Dr. Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir

Dr. Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir is a professor of international relations, faculty of political science, at the University of Iceland. Silja Bára has research expertise in feminist foreign policy, feminist security studies, and gender and negotiations. She teaches various courses on international relations and foreign policy. Before joining academia she worked at Iceland’s Centre for Gender Equality and was a delegate in the 2011 Constitutional Council, which submitted a revised constitution to Iceland’s parliament in 2011. There she chaired the committee addressing human rights and natural resources.

Silja has served on various committees for gender equality, including Iceland’s Gender Equality Council, the National Committee of UNIFEM, the Icelandic Feminist Association, as well as the Icelandic Women’s Rights Association. She is currently vice-chair of the board of the Icelandic Red Cross. Silja brings a gendered perspective to all of her work, and has taught at the UNU-GEST, and in the interdisciplinary master’s programs on public health and natural resources in addition to her regular teaching in international politics. Silja holds a PhD in Government from University College Cork, an MA in International Relations from University of Southern California, a BA in International affairs from Lewis & Clark College and two post-graduate certificates from the University of Iceland.