Heiða Kristín Helgadóttir
{{Short description|Icelandic politician and entrepreneur}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Heiða Kristín Helgadóttir
|order=
|image=
|predecessor=
|successor=
|party=Best Party
Bright Future
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1983|04|20}}
|birth_place=
|spouse=Guðmundur Kristján Jónsson
|children=2
|term_start=
|term_end=
}}
Heiða Kristin Helgadóttir (born 20 April 1983{{cite web |url=https://www.althingi.is/altext/cv/is/?nfaerslunr=1213 |title=Heiða Kristín Helgadóttir |date=2 December 2015 |language=Icelandic |publisher=Althing }}) is an Icelandic politician and entrepreneur. She founded and led two political parties: the Best Party and Bright Future.
Early life and education
Helgadóttir was born in Washington, D.C. in the United States. She earned a BA in political science from the University of Iceland.{{cite journal|url=http://www.mediationsjournal.org/articles/joking-seriously|title=Joking Seriously: The Artful Political Science of Besti Flokkurinn: An Interview with the Best Party's Heiða Kristín Helgadóttir|journal=Meditations: Journal of the Marxist Literary Group|volume=26|date=2012–13|first=Andrew|last=Pendakis}}{{cite news |date=9 March 2014 |title=Iceland is on top of the world for women's rights |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/iceland-is-on-top-of-the-world-for-womens-rights-261092.html |work=Irish Examiner }}
Career
After graduating from university, Helgadóttir worked in an artificial intelligence laboratory. While there her friend Gaukur Úlfarsson introduced her to the comedian Jón Gnarr. Amid the Icelandic financial crisis they created the Best Party in 2009 with the original intention to parody political practices in Iceland.{{cite book|title=Political Handbook of the World 2015|first=Tom|last=Lansford|year=2015|publisher=CQ Press|isbn=9781483371559|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yNGfBwAAQBAJ}} In 2010, Helgadóttir ran the Best Party's campaign in Reykjavik's election, resulting in a shock win which made Gnarr mayor of the city. During Gnarr's tenure as Reykjavik mayor, which ended in 2014, Helgadóttir was his close confidante and advisor and served as CEO of the Best Party.{{cite news |date=25 June 2010 |title=Icelander's Campaign Is a Joke, Until He's Elected |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/26/world/europe/26iceland.html?_r=2 |work=The New York Times }}{{cite news |date=30 October 2011 |title=For a Free-Form Radio Conference, a Kindred Spirit |url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/for-a-free-form-radio-conference-a-kindred-spirit/ |work=The New York Times }}{{cite news |date=June 23, 2014 |title=Did politics ruin 'the world's coolest mayor'? |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/06/23/did_politics_ruin_the_worlds_coolest_mayor.html |work=Toronto Star }}{{cite news |date=22 December 2011 |title=Who Else Were You Going to Vote for? |url=http://tyglobalist.org/in-the-magazine/theme/who-else-were-you-going-to-vote-for/ |work=The Yale Globalist |access-date=18 July 2018 |archive-date=18 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718234557/http://tyglobalist.org/in-the-magazine/theme/who-else-were-you-going-to-vote-for/ |url-status=dead }}
In 2012, Helgadóttir founded the political party Bright Future, the successor to the Best Party, with Guðmundur Steingrímsson.{{cite news |date=3 December 2012 |title=New Party Coming Up Strong |url=https://grapevine.is/news/2012/12/03/new-party-coming-up-strong/ |work=The Reykjavík Grapevine }} She served as chairman of the party from its founding through December 2014.{{cite web |url=http://www.bjortframtid.is/blog/2014/12/15/heida-kristin-haettir-sem-stjornarformadur/ |title=Heiða Kristín hættir sem stjórnarformaður |date=15 December 2014 |language=Icelandic |publisher=Bright Future |access-date=18 July 2018 |archive-date=19 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719024315/http://www.bjortframtid.is/blog/2014/12/15/heida-kristin-haettir-sem-stjornarformadur/ |url-status=dead }} In the Bright Future's first election in April 2013, the party received 8.2% of the general vote, giving it six out of the 63 seats in Iceland's parliament.{{cite news |date=28 April 2013 |title=Iceland vote: Centre-right opposition wins election |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-22320282 |agency=BBC }} In 2015, Helgadóttir served as a parliamentarian for Bright Future in place of her colleague Björt Ólafsdóttir while she was on maternity leave.{{cite news |date=22 August 2015 |title=Nauðsynleg hreinsun átti sér stað |url=https://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2015/08/22/naudsynleg_hreinsun_atti_ser_stad/ |language=Icelandic |work=Morgunblaðið}}
In 2015, Helgadóttir hosted a weekly political news show on Iceland's Channel 2.{{cite news |date=12 January 2015 |title=Heiða Kristín Helgadóttir með nýjan þátt um þjóðmál á Stöð 2 |url=https://kjarninn.is/frettir/heida-kristin-helgadottir-med-nyjan-thatt-um-thjodmal-a-stod-2/ |language=Icelandic |work=Kjarninn}}
In 2015, Helgadóttir co-founded the Reykjavík-based startup incubator and marketing firm EFNI with American entrepreneur Oliver Luckett.{{cite news |date=June 11, 2018 |title=Fresh from Iceland: Bounty of fish about to land in Denver, with a story to tell |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2018/06/11/niceland-seafood-denver-us-headquarters/ |work=The Denver Post }}{{cite news |date=March 4, 2016 |title=Oliver Luckett Helps Icelandic Brand Inklaw Set Up Pop-up Atelier in New York |url=http://wwd.com/business-news/media/oliver-luckett-helps-icelandic-brand-inklaw-set-up-pop-up-atelier-in-new-york-10376187/ |agency=WWD }}
They are the co-founders of Niceland Seafood.{{cite web|url=https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/fish-company-from-iceland-opens-us-headquarters-in-denver |title=Fish company from Iceland opens US headquarters in Denver|work=Denver Channel |date=12 June 2018 |accessdate=26 July 2020}}
Personal life
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helgadottir, Heida Kristin}}
{{Iceland-politician-stub}}