Þórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir

Icelandic politician, human rights lawyer and journalist

Þórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir (born 6 May 1987 in Akranes) is an Icelandic politician, human rights lawyer and journalist, who represents the Pirate Party.[1]

She has a Master of Laws from the University of Utrecht in international human rights and criminal law. After her studies she became an intern at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, did legal volunteer work and worked as a freelance journalist for the Icelandic web portals kvennabladid.is and grapevine.is.

In 2016–2017 Þórhildur was chairman of the Pirate Party,[2] which is an organizational post. She was elected to the Althing in 2016 for the Southwest Constituency. In 2017 she was selected as the spokesperson for the Pirates, a position that makes her the public face of the party, which does not have a formal leader.

In February 2018, Þórhildur claimed that Ásmundur Friðriksson, a member of the Althing from the Independence Party, had used public money for his personal use.[3] In the past five years, Ásmundur had received more than ISK 23.5 million in driving-related expenses, including for trips organized by ÍNN.[4][5] In response, Ásmundur complained to the Althing ethics committee, who determined in June 2018 that Þórhildur had violated the Althing ethics code;[6] this decision was confirmed by the presidium in June 2019.[7] In December 2019, Ásmundur sent a letter to Liliane Maury Pasquier, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, requesting that Þórhildur be stripped of her rights at the Council of Europe.[8] Pasquier refused to do so.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Þórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir" (in Icelandic). Píratar. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  2. ^ "Þórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir" (in Icelandic). Althingi. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  3. ^ Birgir Olgeirsson (25 February 2018). "Þórhildur segir rökstuddan grun um að Ásmundur hafi dregið sér fé". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  4. ^ Bára Huld Beck (9 February 2018). "Ásmundur hefur fengið tæpar 23,5 milljónir í aksturskostnað á eigin bíl". Kjarninn (in Icelandic). Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Ásmundur Friðriksson ók fyrir 25 milljónir á 6 árum – Rukkaði fyrir að skutla tökufólki ÍNN". Hringbraut (in Icelandic). 17 May 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  6. ^ Freyr Gígja Gunnarsson (17 June 2019). "Þórhildur Sunna sögð hafa brotið siðareglur" (in Icelandic). RÚV. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  7. ^ Aðalheiður Ámundadóttir (19 June 2019). "Brot Þórhildar Sunnu staðfest í forsætisnefnd". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  8. ^ Oddur Ævar Gunnarsson (18 December 2019). "Sendi forseta Evrópuráðssþingsings erindi vegna Þórhildar". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  9. ^ Alexander Kristjánsson (20 December 2019). "Lagði til að Þórhildur yrði svipt réttindum". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 20 December 2019.

External links

  • Personal website
  • Profile on the Pirate Party website