The Directorate of Health (Icelandic: Embætti landlæknis) is an Icelandic government agency whose principal role is to promote high-quality and safe health care for the people of Iceland, health promotion, and effective disease prevention measures.
History The Directorate was founded on 18 March 1760 when Bjarni Pálsson was made the first Director of Health (Icelandic: Landlæknir) by a royal decree. In 2018, Alma Möller became the first woman to serve as Director.
Directors of Health Bjarni Pálsson 1760–1779 Jón Sveinsson 1780–1803 Sveinn Pálsson 1803–1804 (acting) Tómas Klog 1804–1815 Oddur Hjaltalín 1816–1820 (acting) Jón Thorstenssen 1820–1855 Jón Hjaltalín 1855–1881 Jónas Jónassen 1881–1882 (acting) Hans J. G. Schierbeck 1882–1895 Jónas Jónassen 1895–1906 Guðmundur Björnsson 1906–1931 Vilmundur Jónsson 1931–1959 Sigurður Sigurðsson 1960–1972 Ólafur Ólafsson 1972–1998 Sigurður Guðmundsson 1998–2006 Matthías Halldórsson 2006–2007 (acting) Sigurður Guðmundsson 2007–2008 Matthías Halldórsson 2008–2009 Geir Gunnlaugsson 2010–2014 Birgir Jakobsson 2015–2018 Alma Möller 2018–2024 Gudrún Aspelund 2024–2025 (temporary) María Heimisdóttir 2025–present
References
External links Official website Archived 2021-04-12 at the Wayback Machine Directorate of Health on X