Dagur B. Eggertsson


Dagur Bergþóruson Eggertsson is an Icelandic politician who is the Mayor of Reykjavik City. He was the vice-chairman of the Social Democratic Alliance from 2009 until 2013. He was first elected to the city council of Reykjavík in a 2002 election and became the mayor on 16 October 2007. Dagur is formally educated as a physician but also has a master's degree in Human Rights and International Law from the University of Lund in Sweden.

Professional career

While studying at the University of Iceland, he was the Chairman of the Student Council in 1994–5 and managing director of The Icelandic Student Innovation Fund in 1995-6. In 1995-8, Dagur worked at the Icelandic National Radio, Channel 1, making programs. He is the author of a 3-volume biography of former prime minister, Mr. Steingrímur Hermannsson, which he worked on in 1998–2000.
From 2000–2004, he worked at various divisions at Landspitali University Hospital. He worked as an assistant doctor in the year 2000. He worked as physician at Isafjordur health center in the summer of 2001 and then returned to Landspitali and worked at the Department of Microbiology in 2002. In 2003-4, he was a doctor at the E.R. He held lectures on public health at the Reykjavík University in the years 2005-7.

Political career

Dagur was first elected to Reykjavík City Council in May 2002 as an Independent candidate within the four party coalition Reykjavíkurlistinn. From 2004–2006 he was the Chairman of the City Planning Council.
Dagur became Mayor of Reykjavík in October 2007 but was suddenly ousted when one of his supporters in the Reykjavík City Council, Ólafur F. Magnússon, changed sides and formed a new majority with the opposition party, becoming mayor himself.
In the years 2009–2013, he was Vice Chairman of the Social Democratic Alliance
In 2010–14, Dagur formed a majority with The Best Party with Jón Gnarr as mayor but Dagur became the chairman of the City Executive Council.
On 31 May 2014, the Social Democratic Alliance in Reykjavík, with Dagur as lead candidate, won the single largest number of votes for the Reykjavík City Council in the 2014 Icelandic municipal elections. Dagur became the mayor of Reykjavík on 16 June 2014.

Personal life

Dagur grew up in Árbær, a small suburb of Reykjavík. He is the son of Eggert Gunnarsson, a veterinarian, and Bergþóra Jónsdóttir, a biochemist. Dagur is married to Arna Dögg Einarsdóttir, a medical doctor at Landspítali. They have four children. Ragnheiður Hulda, Steinar Gauti, Eggert and Móeiður.