Helga Ingibjört Jósteinnsdattir

*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* Helga.

**Helga Ingibjört Jósteinnsdattir** (born 7 September 1951) is a Velkanian politician who has served as Minister of Education and Culture in the second Sif María Vilhjálmardattir cabinet since 2018. She previously had served as Minister of Environmental Affairs in the second and third Davíð Brynnsteinsson cabinets from 2006 until 2014, becoming the first openly LGBT person to serve as a government minister in the Velkanian Isles, and has served in the Orthing since 2002. She is a member of the Velkanian People's Party.

Born in Narísandur, Helga graduated from Narísandur Junior College in 1971, afterwards enrolling in the University of Velkania and graduating with her law degree in 1977. After finishing her law degree, Helga joined a private law firm, where she specialized in bankruptcy law. She left the private sector in 1985, and became a prosecutor at the Office of Public Prosecutions. She served as a junior prosecutor for ten years, until becoming a deputy to the Prosecutor General in 1995. In 1999, she left her work as a prosecutor to leave the public sector and become a criminal defense attorney, working in this position until 2002.

Helga began her political career in 2002, after she was elected to the Orthing in the 2002 election, representing the Velkanian People's Party. Upon her election, she remained a backbencher despite her party being part of a coalition government. After the 2006 election, Helga was nominated to serve as Minister of Environmental Affairs in the second Davíð Brynnsteinsson cabinet, becoming the first openly LGBT person to serve in the government. She continued to serve in this position through to 2014, when the governing coalition collapsed and the People's Party returned to the opposition. After the 2018 election, the People's Party entered into a coalition agreement with the Liberal-Conservative Party and Reform Party, and Helga was nominated to serve as Minister of Education and Culture in the second Sif María Vilhjálmardattir cabinet.

## Early life and education

Helga was born on 7 September 1951 in Narísandur to parents Jósteinn Lókason (1920–2005) and Bryngerður Magnúsdattir (1927–2010). Her father worked as a lawyer, while her mother was a homemaker, and she was raised in the Garðareyri neighborhood of Narísandur. Helga is the elder of two daughters born to her parents; her younger sister is Íva Sif, born  (1954-02-05) 5 February 1954 (age 69). She also has an elder paternal half-brother, Galdur, born  (1947-01-14) 14 January 1947 (age 77), who was born to her father and his first wife.

Helga began her education in 1957, attending a local, public primary school in Narísandur. While in primary school, she was a high academic achiever who wished to become a lawyer like her father. She graduated from primary school in 1967, and subsequently enrolled in Narísandur Junior College, where she studied a business and law program and graduated in 1971. She then enrolled in the Friðrik Margeirsson Institute of Law at the University of Velkania, graduating with her law degree in 1977.

## Law career

After graduating with her law degree in 1977, Helga was hired as an associate at the private law firm EXA Law. While at the firm, Helga specialized in bankruptcy law, while she also practiced in fields such as intellectual property and real estate law as well.

Feeling uninspired by corporate law, she left her firm in 1985, and was hired as a junior public prosecutor at the Office of Public Prosecutions. While in this position, Helga was the prosecuting attorney for a number of criminal cases, including sexual assault, drug possession, and theft. In 1995, she became a deputy prosecutor general, serving as one of the deputies of the Prosecutor General, overseeing a number of criminal trials throughout the Velkanian Isles. She left her career as a prosecutor in 1999, founding her own law firm where she practiced criminal defense law.

## Political career

### Early politics

Helga began her political career in 2002, after she was included on the Velkanian National Party electoral list in the 2002 general election. Prior to being selected for the list, Helga was unaffiliated with a political party; she had previously voted for both Social Democratic and Liberal-Conservative candidates, but decided that the People's Party best represented her views. In the election, she ultimately received a seat in the Orthing.

Upon her election, Helga became the first openly lesbian woman to serve in parliament. The first openly LGBT person was openly bisexual Guðný Jóngeirsdattir of the Velkanian Green Party, who was first elected in the 1992 election. After taking her seat in parliament, Helga became a noted figure in fighting for LGBT rights. Despite only being a newly elected backbencher, Helga was frequently featured on Velkanian television as an advocate for the recognition of same-sex civil unions in the Velkanian Isles, which ultimately was passed in 2003.

### Ministerial positions

After being reelected in the 2006 election, Helga was selected by Davíð Brynnsteinsson to serve as Minister of Environmental Affairs in his second cabinet, to replace Heiðrekur Ólafur Raknarsson who did not run for reelection in 2006. She was appointed by Hrafnhildur III along with the rest of the cabinet on 17 May 2006, becoming the first openly LGBT person to serve as a government minister. In the position, Helga was responsible for environmental regulations, forestry, energy policy and production, public land and parks, wildlife conservation, invasive species, and biosecurity. She supported some slight environmental regulations, but opposed major switches away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy, calling the proposals "unrealistic." Helga was reappointed to the position for Davíð's third cabinet.

After the resignation of Dæja Heiðmarsdattir as party leader in 2008, Helga was cited as a possible candidate to succeed her; however, she publicly denied any interest in running and endorsed Óttarr Fjölvarsson for the position. Following the 2014 election, the governing coalition collapsed, and the Velkanian People's Party returned to the opposition. However, they returned to the government following the 2018 election, and Helga was nominated to serve as Minister of Education and Culture in the second Sif María Vilhjálmardattir cabinet. As education minister, Helga is responsible for public education, the university system, entertainment, television and film, music, and sports.

## Personal life

Helga came out as a lesbian to her close friends when she was 22 in 1974. She did not come out to family members until she was 30 in 1981, and had previously told her parents that she did not bring boys home to meet them because she was not in any serious relationships; she has stated that while at the time her parents had a difficult time with her coming out, they have since come to accept her.

Helga began a relationship with Velkanian nurse Stefanía Sif Valtýrsdattir in 1986. At the time, Stefanía was a recently-divorced mother of two who was not out of the closet. After dating for two years, Stefanía came out as a lesbian to her family and friends, and was accepted. They registered as a same-sex civil union in 2003, and later married in 2013, on their ten year anniversary of being registered partners. Helga has no biological children of her own, but is a stepmother to Stefanía's two children from her first marriage: Magna Mist, born  (1977-07-20) 20 July 1977 (age 46), and Jörgen Magnús, born  (1980-03-01) 1 March 1980 (age 43). She legally adopted Magna and Jörgen as stepchildren in 2003, after the legalization of same-sex stepparent adoption.

Helga and Stefanía reside together in Húsavík. Helga has identified herself as an atheist numerous times, and has stated that she first began to identify as an atheist as a teenager.