Gréta Íngolfardattir

*This name uses Velkanian naming customs; the last name is a patronymic, not a family name. This person should be properly referred to by the given name* Gréta.

 **Children** | 3

**Gréta Íngolfardattir** (born 11 October 1940) is a Velkanian former politician who represented the Liberal-Conservative Party in the Orthing from 1998 until her retirement in 2014.

Born in Reyklíð, Gréta graduated from Reyklíð Junior College in 1960, and subsequently moved to Hersingborg to attend Hersingborg University. She graduated with a degree in social work in 1963. After graduating from university, Gréta remained in Hersingborg, where she worked as a social worker. In the 1963 independence referendum, Gréta was an ardent opponent of independence, campaigning with the Unionist Party to remain a constituent country of the Kingdom of Framland. Following the anti-independence movement's defeat in the referendum, Gréta returned to the Velkanian Isles and settled in Narísandur in 1965, where she continued to work as a social worker. Gréta registered with the Liberal-Conservative Party in 1970, and was elected president of the women's wing of the Liberal-Conservatives in 1985, serving until her resignation in 1996. She later began a political career after she was elected to parliament in the 1998 election.

Working as a backbencher for her entire parliamentary career, Gréta began receiving more recognition as a fierce critic of Heinrekur Jón Jónsson and the growing centrist and liberal bloc of Liberal-Conservatives in the 2000s. Emerging as one of the leading right-wing conservative members of the party, Gréta launched a long-shot bid to become party leader in the 2013 leadership election, facing off against Sif María Vilhjálmardattir. Gréta was ultimately defeated handily by Sif, receiving few endorsements from party elites and losing by 52 percentage points. Following her defeat, Gréta refused to endorse Sif or the party in the upcoming 2014 election, for which she was removed from the party list by Sif and retired from politics. That year, she switched her party enrollment to the Independence Party.

## Early life, education, and career

Gréta was born on 11 October 1940 in Reyklíð to parents Íngolfur Jónsson (1908–1989) and Lilla Olsson (1910–2003). Her father worked as an attorney, while her mother was a homemaker originally from Hersingborg. Her parents met while her father was a student at Hersingborg University in the early-1930s. Gréta grew up speaking both Framish and Velkanian, and as a member of the Church of Framland. She is the youngest of three children; her elder siblings are Karl, born  (1935-06-01) 1 June 1935 (age 88), and Anna María, born  (1937-12-11) 11 December 1937 (age 86).

Gréta began her education in 1946, attending a private, Framish-speaking primary school in Reyklíð, at her mother's request. She graduated from primary school in 1956, subsequently enrolling in Reyklíð Junior College, where she studied a social sciences program. She graduated from upper secondary school in 1960. After graduating, Gréta moved to Hersingborg to enroll in the Faculty of Social Work at Hersingborg University. She graduated with her degree in 1963. After graduating, Gréta remained in Hersingborg and worked as a social worker at a public gymnasium. In 1965, she and her husband moved to Narísandur, where she began working as a social worker for the Ministry of Welfare.

## Political career

### Early politics

Gréta first experimented with politics as a young adult. Born into a family of ardent Unionist Party supporters, Gréta authored a number of anti-independence articles for the student-run newspaper while at Hersingborg University. During and after her studies, she participated in anti-independence rallies and was a staunch opponent of the 1963 independence referendum. Following the referendum's success, Gréta began to distance herself from politics for several years.

In 1970, she became an enrolled member of the Liberal-Conservative Party, where she felt represented as a member of the party's right-wing. In 1985, she was elected president of the party's women's wing, and was reelected in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1995, before resigning in 1996. In 1998, Gréta began her professional political career after being elected to the Orthing in the 1998 election.

In the 2002 leadership election, Gréta was an ardent supporter of the candidacy of Kristmundur Jakobsson. Following Kristmundur's defeat by Heinrekur Jón Jónsson, Gréta openly supported Heinrekur. Following the beginning of his reforms of the party, pushing its platform to the center and prioritizing a diversification of the party's membership, Gréta became an outspoken critic, alleging that his reforms would "ruin" the party. By 2007, Gréta had emerged as one of the most prevalent critics of Heinrekur and his faction of centrist Liberal-Conservatives within the party, openly criticizing his "protégés" such as Sif María Vilhjálmardattir, Freydís Anna Ástbjörnsdattir, and Daði Guðmar Tjörvason.

### 2013 leadership election

On 24 April 2013, Heinrekur announced that he would be resigning as party leader and retiring from politics, triggering a leadership election. Following the announcement, Gréta remained one of the few parliamentary members of the party who chose not to endorse Heinrekur's expected successor Sif María Vilhjálmardattir; instead, she launched a long-shot bid to challenge Sif in the leadership election.

Following the declaration of her candidacy, Gréta was expected to struggle. She consistently polled poorly in polling of both the general public and Liberal-Conservative Party, with more than 68% of the population disapproving of her. Her campaign's platform centered on reversing the reforms of Heinrekur and "bringing the party back to its roots." Ultimately, Gréta was handily defeated by Sif, receiving the endorsements of very few party elites and subsequently winning only 24% of the vote. After her defeat, Gréta refused to endorse Sif or the Liberal-Conservatives in the upcoming 2014 election, alleging that Sif would "totally destroy the party." As a result of her statements, the media reported that Sif removed Gréta from the party list in the 2014 election, and she subsequently retired from politics. Gréta has disputed claims that she retired after being forced out by Sif, but Sif later confirmed the allegations when prompted by an interviewer later that year.

After her removal from the party list and subsequent retirement from politics, Gréta changed her party enrollment from Liberal-Conservative to the Independence Party, stating that her views were better represented by the Independence Party and her only hesitations were its members' widespread support for Velkanian independence several decades prior. In 2018, Gréta was reportedly invited by the Independence Party to stand as a candidate in the 2018 election, but she declined.

## Personal life

Gréta began a relationship with Velkanian tourism executive Finnlaugur Njörðursson in 1963, while they both resided in Hersingborg. They became engaged a year after beginning their relationship, and later married the following year. They settled in Narísandur in 1965, shortly after the restoration of Velkanian independence, as Finnlaugur wanted to capitalize on the newly emerging Velkanian tourism industry. They had three children together: Hilda, born  (1969-03-28) 28 March 1969 (age 54), Jakob, born  (1970-12-14) 14 December 1970 (age 53), and Tór, born  (1973-02-01) 1 February 1973 (age 50). Finnlaugur died in 2010, following a brain aneurism.

Gréta holds dual citizenship to the Velkanian Isles and Framland, and is fluent in Velkanian, Framish, and Ditrovian, referring to Framish as her "mother tongue." She is a practicing member of the Church of Framland, attending church weekly. Gréta resides in Húsavík.