Ambassador María Mjöll Jónsdóttir took up her duties as Permanent Representative of Iceland to the OECD on 4 September 2025.
Ms. Jónsdóttir’s career in international affairs spans over two decades. In addition to her appointment as Permanent Representative of Iceland to the OECD, she also took up her duties as Ambassador to France, and non-resident Ambassador (with agrément) to Monaco and Portugal in August 2025. Prior to this, she held several leadership positions in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and served as Director General for Political Affairs (Political Director) from 2022 to 2025. Before that, between 2020 and 2022, she was Director General for International Affairs and Development Cooperation (Political Director), and from 2018 to 2020, she led the Ministry’s communications strategy as Director of Communications, following her tenure as Director of United Nations, Multilateral Affairs and Gender Equality from 2016 to 2018.
Between 2007 and 2015, she was First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Iceland to the United Nations in New York. Some of her earlier roles in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs also include Project Manager in Overseas Business Services (2003–2004) and Administrative Officer in the Trade Directorate (2001–2003).
In addition to her official roles, she has contributed to other activities, serving as a board member of the Institute of International Affairs at the University of Iceland and the United Nations Association of Iceland from 2018 to 2020. She was also a member of the Government Working Group on the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) between 2016 and 2018.
She holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (2006) and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Political Science from the University of Iceland (2003).
Ms. Jónsdóttir is fluent in Icelandic, English, Spanish, and French. She is married and has three children.