Inga Sæland

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is a family name, but this person is referred to by the given name Inga.

Inga Sæland
Official portrait, 2021
Minister of Social Affairs and Housing
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 December 2024
Prime Minister	Kristrún Frostadóttir
Preceded by	Bjarni Benediktsson (Social Affairs and Labour Market)
Chairperson of the People's Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 January 2016
Preceded by	Party established
Member of the Althing
Incumbent
Assumed office 28 October 2017
Constituency	Reykjavík South
Personal details
Born	(1959-08-03) 3 August 1959 (age 65) Ólafsfjörður, Iceland
Political party	People's Party (2016–present)
Other political affiliations	Social Democratic Alliance (formerly)
Children	4
Alma mater	University of Iceland

Inga Sæland (born 3 August 1959)[1] is an Icelandic politician who is the founder and current leader of the People's Party.

Sæland had previously become nationally known as a contestant in the Icelandic version of the talent show X Factor in 2006-2007.[2] As a politician, Inga Sæland has described herself as a populist and compared herself to the French politician Marine Le Pen.[3]

Early life

Inga was born in Ólafsfjörður to Ástvaldur Einar Steinsson (born 21 August 1930), a fisherman, and Sigríður Sæland Jónsdóttir (born 25 June 1937), a housewife. She moved to Reykjavík in 1994. She got a BA in law and a partial degree in political science from the University of Iceland.[1][4] She has a visual impairment and her political party's goals have been to better the conditions of the poor and disabled.[5]

References

1. "Inga Sæland – Æviágrip þingmanna". Alþingi.
2. Pálsson, Stefán Árni (11 January 2017). "Missti framan af putta í X-Factor: Voru fráskilin í 16 ár en Inga Sæland fór á skeljarnar í sumar - Vísir". visir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 1 December 2024.
3. "Inga Sæland: „Ég er sennilega svona Marine Le Pen týpa"". Kjarninn (in Icelandic). 2 August 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
4. "Inga Sæland". ruv.is. 18 October 2016.
5. "Flokkur Fólksins: The Populist Uprising? – The Reykjavik Grapevine". The Reykjavik Grapevine. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.