Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir

Speaker at the St. Gallen Symposium

Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir is Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on the situation of children of Ukraine, a role she has held since February 2025. In this capacity, she focuses on international coordination and advocacy to protect children affected by the war in Ukraine.
She is a trained lawyer and has been a member of the Icelandic Parliament since 2016. Earlier in her career, she taught Constitutional and Administrative Law at Reykjavik University. She also served as Vice Chair of the Independence Party from 2018 to 2025.
Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir held ministerial office in Iceland for eight years from 2017 to 2024, most recently as Minister for Foreign Affairs. Prior to that, she served as Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Minister for Foreign Affairs (earlier term), Minister of Tourism, Industry and Innovation, and Minister of Justice, gaining broad experience across economic, legal, and foreign policy portfolios.