Kristín Ástgeirsdóttir

Thematic expertise: Human rights, women’s rights

Geographic expertise: Kosovo

Languages: English, Danish, Swedish

Kristín Ástgeirsdóttir, MA, was the director of the Icelandic Directorate for Gender Equality from 2007-2017. As a director she took part in the annual meetings of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York (CSW), EFTA and EU meetings and many Nordic or international projects on gender equality. From 1991-1999 Kristín was a member of parliament for the Women's Alliance, a feminist organisation which put women's issues on the political agenda. She has been an activist in the women's movement, among them the Red Stocking Movement, Women for Peace in Iceland, since the late 1970s. From 2000-2001 Kristin worked as a project manager for UNIFEM in Kosovo. Kristín is an BA in history and literature and has an MA degree in history. She has written numerous articles on the history of the women's movement in Iceland 1870-2015 as well as on politics. She has been a history teacher, a journalist and a researcher on gender history at the University of Iceland. Kristín is now an independent researcher.