Minister of Health (Iceland)

The Minister of Health (Icelandic: Heilbrigðisráðherra) is a part of the Cabinet of Iceland. It is currently a part of the Ministry of Welfare.

History

The cabinet position existed between 20 November 1959 and 1 January 1970 and again between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2010. The Ministry of Health existed alongside the Minister after 1 January 1970, when the Cabinet of Iceland Act no. 73/1969 took effect, since ministries had not formally existed separately from the ministers. Between 1 January 1970 and 1 January 2008 the position became Minister of Health and Social Security (Icelandic: Heilbrigðis- og tryggingamálaráðherra), and the ministry itself was renamed accordingly. On 31 December 2010, the Ministry of Health was merged with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Security to form the Ministry of Welfare.

List of ministers

Minister of Health (20 November 1959 – 1 January 1970)

Nº	Minister			Took office	Left office	Duration	Party	Cabinet
1			Bjarni Benediktsson (1908–1970)	20 November 1959	14 September 1961	1 year, 9 months, 25 days (664 days)	IP	Ólafur Thors V
2			Jóhann Hafstein (1915–1980)	14 September 1961	1 January 1962	3 months, 18 days (109 days)	IP
(1)			Bjarni Benediktsson (1908–1970)	1 January 1962	14 November 1963	1 year, 10 months, 13 days (682 days)	IP
(2)			Jóhann Hafstein (1915–1980)	14 November 1963	1 January 1970	6 years, 1 month, 18 days (2,240 days)	IP	Bjarni Benediktsson

Minister of Health and Social Security (1 January 1970 – 1 January 2008)

The Cabinet of Iceland Act no. 73/1969, which had been passed by the parliament 28 May 1969, took effect on 1 January 1970, thus the Cabinet was formally established along with its ministries, which had up until then not formally existed separately from the ministers.

Nº	Minister			Took office	Left office	Duration	Party	Cabinet
3			Eggert Gíslason Þorsteinsson (1925–1995)	1 January 1970	14 July 1971	1 year, 6 months, 13 days (559 days)	SDP	Bjarni Benediktsson
								Jóhann Hafstein
4			Magnús Kjartansson (1919–1981)	14 July 1971	28 August 1974	3 years, 1 month, 14 days (1,141 days)	PA	Ólafur Jóhannesson I
5			Matthías Bjarnason (1921–2014)	28 August 1974	1 September 1978	4 years, 4 days (1,465 days)	IP	Geir Hallgrímsson
6			Magnús Helgi Magnússon (1922–2006)	1 September 1978	8 February 1980	1 year, 5 months, 7 days (525 days)	SDP	Ólafur Jóhannesson II
								Benedikt Gröndal
7			Svavar Gestsson (1944–2021)	8 February 1980	26 May 1983	3 years, 3 months, 18 days (1,203 days)	PA	Gunnar Thoroddsen
(5)			Matthías Bjarnason (1921–2014)	26 May 1983	16 October 1985	2 years, 4 months, 20 days (874 days)	IP	Steingrímur Hermannsson I
8			Ragnhildur Helgadóttir	16 October 1985	8 July 1987	1 year, 8 months, 22 days (630 days)	IP
9			Guðmundur Kristján Bjarnason	8 July 1987	30 April 1991	3 years, 9 months, 22 days (1,392 days)	PP	Þorsteinn Pálsson
								Steingrímur Hermannsson II
								Steingrímur Hermannsson III
10			Sighvatur Kristinn Björgvinsson	30 April 1991	14 June 1993	2 years, 1 month, 15 days (776 days)	SDP	Davíð Oddsson I
11			Guðmundur Árni Stefánsson	14 June 1993	24 June 1994	1 year, 10 days (375 days)	SDP
(10)			Sighvatur Kristinn Björgvinsson	24 June 1994	23 April 1995	9 months, 30 days (303 days)	SDP
12			Ingibjörg Pálmadóttir	23 April 1995	14 April 2001	5 years, 11 months, 22 days (2,183 days)	PP	Davíð Oddsson II
								Davíð Oddsson III
13			Jón Halldór Kristjánsson	14 April 2001	7 March 2006	4 years, 10 months, 21 days (1,788 days)	PP	Davíð Oddsson III
								Davíð Oddsson IV
								Halldór Ásgrímsson
14			Siv Friðleifsdóttir	7 March 2006	24 May 2007	1 year, 2 months, 17 days (443)	PP	Halldór Ásgrímsson
								Geir Haarde I
15			Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson (1967–)	24 May 2007	—	—	IP	Geir Haarde II

Minister of Health (1 January 2008 – 31 December 2010)

Nº	Minister			Took office	Left office	Duration	Party	Cabinet
(15)			Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson (1967–)	—	1 February 2009	1 year, 8 months, 8 days (619 days)	IP	Geir Haarde II
16			Ögmundur Jónasson (1948–)	1 February 2009	1 October 2009	8 months (242 days)	LGM	Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir I
								Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir II
17			Álfheiður Ingadóttir (1951–)	1 October 2009	2 September 2010	11 months, 1 day (336 days)	LGM	Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir II
18			Guðbjartur Hannesson (1950–)	2 September 2010	31 December 2010	3 months, 29 days (120 days)	SDA

Minister of Health (23 May 2013 – present)

Nº	Minister			Took office	Left office	Duration	Party	Cabinet
19			Kristján Þór Júlíusson (1957–)	23 May 2013	11 January 2017	3 years, 7 months, 19 days (1,329 days)	IP	Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson
								Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson
20			Óttarr Proppé (1968–)	11 January 2017	30 November 2017	10 months, 19 days (323 days)	BF	Bjarni Benediktsson
21			Svandís Svavarsdóttir (1964–)	30 November 2017	28 November 2021	3 years, 11 months, 29 days (1459 days)	LGM	Katrín Jakobsdóttir I
22			Willum Þór Þórsson (1960–)	28 November 2021	Incumbent	2 years, 143 days (873 days)	PP	Katrín Jakobsdóttir II