Remarks delivered by Deputy Minister Sue van der Merwe at the Farewell Luncheon for the Ambassador of Iceland, Dr Sigridur Dύna Kristmundsdottir, 2 July 2008, Pretoria

Your Excellency Ambassador Kristmundsdottir
Your Excellencies.
Ladies and Gentlemen.

I have the unenviable task today of having to say goodbye to a close friend of South Africa and Africa. It is not often that we have an ambassador who is a successful politician, a professor, an author, a champion for women’s rights, a working mother and last, but by no means least, a dedicated and committed diplomat who was accredited to not only South Africa but also to sixteen other African countries and the African Union. .

We have indeed been very honoured to have had such a multi-talented person representing Iceland in South Africa.  Amongst her many achievements Ambassador Kristmundsdottir has been a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Iceland, having studied in London and Paris and receiving her doctorate from the University of Rochester, New York.  She has been a member of the Icelandic Parliament, the Althingi, the oldest parliament in the world.  The Ambassador has actively promoted the rights of women, having been a member of Unesco’s Consultative Committee on Women, a member of the Consultative Committee on Equality of the Church of Iceland, the Head of Gender Studies at the University of Iceland. She has been on the board of the Nordic Journal of Women’s Studies and has published two books.  Her latest book was published shortly after she started her diplomatic career here in South Africa, and was a biography of Olafiu Johannsdottir, also known as the “Mother Theresa of the North”.  This remarkable woman led by example by being of the first women in Iceland to gain a high academic qualification.  She was a activist for the independence of Iceland and spent her life dedicated to championing the rights of women in Iceland, Canada, the USA and Norway.  I can imagine why the Ambassador felt the need to tell her story and I hope that the book will one day be published in English.

But we are here today to bid the Ambassador farewell as she closes the first chapter of her diplomatic career.  On behalf of the South African government, I would like to thank Ambassador Kristmundsdottir for the excellent work she has done in promoting and furthering relations between South Africa and Iceland and indeed with the rest of the continent. Ambassador, as you near the end of your tenure of service within our shores, the government of South Africa would like to affirm the very close relations that exist between our countries, which we are sure, will remain strong and develop even further.

We noted the great enthusiasm with which you have approached your posting in South Africa. Your time in South Africa has been characterised by your efforts to further promote and deepen the economic, political and cultural relations between our two countries.

During your stay in South Africa we have seen the first visit by a Icelandic Foreign Minister to South Africa.  You have also arranged for the visit, next month, by Ministers Sonjica and van Schalkwyk to explore areas of possible cooperation, especially in the fields of energy and climate change.  The South African government views these visits by high ranking individuals as a sign of the close working relations, which South Africa shares with Iceland.

Our relations with Iceland take place not only on a bilateral level but also as a member of the larger Nordic family.  South Africa welcomes the unequivocal support that the Nordic countries have given to the continent at large. The signing last month of the Joint Declaration on Partnerships has created a framework which will allow South Africa and the Nordic countries to cooperate together in Africa both on a bilateral and perhaps even a group basis. We are already cooperating with some of the Nordic countries in a number of areas and now look forward to expanding this role in future.  The active and constructive role which the Nordic countries play in conflict resolution, capacity building and peacekeeping in Africa is highly appreciated.  We are therefore encouraged by the Ambassador’s initiative in this field and the future cooperation with the ISS.  Such trilateral cooperation is very important as we each have expertise which we can pool to assist in reducing conflicts and their ramifications in Africa.  We also appreciate Icelandic assistance to the many development projects that your government continues to support on the African continent. 

I am sure that Ambassador Kristmundsdottir will in her next post as Ambassador to Norway continue her work as a firm supporter of Africa assist with the challenges and issues facing the continent, albeit from a more northern perspective.  In conclusion, Your Excellency, I would like to extend our warm South African gratitude for the work that you have done in promoting relations between South Africa and Iceland.