First MP Of Kurdish Background And Youngest MP Both Take Seats In Iceland’s Parliament

Today was an historic first in the history of Iceland’s Parliament, for two reasons.

Enter a competition to win a box of Grapevine goodies! Just sign up for our newsletter here before 15:00 Icelandic time on New Year’s Eve, and answer the question in the next one.

Firstly, because Lenya Rún Taha Karim, a deputy MP for the Pirate Party, began her first day in the halls of Parliament. Lenya Rún was born in Iceland, but is of Kurdish ancestry, and is the first person of such background to take a seat in Iceland’s legislature. At just over 22 years old, she is also the fifth youngest person to take a parliamentary seat as a deputy MP.

Also, Gunnhildur Fríða Hallgrímsdóttir was sworn in. A deputy MP herself, and of the same party as Lenya Rún, Gunnhildur bears the distinction of being the youngest person in Icelandic history to ever take a seat in Parliament. She is 19 years old (and 240 days, to be exact), making her the first MP born in the 21st century.

Gunnhildur Fríða by Screenshot/Parliament livestream

Both Lenya Rún and Gunnhildur were called in to replace Pirate MPs Björn Leví Gunnarsson and Andrés Ingi Jónsson.

In so doing, Gunnhildur breaks the previous record, held by Karl Liljendal Hólmgeirsson. A deputy MP for the Centre Party born in 1997, he took a seat in 2018, at the time just 20 years and 355 days old.