

In 2023, Þórdís received the Cross of Good Neighbourhood from Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. The distinction is awarded by the Belarusian United Transitional Cabinet to outstanding individuals who have significantly helped the cause of Belarusians.