Name Herdis Thorgeirsdottir | Role Lawyer | |
Books Journalism Worthy of the Name: Freedom Within the Press and the Affirmative Side of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights | ||
Herdis Kjerulf Thorgeirsdottir (Icelandic: Herdís Kjerulf Þorgeirsdóttir; born February 18, 1954 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Icelandic lawyer and political scientist who has specialised in human rights and developed an international reputation. She announced her candidacy for President of Iceland on March 30, 2012.
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Career
Currently, Herdis Thorgeirsdottir is a partner at VIK law firm in Reykjavík. She was appointed a Professor of Law at Bifrost University in 2004; teaching courses in constitutional law and comparative constitutional law as well as courses in business and human rights Dr. Thorgeirsdottir is on the Board of Trustees of the Academy of European Law. Dr. Thorgeirsdottir is the representative of Iceland at the European Commission for Democracy through Law/Venice Commission, where she is the chair of the sub-committee on fundamental rights. She was elected Vice President of the Venice Commission in 2013 and re-elected in 2015(http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/events/?id=2159). In 2009, she was elected President of the [European Womens Lawyers' Association] (EWLA). She was re-elected for a second term in 2011. She is also part of the Network of Legal Experts (since 2003) that ensures that the European Commission is kept informed in relation to important legal developments in the field of gender equality at national level and the impact of these developments. She is the founder of the "Network - empowering women" large conferences in Iceland since 2004 attracting participants from every walk of life. In the 1980s and early 1990s, she was the founder, publisher and editor of Heimsmynd magazine in Iceland. Prior to that she was the founding editor of Mannlif magazine. She began her career as a journalist at Morgunbladid, a major daily newspaper in Iceland.
Herdís was a very well known and influential journalist and magazine editor. She started with her own publication at a rather early age, a monthly magazine with a focus on truth in journalism - getting her ideas out with an impact on the political culture.
Education
Herdis Thorgeirsdottir holds a Doctor Juris degree (the highest academic law degree) in Law from the Faculty of Law, Lund University in Sweden. She also has degree in Law from the University of Reykjavík and is a member of the bar. She was a guest scholar at Oxford University in 1999. Earlier she earned the M.A.L.D. degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. She received the B.A. degree in Political Science from the University of Iceland. She also studied journalism on Fleet Street in London, UK and prior to that attended courses in psychology at the University of Aix-en-Provence for a year.
Scholarly work
Herdis Thorgeirsdottir is the author of books in the field of human rights and constitutional law, which have been published internationally, along with articles in magazines and chapters in books. Her research has been directed at the freedom of speech in journalism, the protection of their rights and self-editorialising due to the integration of financial and political power. In addition, she has performed research in all areas of human rights, commerce, labour law and gender equality. She is a member of the Network of Legal Experts ensures that the European Commission is kept informed in relation to important legal developments in the field of gender equality at national level and the impact of these developments.