Biographical Information
Berglind Ásgeirsdóttir, Deputy Secretary General, OECD
Berglind Ásgeirsdóttir, an Icelandic national, is one of the four Deputy Secretaries-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) based in Paris. Within OECD, she is, among other things, responsible for overseeing work on education, health, labour, social policy and public communication as well as for the multidisciplinary project on Health which involve most OECD Directorates.
Before taking her current appointment in September 2002, Ms. Ásgeirsdóttir was Secretary-General in the Ministry of Social Affairs in Iceland most recently since 1999 and between 1988 to 1996. In this capacity, Ms. Ásgeirsdóttir was responsible for the leadership of the Ministry of Social Affairs in its responsibilities in the area of employment, state/municipalities relations, social services, housing, gender equality, child welfare, migration and refugee issues.
Ms. Ásgeirsdóttir was Secretary-General of the Nordic Council in Copenhagen from 1996 to 1999, which is the forum for inter-parliamentary co-operation.
Prior to joining the Ministry of Social Affairs, Ms. Ásgeirsdóttir was a diplomat for ten years, serving at the Icelandic embassies in Bonn and Stockholm and the Council of Europe.
Ms. Berglind Ásgeirsdóttir holds an advanced degree in International Relations from Boston University, a law degree from the University of Iceland.