Pétur Ásgeirsson is Iceland’s Ambassador to Denmark. He has worked for the Government of Iceland for more than 30 years but joined the Foreign Service in 1999.
He was Director and then Director General for Administration and Consular Affairs from 1999 to 2013. He was appointed Ambassador in 2013 and that same year became Iceland’s first Consul General in Nuuk, Greenland, the first foreign diplomat to reside in Greenland since WWII. He served as Ambassador to Canada from 2017 to 2021 and as SAO and Arctic Ambassador from 2021 to 2024. He is married to, Mrs. Jóhanna Gunnarsdóttir, lawyer. They have two sons, Ásgeir Hafsteinn, b. 1991, Magnús b. 1993.
Ambassador Ásgeirsson is the co-author of Á norðurslóð – ferðasaga frá Grænlandi. (On the Arctic route – a travelogue from Greenland). Published with his son Ásgeir Pétursson in 2017. Pétur is an enthusiastic woodworker and boatbuilder.
Date of birth: November 3, 1962
Education
▪ Economist from the University of Stirling, Scotland, 1987.
▪ Studied Law and Philosophy, University of Iceland, 1983.
Professional Career
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Reykjavík
▪ Ambassador of Iceland to Denmark 2024-
▪ Senior Arctic Official to the Arctic Council/Arctic Ambassador from 2021 - 2024
▪ Ambassador to Canada 2017 - 2021
▪ Consul General in Nuuk, Greenland from 2013 - 2017
▪ Appointed Ambassador in the Icelandic Foreign Service, 2013
▪ Director General for Administration and Consular Affairs from 2009 - 2013
▪ Director for Administration and Consular Affairs from 2006 - 2009
▪ Deputy Director for Administration from 1999 - 2006
Ministry for Science, Education and Culture, Reykjavík
▪ Head of Division for Planning and Development from 1996 to 1999.
▪ Specialist, Finance Division from 1994 to 1996.
▪ Political Advisor to Minister Ólafur G. Einarsson, 1993 - 1994.
Committees and Boards
▪ Member of the Board of Directors for Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre. 2012, 2013.
▪ Prime Minister’s Office, Task Force on the Security of the Central
Government and the President of Iceland, 2012.
▪ Chairman for the Organizing Committee for the Icelandic participation at Expo 2010 Shanghai. 2008 to 2011.
▪ Board member for Austurhöfn -TR ehf, Harpa, Icelandic National Conference and Concert Centre, Reykjavík. From 2003 to 2012.
▪ Committee on the Selection of Art in the new wing at Keflavik International Airport. Chairman. 2000.
▪ Committee on a central database for Icelandic Libraries. Chairman.1998.
▪ Board Member, Fulbright Commission in Iceland from 1994 to 1998. Chairman of the Board from 1997-1998.
▪ Committee on the development of GoPro, a case handling system for the Government, Chairman from Oct. 1997 to Feb. 2000.
▪ Prime Ministers Office, Task Force on the Information Society, 1997 - 1999. (Set up by the Government to enhance the use of IT in Iceland).
▪ Committee on storing Electronic documents in the National Archive. Chairman. 1997.
▪ Working group on Budgetary Matters, EFTA-EU, from 1996 - 2013.